Path to my First Job

During my job search, I'd heard descriptions such as green, inexperienced, eager, enthusiastic. I'm young with limited industrial experience, coming from a loosely connected educational path. From community college to chemical engineering with a minor in bioengineering to translational medicine to clinical research? And I also studied in Hong Kong for three years? It's certainly no straight shot career path.

All in all, I've learned a lot from each step of the way.


Community College

When I was a high school senior, my parents' combined income suddenly hit zero, and suddenly a four-year college seemed impractical when financial aid offices thought I was still from a lower middle class family. So I decided to go to community college; there, I learned a bit about supporting myself and aiming for the stars. I was the smart cookie but my perspective broadened. Smart people are everywhere; it's life circumstances that differentiate us on the societal scale.

It's not about the cards you've been dealt, it's how you play your hand.


Bachelor of Engineering

After my 2-year stint in community college, I went to Hong Kong with a scholarship and pursued my B.Eng in Chemical and Bioproduct Engineering.

Fun fact: Chemical engineering is not math, physics, and chemistry combined, at least where I studied it. It's actually a whole beast of its own, playing with more open than closed systems, heavy computational power, and chemical manufacturing processes. If you want to make millions in the oil/chemicals industry, then study this. If not, I'd investigate the program more to see if it's really what you want... If I had wanted math, physics, and chemistry combined, I should have pursued biophysics. Then I would have fulfilled my desire to dive into theory.

However, engineering did teach me many invaluable things. For example:

• Approach a problem through a systems framework by piecing together specifications, known and unknown variables, relationships (equations), and goals. 
• Always look to innovate and optimize processes/products - this is the ultimate job of the engineer.
• I learned how to work in a team and manage relationships with supervisors and teammates.
• Make smart decisions from a business perspective. Are products easily integrated into current markets or processes? Or, do you intend to be a disruptive technology - in which case, how will you go about transforming existing trends so that your technology or product is adopted?
• Think outside of the box. Or draw a bigger box. (Life is an open system, after all!)

Hong Kong, needless to say, overwhelmed me with lessons on independence, adaptation, time
management, and interpersonal skills. I always felt like I was behind the curve, so to speak. But I worked hard to overcome many of my weaknesses. Undergraduate education was a very exploratory part of my life - where I was unknowingly trying to discover who I was, what I was good at, and what kept me motivated. I had a keen interest and ability in almost everything I did but when things became difficult, be it schoolwork, financial, or social, I would fall out and fail to follow through.

During this time, I was also in a long distance relationship with a nice guy back home. That relationship kept me grounded and also kept me ambitious at the same time. He validated me and my dreams and it was awesome but at some point we, cliche as it is, somehow got too comfortable and that suppressed personal growth on both our parts.


Master's Degree

After getting my B.Eng and leaving HK with limited success, I entered a selective master's program, which I felt would teach me everything I needed to know to enter the professional world of biotech and translational medicine.

I came in with a few goals in mind. I was going to connect the dots of my seemingly disjointed career path and, therefore, find what I really wanted in my next career steps.

Professionally, some career-related observations I made were the following:

• I loved working with people
• I enjoyed challenge and cross-functional projects, which is what is appealing about research
• I like working on many projects and thrive in the start-up phase of projects
• I want a career in healthcare and biomedical innovation

In the end, I knew I wanted to begin my career in clinical research. And pursue a doctorate after five years.


A Crash Course in Personal Growth

Midway through my master's, my boyfriend and I broke up. And, I'll be Captain Obvious here, but my life really seemed to change from that point.

For years while I was in a relationship, I had been comfortable. My main problem had been that my attention was constantly focused outward... on my significant other... on the validation received and not received from my S.O. or friends or family... on outward signs of achievement. That is like building your house on sand. Yes, in many ways, I had always been pushing myself outside of my comfort zone but my attention was not focused on myself: inward for strength and change.

