Working with Karen Carodozo taught me how to mine my own past experiences and academic job documents for the alt-ac market. She was so positive and fun to work with – academia can leave people ashamed of what they don’t know and I started this process really embarrassed about my resume and cover letter. I went from thinking I had very few marketable skills to writing a cover letter and beautiful resume which I read and think I would hire me! Karen pointed out what needed to be fixed and left me encouraged at the same time. After finishing my documents, I feel more confident about myself and my chances of getting a job which in itself is well worth the money I spent. I have to admit I’m a little sad to be finished, as working with Karen was so motivating and helpful.
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I want to give special thanks to Karen Cardozo, a member of the Post-Ac team, for a great SKYPE session. She is the kind of mentor we all wish we had – warm, encouraging, and very knowledgeable. I’d take her home if I could but will settle for having her on my team.
I should add that our consultation was part of the FREE initial SKYPE meet currently being offered to determine if I wanted to work with her further. Karen Cardozo showed herself to be a consummate professional by preparing for our session with pointed questions and even reviewing my materials to get a better sense of what I needed PRIOR to our Skype session. She did not need to do all this, but she did and it showed her passion for what she does. During our talk she was present, engaging and clearly knew what she was talking about. I now look forward to working with her and know I will be more confident on the market because of our collaboration.
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Working with Karen Cardozo I realized there is an art to how you express yourself on paper and it is very important doing it right when looking for a new career/job. She has the ability to help you realize where you shine and how to market those skills. She was especially good at showing me how to align my materials with the position; she suggested changes that responded more directly to the job description and made me seem like a great fit. She worked with me extremely diligently at various hours just to help me meet my application deadlines. Working with her I learned much more than I ever expected in return.”
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Maggie Gover, You did an amazing job! My resume is now concise and straightforward. You took the best of my cover letter and made it…well…better! I thank you very much and will let you know how things turn out.
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I just wanted to send a note to thank you for connecting me with Darcy Hannibal. She was incredibly helpful during our last-minute mock interview, and helped me to think more strategically about how to communicate my skills regardless of the specific questions asked. This helped me to feel more ‘in control’ of the interview than I have ever felt before. I received a job offer yesterday!
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Darcy Hannibal, Thanks again for all your help–learning the conventions of the resume and Linked-In profile, and their differences from the CV, has proven eye-opening and boosted my confidence in moving forward with researching post-ac positions. I particularly appreciated the practical, detailed advice and rationales for improving both docs!
I am so happy Jessica Langer came into my life. The process of finding a job can be tough. Then add to it the lack of confidence I was (and still am) dealing with after completing a PhD. I felt like I was on roller coaster (and still have many “moments”). Jessica helped me find balance, and a job.
Our initial Skype call ended with a plan of action. I was applying to staff researcher and postdoc positions outside of academia that were focused on research within a military context. With Jessica’s help and direct feedback, I quickly submitted two competitive application packages. Within a month from that first call I had interviews scheduled for both jobs (I had submitted several previous applications resulting in no interviews). After an interview prep session, both interviews went off without a hitch. I was offered a postdoc position at a non-academic research institute that aligns well with my skills and interests (which is an understatement it is a seemingly perfect fit).
I didn’t really realize it at the time but I needed more than professional development help. I needed an advocate and someone to help me believe I was worthy of a good job. Jessica showed me how to embrace and market my strengths without feeling like I was over selling myself. She provided me with wonderful, thoughtful, thorough, and speedy guidance. She helped build my confidence through honest, no holds feedback. In the end I have a new job and a new friend. The process of finding a job can be tough, but with the right help and support it can be less painful.
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“I just finished my first week as an analyst at [elite university]. This is a research/administrative role. My lovely boss left flowers on my desk on my first day, and the generous staff benefits will allow me to study business analytics, user research, and usability research while sharpening my statistics. So, it should put me in good stead for what comes next. Want to thank you both, Karen and Jessica Langer, for your help! I sing your praises to dazed and confused doctoral students and PhDs. You guys are the best!”
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I found Allessandria Polizzi to be a great resource, and I would recommend her to your clients. In our brief conversation, she helped me identify some key areas to work on as I make my transition into a non-academic workplace again, and she offered concrete tips (including reading suggestions) to help me get through the first ninety days. As a consultant, she is efficient, targeted, and thoughtful but not without a sense of humor.
I worked with Allessandria Polizzi, and she was indispensable. Coming from the world of academia, I was completely flummoxed at much of the vocabulary and concepts inherent to the industry search process. If you’ve never heard of an executive recruiter, couldn’t easily explain what a “strike price” is at a dinner party (hint: it has something to do with your stock options), and you think a “relo” is a type of candy and “circle back” is a species of lizard, then I would highly encourage you to investigate this service. Any career transition can be scary, but being able to talk so much of it through with Allessandria and take advantage of the general and very specific advice she offered took a lot of the mystery out of this process.
I went from a ball of stress, having trouble eating and sleeping, to a confident candidate as I learned how to take the reigns and drive the offer negotiation process.
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