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BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

12

SEPTEMBER

2016

Molly Cule

Networking Event

Dos and Dont's

Networking events are great opportunities to

expand your connections and can potentially lead

to new collaborations, finding new job opportuni-

ties, or simply creating new friendships! Here are

some tips for successfully navigating a networking

event.

• Do

have a professional business card to hand

out at the event. Get one printed if you don’t

get one through your university/school.

• Do

have a positive attitude going into the

event. Doing a PhD/postdoc can be tough

going at times and it is easy to become pessi-

mistic; plus it might be stressful/intimidating,

but showing enthusiasm and love for your work

makes you stand out more.

• Do

have an “elevator pitch” prepared. The

pitch should capture who you are and what you

work on, magnifying unique skill sets you pos-

sess. Be concise and to the point. Think about

what you are hoping to get out of the event you

are attending and adjust your pitch as necessary.

• Don’t

try “hard-selling” e.g., directly asking for

a job. Networking is about building relation-

ships and most people are put off if you im-

mediately start asking for something (especially

if there is no incentive for the other person).

However, if you feel you have established a con-

nection, and that it is contextual to the con-

versation, it is appropriate to ask something on

the lines of “so do you know if your company/

department is hiring,” or “…would you mind

if I followed up with you regarding potential

positions…” etc.

• This should be obvious, but

don’t

stand in a

corner speaking to people you know — go out

and mingle. However, networking doesn’t

necessarily mean you need to introduce yourself

and speak with everyone in the room. Quality

trumps quantity and making four or five good

connections is more important than collecting

100 business cards from people with whom

you’ve barely spoken.

• Don’t

monopolize conversations!

• Do

follow-up with people you connect with —

either through LinkedIn, email, or even phone

calls depending on the nature of the interaction.

It is always a good idea to quickly jot down

brief information about the people you meet on

their business cards right after meeting them.

Don’t be afraid or reluctant to set up a follow-

up one-on-one meeting over coffee or lunch.

Remember that the networking event itself is

only the first step. (Also, if you get help from

someone, try to figure out if there’s a way you

can return the favor — it’s all about give and

take!)

• Most importantly,

do

have fun!

Grants and Opportunities

Enabling Resources for Pharmacogenomics

Objective:

To support critical enabling resources

that will accelerate new research discoveries and/

or implementation of research discoveries in

pharmacogenomics. The outcome of an enabling

resource must be highly impactful in a demon-

strable way.

Deadline:

September 25, 2016

Website:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/

pa-files/PAR-14-185.html

Grants for Early Medical/Surgical

Subspecialists’ Transition to Aging Research

Objective:

To provide support for early-stage

physician-scientists, trained in medical or surgical

specialties, to launch careers as future leaders in

research on aging or in geriatrics.

Deadline:

October 6, 2016

Website:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/

rfa-files/RFA-AG-17-012.html

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