Finding Mentors + My Top Mentee Tips

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Academic tips, careers, college students, finding mentors, graduate students, mentee, mentor, mentoring, Mentoring Series, science college students, science programs, STEM Mentor, STEM mentors

In my previous post I shared my insight on the different types of mentors and how they have helped me on my journey as a woman in science. No matter what stage you are in your career you can benefit from having a mentor and being a mentor.

Just like many relationships; I have found the best mentors when I was not looking. I was at the right place at the right time. I remember one particular story of finding a mentor. I was at a National Society of Black Engineers Convention and I attended a GEM Consortium Workshop: “Why you should go to graduate school?” I was so impressed, inspired and motivated after the workshop and I realized I found my mentor (the presenter). After the workshop was over I introduced myself and asked him to be my mentor and he said yes. He gave me great advice and the top two takeaway messages I learned were: Remember what you came for and this (insert hardship/challenge you are facing) could be a blessing in disguise.

If you find yourself in a similar situation or find someone who would be a great mentor ask them for advice. People love giving advice. In my experiences, most people said yes. The people who said no were people who were super busy or I learned that they were not a good match for me. How did you find your mentor?

Finding Mentors:

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Different Types of Mentors and My Mentoring Experiences

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Academic tips, careers, college students, Different Types of Mentors, graduate students, higher education, mentor, mentoring, Mentoring Series, science mentor, Types of Mentors

In my last blog post I shared how self-mentoring and understanding what you need in a mentor is the first step when finding a mentor. One of my first mentors was my aunt who is an electrical engineer and she gave me so much insight on my career. In high school I had a mentor that took me under her wing and helped me work on my Gates Millennium Scholarship (GMS) Application. I was so happy when I found out I got the GMS Scholarship, especially after opening a rejection letter from my dream college. These are just two examples of how mentors played a role in my life and I am grateful that they were my mentors. Fast forward years later one of my professors told me that I will need different types of mentors. And he was right!

Different Types of Mentors:

Superwoman: Achieving Work-Life Balance

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AAWiSTEM, balance, careers, Dr. Amy Freeman, lifestyle, science careers, STEM careers, Women History Month, work-life balance

First I want to say I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Easter and Happy Women’s History Month! I can’t believe this is my first blog post of 2016 because I took a blogging hiatus. It feels good to get back into the swing of blogging. Last year was a busy year for me. I had work, blogging, projects, coursework, a personal life and many things going on. I had to take a step back and realize I need to reevaluate some things in my life to achieve a better work-life balance.

Even though I’m a young and healthy woman I have to remember I cannot do it all. I’m all for being a superwoman, but this superwoman needs a break. I’ve been reading a few blog posts here and there; talking to other women about this issue and realized that a superwoman needs to know her limits. In addition, a superwoman has to start saying “no”. When you say “no” that does not mean that you are being “rude”. A superwoman asserts herself and is confident. If you want to learn more about how you can be the best superwoman you can be in the workplace check out the book, Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office by Lois P. Frankel.

Besides this Lois P. Frankel’s book I recommend reading Dr. Amy Freeman’s book about work-life balance, Stress Less: 10 Balancing Insights on Work and Life. I did a Mademoiselle Spotlight on her last year and talked about how she is an inspiration to me as an African-American Woman in Science. She is a wonderful mentor and in her book I learned so many things about how I can achieve work-life balance.

My Summer Reading List II

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books, careers, inspirational books, reading, reading list

Now that summer is coming to an end and many people are back from vacation I decided this was a good time for me to share what I’ve been reading this summer. I had so many books in mind and it was hard to narrow down. If you checked out my spring reading list you will notice I picked a lot of books about careers and this summer I picked up some more.

My Summer Reading List II:

My Spring Reading List II

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books, careers, impostor syndrome, inspirational women, leadership, lindsay pollak, reading, reading list, women empowerment

Now that spring is here its time to share my spring reading list. Since spring is a time to refresh yourself I decided to read books focusing on being successful. If you are feeling drained or unmotivated after this long winter, reading these types of books will help you get back on track. Here’s to getting motivated!

