Hi My personal experience. I do not know if it'll help you. At least I hope to encourage you.
I'm a doctor. I have worked in various fields, particularly in sexual selection in birds. Since I finished my PhD I have applied for over 50 jobs in the U.S. but also in Europe, Australia, Canada... In Spain now is almost impossible to get work in research. But also I like to travel and I have lived in several countries. Most of my applications in the U.S. were postdoctoral positions but also I have asked dozens of applications for work as a technician and assistant. For me the most important is work in science seeking the answer for good questions. I sent requests to very competitive labs and some others more modest. Some of the positions that I have applied were for work under the supervision of PhD students, postdoc or assistants professor with much lower CV than me (in papers and experience). Always I contact with the principal investigator and I don’t send the application until he answers and tells me that I have chances of getting the job. In U.S., except one time that I contacted with an investigator in whose lab I had been already working during my PhD studies (unfortunately some personal reasons mine made me miss this opportunity), I have never gotten a job, even personal or skype interview. I don’t know where is my problem since nobody tells me where is the error, my CV, the referees, error in the application, age (I´m 40 years old). Either way I will continue insisting. The only thing that prevents me for send more job applications is that it is mandatory to put two or three references and some people write to the references automatically. So, after two years sending tens of requests without getting a post, some of my contacts and referees are tired of sending letters of references and I have fear to boring then. All the best Carlos 2013/5/16 Brent Bellinger <[email protected]> > I am looking for some advice to improve my odds of getting past the > initial applicant screenings in USA Jobs. As a research scientist, I've put > together a pretty standard CV, which I've uploaded onto USA jobs and is > used when applying for research positions. I was told recently by a > non-scientist (a helicopter mechanic), the key when applying to positions > through USA jobs is to make sure your resume utilizes key words which helps > it rise to the top of the applicant list. A CV obviously does not have the > depth of detail in terms of outlining skills, abilities, knowledge, etc. > that a resume usually does. I'm wondering if I need to augment my profile > and compliment my CV with a descriptive resume to help my odds of getting > an interview? Is a key-word heavy resume a real and necessary thing in USA > jobs, or have I just had bad luck with the past few positions I've applied > to (i.e., they were not good fits with my skill set)? > > Thanks much for the insight on this matter. > > > Brent Bellinger, Ph.D. > post doctoral scientist > U.S. Environmental Protection Agency > Duluth, MN >
