We already talked about all the roles you can transition to as a lab scientist that wants to leave the bench. But what did you learn in the lab that can be useful for this move ? What kind of transferable skills did you get as a lab scientist ?
That’s the theme of today’s article.
Whether you’re tired of the lab life or you just want to explore other options, there are several lab-learned abilities that you can use to leverage your application to a position in a different setting.
So let’s look at your transferable skills for lab scientists : from the lab to the office
| SKILLS | IN THE LAB | IN THE OFFICE |
| Effective communication | – Writing grants and publications – Summarizing scientific work – Writing reports and presentations – Effective oral communication | – Writing clear and succinct reports – Knowing your audience – Effective oral communication |
| Time management and Organisation | – Coordinating experiments – Prioritizing work – Balancing experiments and writing | – Coordinating projects – Prioritizing time-sensitive projects – Balancing projects |
| Problem solving | – Trouble-shooting experiments – Repairing lab equipment – Finding creative solutions | – Critically reviewing work – Finding creative solutions |
| Adaptability | – Adjusting work according to data or funding – Knowing how to be “a jack of all trades” | – Adjusting priorities based on timelines or resourcing – Accepting new roles in a project |
| Working independently | – Setting your own goals – Working with little supervision – Managing timelines | – Setting your own goals – Working with little supervision – Managing timelines |
| Feedback | – Accepting and learning from feedback from mentors and others scientists – Offering constructive feedback | – Accepting and learning from feedback from supervisor and coworkers – Offering constructive feedback |
| Teamwork | – Collaborating across departments – Working with cross-functional groups – Individually contributing within a team | – Collaborating across departments – Working with cross-functional groups – Individually contributing within a team |
| Technical skills | – Data handling – Technical knowledge | – Data handling – Technical knowledge |
| Ethics | – Questioning hypotheses – Always citing sources – Double-checking results – Honesty and integrity | – Questioning knowledge – Double-checking results – Honesty and integrity |
| Dedication and hard work | – Self-disciplined – Producing quality data – Doing your own research | – Self-disciplined – Producing quality data – Doing your own research |
| If in a supervisor role : Leadership | – Decision making – Conflict resolution – Relationship building – Reliability and trust – Self-awareness – Strategic thinking | – Decision making – Conflict resolution – Relationship building – Reliability and trust – Self-awareness – Strategic thinking |
| If in a lab manager role : Management | – Lab management – Strategic thinking – Problem solving – Adaptability – Flexibility | – Project management – Strategic thinking – Problem solving – Adaptability – Flexibility |
So, as you can see, you have a ton of transferable skills ! You can use them to help you transition to project management, medical writing or even data science.
The best way to make use of this list is to apply it to your cover letter when you put in your application for a new role.
Here are some tips for your cover letter :
Match your qualifications to the job description. Analyze the listing and focus on keywords that describe the role, its duties, and the company’s requirements. Then match your skills, experience, and abilities to their needs, emphasizing how your qualifications translate to the role.
Include examples of projects, teams, or training you’ve been a part of allows the company to gain a better understanding of your background and helps them to see the potential positive impact you’ll make on their business.
Customize your cover letter for every job. That’s very important as some companies use softwares to filter out candidates, using the presence or absence of keywords.
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