My Spring Reading List:

My Informational Interview Tips

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career change, career planning, careers, info interviews, informational interviews, networking, science careers, science mentor, STEM careers

Before subscribing to Science Mentor’s blog I was not familiar with informational interviews. After having my share of informational interviews I have learned a few things along the way. Here are my tips for informational interviews:

Let’s get started!

Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientists: MySciCareer

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BiochemBelle, careers, easternblot, mademoiselle scientist, my sci career, Resources for scientists, science careers, socialinsilico, spotlight, Spotlight on Science, STEM careers, women in science, women in STEM

Last week I was reading Biochem Belle’s blog post, Changing Course, Part 3: Open exploration. This post was a continuation post and she shared how the myIDP tool helped her figure what she wanted to do next in her career. After spending time on the myIDP tool she discovered, MySciCareer.com. Since I never heard MySciCareer I had to explore and decided this would be a be a great double Feature Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientist post. After all I enjoy finding new resources for scientists. Thank you, Biochem Belle for sharing this resource and I look forward to reading more about your changing course series!

Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientists: MySciCareer:

MySciCareer was founded by two Mademoiselle Scientists that are biochemists, Eva Amsen and Lou Woodley. Eva is the Outreach Director at F1000 Research and Lou is currently a freelance community engagement specialist. Another cool thing about these Mademoiselle Scientists is that they are both bloggers and are big on science outreach. They both have lots of writing and blogging up their sleeve. Eva launched and ran the developmental biology blog, the Node, shares her musician side on her blog, MusiSci, and blogs on easternblog.net and The Finch and Pea. Lou founded and served as Managing Editor of BlueSci Magazine, If you want to see more of her, check out her blog, Social in Silico, where she integrates people, science and technology.

It’s great to see fellow Mademoiselle Scientists that are bloggers and collaborating. When I started Mademoiselle Scientist I only knew about a handful of women in STEM bloggers, now every day my list is growing! If you know any blogs I should check out link them below in the comments section. I’m glad these Mademoiselle Scientists decided to come together to create MySciCareer. 

My Winter Reading List II

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books, careers, inspirational books, leisure reading, motivational books, reading list

I hope you all are staying motivated and warm this winter. This Polar Vortex is insane. I like to keep my mind off the cold with a good book and some tea. This winter I want to read books that will motivate me and are career-focused.

Here’s What I’m Reading This Winter

How to Have Fun Networking During Holiday Parties:

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careers, lifestyle, networking

‘Tis the season! Between decorations, good food and holiday parties this is the season to have some fun! You can count on Holiday parties from now until January (maybe even February depending on where you live). Relieve the stress from the fall and welcome winter with the fun festivities of holiday parties. Plus it’s a great time to network!

How to Have Fun Networking During Holiday Parties:

Career Corner: Career Exit Strategy Reflection of the #ECRChat hosted by Science Mentor

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career, career change, career planning, careers, ECRChat, reflection, science careers, science mentor, transition, twitter chat, vaccine careers

On Thursday, August 21 I participated in a Twitter Chat #ECRChat hosted by Science Mentor. When I found out that Science Mentor would be hosting the chat I knew it would be informative because she has many resources on her blog. Check out her post about Self-Mentoring and using the myIDPtool.

Thursday’s #ECRChat topic was about How to Develop a Career Exit Strategy. A Career exit strategy is a short-term plan (1-2 years) to maintain professional life during a career transition. If you want to find out more information check out Science Mentor’s career exit strategy post. Last year I shared my experience using the myIDP tool. Using this tool helped me get a better idea of what I need to do to get in the career I want.

If you are new to my blog I am a toxicologist and I want to become a vaccinologist, specifically developing malaria and dengue vaccines. I have thought about this career for a long time. Now, that you know a bit more about me let’s get started with my reflection of the #ECRChat hosted by Science Mentor:

Main Points from the How to Develop a Career Exit Strategy #ECRChat Hosted by Science Mentor: