SAPA-GP 2003 Student Career Coaching Workshop

Sino-American Pharmaceutical Professionals Association - Greater Philadelphia Chapter (SAPA-GP) co-hosted a Student Career Coaching Workshop with the Department of Chemistry and Chinese Student Association at University of Pennsylvabia, on October 5th (Sunday), from 10:00am to 12:00pm, in Room-102, Department of Chemistry, the University of Pennsylvania.

The workshop was in a format of informal panel discussion between four distinguished pharmaceutical scientists and experienced managers from the pharmaceutical industry and an audience of about 70 students and postdocs. The panelists shared some professional experiences with the perspective pharmaceutical scientists, answered questions with practical and case-specific tips on job hunting, interviewing skills, and career development.

Workshop Chair:

Dr. Daniel H. Yin, Senior Research Biochemist, Merck

Workshop Panelists:

• Dr. P.K. Tsai, Director, Bioprocess and Bioanalytical Research, Merck
• Dr. Xinkang Wang, Senior Research Investigator, Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Dr. Zhi-Xin Xu, Director, Clinical Pharmacology, Hoffman-La Roche
• Dr. Lihu Yang, Director, Medicinal Chemistry, Merck

Some questions discussed:

1. How to evaluate ourselves to make a decision: go to industry or stay in the academia area?
2. What is the most important step when you looked for your first job in industry?
3. What kind of mistakes one should avoid when looking for a job in industry?
4. What mistakes that people easily make when moving from academia to industrial?
5. What would be the glass ceiling for a foreigner who works in the pharmaceutical industry?
6. What kind of quality do you expect from a job candidate / new hire?
7. How to prepare an effective CV?
8. How to prepare for an interview?