CV Presentation Skills:
From the perspective of an
“Industrial Scientist”
Gary Gilmour
Your CV as a foot in the door…
• Which “door”?
– “Academic” vs. “Industrial”
• There are many jobs in Industry: both R&D vs. non-R&D
• Also - most companies will have different R&D tracks:
– e.g. technical (no degree), associate (degree), research (PhD)
• What does the “door” look like?
– Your eventual line manager is not normally the first person to review
your CV:
• HR team
• Recruitment agency
• Make sure you fit your CV to what you are applying for!
• If a specific message has to be sold – (especially in your covering
letter) make sure it is understandable to a layperson
www.lilly.co.uk careers section
Accessed 28th September 2015
All FTE positions in UK
The absolutely fundamental requirement
The areas where practical experience would be an advantage
The concepts and issues of interest
The absolutely fundamental requirement
The areas where practical experience would be an advantage
The concepts and issues of interest
#1: The 1-page/30s judgement is probably true…
• Make sure all relevant details are on the first page.
– Statement/Strengths Summary
– Employment/Education (adapt/demote
depending on how long ago your education was!)
– Experience
– Is what you think your proudest moment really
what the job application is looking for? Be
critical…
Strengths
2-4 statements
(relevant)
Employment
(relevant)
Experience
#2: Tailor your experience for each application
• Experience comes in many flavours:
– Education,
– Practical Skills (execution, analysis, interpretation)
– Management, supervision, organisation
– Creativity, Innovation
• Job applications almost always are looking for a perfect mix of different
types of experience – make sure your most relevant experiences are as
visible as possible – it isn’t necessarily only about education
• If it clear that a job application has an emphasis on one domain of
experience (i.e. lab skills), can you make your CV reflect this?
• Appropriate references or letter of support can really make a difference
here!
Qualifications
St. Cross College, University of Oxford (1996-2000) D.Phil. Neuroscience
“Recovery of Function Following Unilateral Lesions of Rat Sensorimotor Cortex”
Supervisor: Dr David Bannerman, Dept. of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
University of Glasgow (1992-1996) B.Sc. (Hons) Pharmacology-1st Class
Licences
Project Licence PPL 70/7430: Novel therapy discovery for neuropsychiatric disorders. May 2012 – present
Project Licence PPL 70/7118: Development of novel pain therapies for pain disorders. June 2011 – May 2015
Personal Licence holder PIL 30/4217: 19 years
Funding
Lilly Research Awards Program Post-Doctoral Grant Awards
 December 2011: “Neuroanatomical and functional characterisation of putative nicotinic 72
receptors in rodent and human brain”. Collaborators: Dr. Jens Mikkelsen, Neurobiology Research
Unit, University Hospital Copenhagen
 August 2014: “From Dopamine to BOLD? Identification of Biomarkers of Antipsychotic Efficacy”.
Collaborators: Dr. Mark Walton, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
BBSRC CASE Studentship Award
 October 2011: “Reward Processing and Schizophrenia”
Academic Supervisor: Dr. Dominic Dwyer, School of Psychology, University of Cardiff
Awards
2012 LRL President’s Scientific Recognition Award
“Establishment and validation of in vivo oxygen amperometry methodologies”
Professional Organisations
British Neuroscience Association, Committee Member - Corporate Representative
September 2013 - Present
Other Experience
Preparation of IND reports for external regulatory body submission.
Involvement in Due Diligence visits.
COSHH/Risk Assessment author and Health & Safety Minor Tour inspector.
External PhD examiner
Students



Jennifer Li, DPhil (2006-2009). “Relationship between brain extracellular oxygen concentration,
neural activity and behaviour using on-line voltammetric biosensors”. Academic Supervisor: Prof.
David Bannerman, Dept. of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
Emma Lydall, PhD (2007-2010). “Palatability and animal models of schizophrenia”. Academic
Supervisor: Dr. Dominic Dwyer, Dept. of Psychology, University of Cardiff
Richard Vivier, MSc (2009-2010). “Evaluation of the effects of chronic desipramine treatment in an
2 page – include all
the other relevant
details that
highlight the
breadth or scope of
your experiences
You can always
include personal
statement s if you
want to spell out
exactly what your
take-home message
is….
Teaching, Grants, Papers – In Industry
• The strongest part of an Academic resume normally, but not always
emphasised in Industry…(ironically) still one of the highest regarded
markers of scientific capability
• Many non-R&D positions will simply not be interested in your
publication/teaching record – it is often sufficient to summarise in a
sentence (!)
• Otherwise, keep as complete records of publications (papers,
posters, presentations) and teaching experience, and use as the
application fits.
• Provide DOIs where possible so that work can be accessed easily
• If you have the portfolio to do it, it can often be more powerful to
provide a brief list of relevant experience, rather than all experience
#3: The balance between promotion and honesty…
• Be prepared to defend the content of your CV!
– Preliminary telephone interviews are fairly normal
– 15-30min presentations on a topic of interest at first interview are
fairly normal
• It is nearly always immediately obvious upon questioning
whether you do have the skills or knowledge you claim to
have. To get this wrong is often a deal-breaker…
• Regularly review your CV – details can often change quickly!