I’ll be using this space to discuss my challenging job search in 2019–2020. This will not be a job seeker advice column. There will be no positive thinking affirmations, girl power, or proclamations about being a rock star. I will not talk about what I did wrong or right, because there is no way to know that. I’ll post my own data and anecdotes, and bust some myths. I’ll be snarky and sarcastic, because that is me, and I will be honest. I won’t name names of people or companies but I will refer to industries (semiconductor, biotech start-up, national lab) and geography. I need to vent and I need people to know the details of how someone gets to be unemployed for 17 months and applies to over 400 jobs. Some of that includes Covid-19, but some of it doesn’t.
If you are a job seeker, I will not answer questions about how to apply or the wrong or right way to do things. There are lots of available resources for that. If you want to anonymously share your own job search story as a woman of color or under-represented minority in the physical sciences, I’m happy to share it here for you.
If you are an employer, recruiter, or hiring manager, and want to know how candidates like me fall through the cracks and what you need to change in your systems, or if you talk about diversity but don’t know what that means in practice, specifically during the interview process and recruiting stages, I am available for hourly consultations.
