CAREERS AND RECRUITMENT
Career coaching for scientists
Joanne Kamens
Looking to make an investment in your future? There are many experienced coaches willing to help.
P rofessional career coaching can be an
excellent tactic for scientists making a
career shift or who wish to improve their cur-
rent job situation. What can a coach do that
is different from an advisor, boss or mentor?
2015 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.
For scientists still working in academia, profes-
sional coaches have experience and knowledge
to help guide a transition out of the academic
sphere into a meaningful nonacademic science
career. Supervisors in the academic infrastruc-
ture are not always effective in mentoring for
this transition as most have never experi-
enced it. For all scientists seeking professional
growth, a coach can help a client to develop an
action plan for an effective transition and then,
most importantly, be there to hold the client
accountable for carrying through on the plan.
I am also a strong advocate for peer
mentoring (http://blog.addgene.org/form-
your-own-peer-mentoring-circle-a-how-to-
guide-for-scientists), but volunteer mentors
are only able to go so far with their time and
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advice. A professional coach is paid to carry
you through to a successful outcome, and the
good ones take this responsibility seriously.
Investing in a coaching experience will also
help you take the experience more seriously.
If paying for support, you are more likely to
act on advice, make change and reach goals.
I like to compare this to what happens with
personal training at the gym. You will show up
and exercise harder when paying for a personal
training session. It is worth taking advantage of
this quirk of human nature, that we value what
we invest in, to exercise new skills for effective
career growth.
As I make my rounds speaking at research
institutions and at scientific conferences, I see
that few scientists are aware of the benefits of
coaching relationships and do not know where
Joanne Kamens is at Addgene, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, USA.
e-mail: joanne.kamens@addgene.org
668 VOLUME 33 NUMBER 6 JUNE 2015 NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY
to look for a coach. Most graduate students and
postdocs may feel they have limited funds to
invest in formal professional development.
Scientists already working in biotech or
pharma may feel able to afford coaching, but
still dont see this as a good investment for the
future. Most coaches who focus on scientists
are sensitive to this and have coaching plans
that are financially accessible. Sometimes only
a few hours of coaching time can make an
enormous difference, so dont assume that this
will cost a fortune for a successful outcome.
How do I find a coach?
Start with referrals. Are there scientists you
know who have had a successful coaching
experience? Some university career offices,
postdoc offices or professional organizations
can provide referrals. There are bad coaches
out there, so finding a good one that is a style
match for your needs can take some research.
A professional coach will provide an initial
consultation meeting or call for free. Take
advantage of this to get the information you
need to choose well.
It helps to spend some time thinking
about what your goals are for the coaching
relationship. Do you want to change jobs?
Make a dynamite resume? Grow your
professional presence? Learn a key new job
skill? Finish your thesis? Knowing your desired
outcomes will help you assess if the coach you
are interviewing is the one for the job.
What are their qualifications? Do they have
certifications? How can they demonstrate
their track record? Look for a coach that
specializes in scientist coaching.
Always ask for references and follow up with
three or four to hear about those clients
experiences. Good coaches will have loads of
success stories and plenty of people to vouch
for them.
Trust your gutonly work with someone
you connect with. Talk to the coach about
their style and make sure this is a style that
will help you. A good coach usually will
be a clear communicator and make direct
suggestions for improvement and change.
Work with the coach to define how you
will know that the relationship has been
successfulwhat are the desired outcomes?
Ask openly for clear information on costs.
Can you suggest some coaches?
Most coaches have websites you can review,
and most create useful online content in the
form of blogs or articles. Look for them on
Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to see their
online personas. Some have online coaching
tools that can be very effective and also help
keep the coaching costs low. Most will work
with you remotely (by phone, Skype or Google
Hangout) but in-person coaching is nice if you
can get it.
Because I am located in Cambridge,
Massachusetts (and because we have a lot
of scientists here), I know many coaches in
the Boston area. Sarah Cardozo Duncan
(http://careerstrategist.com/about-sarah) is
a proven coach who helps people in science
and tech get jobs. She is also a very popular
speaker and workshop leader. Lauren Celano
of Propel Careers (http://www.propelcareers.
com/) is a professional recruiter who focuses
on scientists. Her website and online content
are rich in resources. Colin White and
Anthony Collmann of White Consulting
(http://www.whiteconsultingllc.com/)
frequently do sessions by Skype or phone.
An experienced coach and speaker is Gwen
Acton of Vivo Group (http://www.vivogroup.
com/) whose tagline is Bridging science and
business. Samantha Sutton (http://www.
samanthasuttonphd.com/) is another very
experienced and successful coach based in
New York.
Maybe you just need help getting through
your PhD? Some coaches focus on graduate
students. For example, Dora Farkas, founder

of Finish Your Thesis (http://finishyourthesis.
com/) offers a free report on her website called
Secrets to success in graduate school. She
has also launched an online career coaching
program that might make her coaching
more affordable for you. There is also a
group, The Dissertation Coach (http://www.
thedissertationcoach.com/), based in Illinois.
A few of the coaches in this group have
scientific backgrounds.
For a stated purpose of transitioning a
scientist from academia to industry, you
might want to consult the Cheeky Scientist
(http://cheekyscientist.com/). Their motto
is We turn academics into confident and
successful industry professionals. This larger
shop might appeal to some, although most
scientist coaches can help with transitioning
out of academia (because so many scientists
are making this transition). Another coaching
group is Still Point Coaching (http://
2015 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.
www.stillpointcoaching.com/next-move/
academic-researchers/). One nice thing
about a group is that sometimes this offers
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NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY VOLUME 33 NUMBER 6 JUNE 2015 669
CAREERS AND RECRUITMENT
the option of matching with the best person
in the group for your needs. Beth Schachter
of Beth Schachter Consulting (http://www.
bethschachterconsulting.com/) is part of
that group and she is especially excellent in
coaching for communication skills.
Industry transition is also an area of
specialty for Michelle Capes at Adeptify Me
(http://www.adeptifyme.com/). Although
based in Madison, Wisconsin, she also works
remotely and has experience as a scientific
recruiter. Chris Humphrey from Jobs on Toast
(http://jobsontoast.com/) is based in the UK,
and scientists there would be lucky to work
with him. He is also available for speaking
engagements as are many of the coaches I have
mentioned.
I have seen a lot of fantastic online content
for PhDs and postdocs posted by Toronto-
based Jennifer Polk of From PhD to Life (http://
fromphdtolife.com/). She runs great tweet
chats, has an outstanding blog and, although
her PhD is in history, I think she would be a
good match as a coach for many scientists.
Sometimes it can be helpful having a
coach who can offer extra support for issues
of diversity in science. A great person to
contact is Twitters @DrQualls. Marquita
Qualls of Entropia Consulting (http://
entropiaconsulting.com/) works remotely, will
travel for speaking engagements and has many
areas of specialty from leadership development
to mentoring for women and under-
represented minorities. Her online content is
of great value. I have never been in contact with
Aida Baida Gil of Coach De La Professional
(http://www.coachdelaprofesional.com/
experimentyourlife/) but the website looks
interesting and it is in English and Spanish.
She is based in Spain.
The bottom linethere are lots of people out
there who want to help. Dont be afraid to ask
and to make an investment in your future.
This article originally appeared in http://blog.
addgene.org/career-coaching-for-scientists/.
COMPETING FINANCIAL INTERESTS
The author declares no competing financial interests.