I approached life after the breakup not hating or blaming my boyfriend for breaking up with me - I loved him, and out of love, I was forced to examine myself. I realized that I was severely lacking in emotional maturity and still acted on traumas accrued from my childhood and former friendships/relationships. I had a strong desire to change for the better so that the best possible outcome could be achieved and I ended up going to counseling/therapy (a free service provided to Cal students).

Through counseling, I developed my own process for gaining the surety and confidence that I needed:

1. Admit I am way too self-critical, to a paralyzing extent
2. Practice self-compassion
3. Identify my own value and love myself (self-understanding)
4. Love others
5. Re-evaluate and ensure my inner values match my actions
6. Pursue change or improvement where necessary
7. Repeat steps where necessary

The important thing about "lifelong learning" is that you develop a habit for change - extending out to career goals as well as personal goals. We should be content with our lives without being comfortable. We should be happy with our lives without losing hunger.

The Hunt

"Don't forget to be awesome." That is a good slogan - not because it is easy but because it is hard. Being awesome requires constant vigilance. (Hank from vlogbrothers)

The past few months during "The Hunt" put everything I learned to the test. The lessons went from playing my hand right to engineering problem solving and persistence circling back to my ideas for a career to confidence. It was stressful. There was uncertainty and fear. There were moments where I wanted to take steps backward or give up. There were moments where I doubted my optimism would last me... I was financially at my wit's end.

But here I am now. I've got all this education, training, and now, confidence. I know who I am, what I want, and how to attain it.

And at this juncture in life, I'm proud to say that I've accepted a job offer as a Clinical Research Coordinator at UCSF in the Department of Ophthalmology, Ocular Oncology.

I am officially the new kid on the block.

(Official "Career" labeled post will be made once I get the official letter and start date.)

The First Job Offer!

Currently Listening: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, How Will I Know (Whitney Houston)
Movies Watched: Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Note to Self: NEVER drink anything caffeinated after 10am.

After 2.5 months, I finally got a job offer! For a position (clinical research coordinator) that I think will be very rewarding during my early stage career path. And I'd be managing a project that would be very interesting, with huge clinical implications for the UCSF system. The position starts out part time while the major grants are being written but is expected to expand to full time soon.

During the job hunt, I've been blessed with experiencing the highs and lows, the blunders and achievements, of "the search." And now that I'm in phase III, I feel very blessed to have gone through this. It was stressful (it still is) but now that there's something on the table, a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. The stressors related to being poor now appear to have an end.

My interviewer, who was the doctor I would work under, offered me this job on the spot. It was only the first interview, so I was pretty blindsided by the offer. However, I did feel very valued because of that and both he and the second interviewer graciously acknowledged that I would need time to make my decision. He also seems like an amazing person to work with - a visionary, a great mentor, and is extremely well-respected.

Right now I still have some decision-making to do because I'm still waiting to hear back from another department - I will write about the decision process in a later post once I officially move forward with something. To help with the process, I've been speaking to people whose opinions I value and a former teammate of mine told me to rank the things I personally look for in a first job. Then I can evaluate each opportunity based on what's important to me. So here goes.

Ranking essential aspects of a potential first job:

1) Experience: My number one goal is to gain transferable project management skills involving different kinds of people (clinicians, patients, academics, industry). This means further developing organizational and planning skills as well as consistent follow-through and execution. Secondary to that, I'd like to refine my interpersonal and presentation skills, be able to write grants, co-author or author a few publications, and become very well-versed in clinical research development (protocol, IRB, regulatory affairs, etc.). I would also like something to "show off" - something tangible that I can be very proud of.

2) Compensation: I've got bills to pay and my mouth to feed and things to save up for! But I'm not looking to make bank yet. I'm just looking to survive, pay back my student loans, live comfortably, and have enough to help out my siblings and parents.

3) Mentorship: I would like to find others whose career path or personality I can model myself after, who are as equally invested in my career as I am in supporting theirs. Whether it's vision, influence, or competency, mentorship would take me very far in terms of personal and professional development.

4) Alignment with scientific interests: I obviously have been pursuing fitness and sports for a very long time and I would really love to work in a field that has neurological applications - specifically, movement disorders and neurological rehabilitation. However, my past experience is most relevant to biomaterials and pharma/oncology.

Stay tuned!

Soul Groove (It's a Waltz!)

Currently Listening: Motown: The Musical, Original Broadway Cast Recordings
Food: http://www.yelp.com/biz/soul-groove-san-francisco

MOTOWN WAS SO GOOD.

I don't know what it is about Motown music that always makes me want to get up and boogie. I love love love music from the old days. So when I heard Motown was coming to town, I had to go. I just had to.

My expectations were managed by the reviews I read on Motown; how it's exhausting, and long, and lacking in storyline (I don't agree), but the music speaks for itself.

The first half of Motown has a lot of exposition - almost too much... such that I was left wondering when intermission was. It was very drawn out. I think, generally, one goes into an autobiographical musical not knowing what to expect anyway - especially when it's about the 25 year history of a music production company. How do you even do that in a linear manner? Also, there is so much music that came out of Motown, that people are going to want their favorite songs serviced.

The second half, though, had so much emotion and I loved it and I knew what to expect. I especially loved the Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) number, which involved [unsurprisingly talented] audience interaction, and really showed off the stage presence of Allison Semmes, who played Diana Ross. That was the moment I realized Diana Ross meant it when she asserts "You say it, I can do it" to Mr. Gordon. In other words, she owns it.

The actor who played young Michael Jackson, Leon Outlaw Jr. was SO ADORABLE that I would almost squeal and jump up from my seat whenever he took the stage to begin a musical number. Everything from "I Want You Back" to "ABC" to "The Love You Save" to "I'll Be There" was perfect - his facial expressions, his joy, his talent shined in this performance.

Jarran Muse (Marvin Gaye) also gave an emotional performance of Mercy, Mercy Me, which I loved in this musical (unplugged) better than the original studio recording.

And of course, anything with Stevie Wonder made me laugh. Perfect touch of comedy.

I think that Motown gets away with a lacking storyline because the audience it attracts is probably very intimate with the music, grew up with it, and therefore knows the musical's historical context. Still, I think, as someone who grew up during the tail end of the Motown era, the musical balanced service to the music and to the story plot. If you pay attention to the nuances and stage direction thrown in, it's pretty easy to infer historical context and the ideas they were hurtling past. It is called... "Motown: The Musical" after all. And if you come for the music and the entertainment, that's what you'll get!

I will say that Motown: The Musical definitely had the potential to delve deeper into many higher-level ideas - like how Motown helped blur the lines of racial segregation, the musical significance of Motown during Dr. MLK's assassination, the value of pursuing your dream and not giving up. They just chose to emphasize romance and I was definitely left unsatisfied because the romantic ending felt ambiguous and incomplete. Did they get back together? Are they just friends now and has he been left to accept that? What is the emotional significance here? After 2.75 hours, I'd forgotten the initial dialogue at the beginning of the musical so I didn't know what it was that led him to come back for the 25th Anniversary Celebration... Then again, it makes sense that they would focus on the romance - it was a big part of Berry Gordon's life and is also the only storyline that spans the entire history of Motown.

Bottom line: The music was awesome and it was exactly what I wanted. 9.5/10

P.S. I definitely recommend going up to the pit band during intermission at Orpheum Theatre and talking to the talented guys that work there. They are super friendly! Please tell them that they are doing an awesome job. We found out that they actually don't get to see the production at all.... :(

Top 10 Musical Numbers:

1. Mercy Mercy Me (Marvin Gaye)
2. Can I Close the Door  (Motown: The Musical original)
3. Do You Love Me (The Contours)
4. I'll Be There (Jackson 5)
5. I Want You Back/ABC/The Love You Save medley (Jackson 5)
6. Reach Out and Touch (Diana Ross)
7. Happy Birthday/Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Stevie Wonder)
8. War (Edwin Starr)
9. Dancing in the Street (Martha & The Vandellas)
10. Baby Love/Where Did Our Love Go/Stop! in the Name of Love (The Supremes)

Phases of The Hunt

Currently Listening: Believe (Cher), Hips Don't Lie (Shakira), Fearless (Taylor Swift)
Currently Reading: Deciphering the Cosmic Number: The Strange Friendship of Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung (Arthur I. Miller)
Movies Watched: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy (Yep, all three.)

As I mentioned in a previous post, job hunting has been very enlightening. Learning how to package and market myself has been key to everything. As much as I thought I knew how to do this already, I've realized that I actually wasn't that great at it. I'd gone to numerous personal branding talks and career talks but none that were very specific to me. In addition, I didn't know squat about what potential employers were looking for. And for this reason, I really wish the MTM program had provided more career development support, but at the same time it was really my responsibility - so I'm undecided at the moment on what can actually be done to improve things (perhaps stronger alumni relations?).

Many people have noted that job searching is like a full-time job in itself - a sentiment I would agree with. I've adapted the phases of the hunt from this post on TheLadders.com.

Phase I: Preparation

First Attempts and Refining my Career Objectives
a.k.a. Bumbling Around in the Dark

+ Look at countless job descriptions and try to understand how you fit in
+ Submit a few resumes and CVs
+ Get limited responses
+ Revise resume/CV
+ Revise lame cover letter for a more kick-ass cover letter
+ Accumulate different versions of resumes and cover letters for different job descriptions
+ Revise your "elevator pitch" and career narrative

Phase II: Search

Articulation and Practice

+ A handful of in-person and phone interviews are under your belt now
+ Understand which jobs align with your goals and which are great fits for you
+ Submit more job applications - there's a rhythm to this now and you're able to churn out more applications because you've had so much practice
+ Revisions to cover letter and resume/CV are just touch-ups
+ Meet recruiters and develop positive relationships with them
+ Get feedback from recruiters - this part is pivotal
+ Encounter and have prepared responses for common interview questions
+ Write out STAR responses and practice delivery
+ Capable of articulating what you want, who you are, and what you've done
+ If you're persistent, then towards the end of this phase, regular interviews and resume queries are made on a week by week basis
+ Continue to network and get to know other people! (For example, I went to a Bay Area Geek Girl event hosted by Zendesk)

Phase III: Close

(I'm still in early stages so this description is not very complete)

+ Regular interviews and resume queries continue
+ Continue job applications and don't bank on any one job
+ Give 110% for every job lead
+ Interviewing comes more easily now
+ You are confident in who you are and know how to convey your enthusiasm and qualifications better than before, though this is in constant development
+ Preparation for interviews is key, including articulating out loud and written responses
+ Follow-up with interviews is even more key
+ Frame your responses to interviewers as if you have something to contribute!

+ Hopefully more than one offer pops up within the same time frames - then you can choose something!

I write this because I just got off the phone from an interview that I thought went pretty well. There have been so many leads as of late and I think I'm in the later stages of phase II and early phase III - so I really hope something leads somewhere! The [awesome] recruiter I am working with from Aerotek for another job has been especially helpful in helping me understand where I stand among hiring managers. As someone who is young with a master's degree but limited industry experience, what I have going for me is my enthusiasm and ability to learn on the job and I would need to convince hiring managers that I can bring something meaningful to the company and get up to speed quickly.

It's been a little disconcerting not hearing anything from my "dream job" as of yet but I'm keeping at it! All the while, the only ways I've kept sane during this time period have been to keep hanging out with friends, read more books, practice my Spanish, and re-familiarize myself with coding language.

Side note: Wow, weekly blogging has somehow been very helpful with internally organizing my thoughts. Forcing myself to write is a useful ! =D Future posts need to be written on (1) my recent trip to Crater Lake National Park and the Oregon Caves for Labor Day and (2) my thoughts on the Star Wars prequel. I also need to find some way to watch the old Star Trek TV series.... Hrrrm.