10 Things You Can Do to Support Friends on the Job Hunt

If it feels like every other person on your LinkedIn page is searching for employment, you're not alone. We want to acknowledge what a challenging time this is for so many in our community and extended networks.

Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay

Today, we offer some tips on how to encourage people you know, whether personally or through your network, who are currently out of work and seeking their next job.

1) Acknowledge their situation with a supportive comment. Don't scroll by when you see someone post they're out of work. They're in a vulnerable place, and they've taken the risk of posting that online.

2) Reach out personally. If you know them well and have their email or phone number, contact them 

directly. If they're more of a LinkedIn contact, send a direct message. Tell them you're aware of their situation and want to support them. Ask if there's anything you can do immediately, and reassure them you're actively thinking about their situation. 

3) Write a recommendation for their LinkedIn profile without being asked. Give specific reasons why your friend is great in their field.

4) Write a post on your LinkedIn account or other appropriate network about how this friend is an expert in their field. Include specific examples of what they've done and what they could bring to their next position. Make sure you tag them in your post.

5) Connect them to those in your network with similar skills, or people you know who could be hiring soon. Write an email or message linking the two and detailing why you think they should connect.

6) When you see job postings that fit your friend, tag them, send it to them, or even better, personally reach out to draw their attention. With every #hiring announcement you see, ask yourself if your friend could be a good fit.

7) If you know someone in that organization, reach out about the position to recommend your friend. Having an internal recommendation is a big win for job seekers.

8) Offer specific ways to support your friend instead of the blanket "reach out if there's anything I can do." Let your friend know exactly what you're going to do for them. (Connect them to a new company, look over their resume, schedule a quick call or meet up).

9) If you're in the same location, meet face-to-face. Find out what role they're looking for next. Buy them a coffee. Offer a little friendship and stress relief.

10) Check back in with them after a few weeks, and keep checking on them. Put it on your calendar if you need a reminder. Don't drop in once and disappear. 

Photo by Resume Genius on Unsplash

Job hunting can be a long and difficult season. Your support matters, most likely more than you'll ever know. You won't regret being on your friend's team as they job hunt, and you'll get to celebrate when they're hired for their next role. 

Then you can both support someone else in your community who needs a little extra lift as they search for a new role. We hope these small steps give you actionable items to follow as you support a friend on the job hunt. 

**AAS members looking for work, or supporting a friend who is, don't forget to visit the AAS Careers page, where you can find resources on job searches, tips, and more. 

On My Side: Creating Supportive Research Group Spaces

Reposted (with permission) from the blog of Dr. Angela Little.

The below the inaugural episode of the new podcast series "Piecing Together" by Angie Little. Dr. Angela Little is a researcher and independent consultant in college physics education. Her research focuses on students’ experiences with their first year of college physics. She is a co-founder of The Access Network, a national network of equity programs in college STEM. She serves on the APS Committee on Minorities and formerly served on the APS Forum on Education. She resides in Chicago, IL.

Research group spaces play a key role in academia for getting feedback on work-in-progress. Getting feedback can sometimes be a scary or frustrating thing to do, depending on the culture and practices of a particular group.  In this audio piece, I talk to graduate students and the lead faculty member of a math education research group at UC Berkeley. We discuss aspects of how they try to create a constructive and supportive culture for feedback. I hope this piece is a helpful conversation-starter.

Follow "Piecing Together" on Twitter and Soundcloud.
Learn more about this project on Dr. Little's blog.

On Being a Transgender Astronomer

Today's guest post is by Jessica Mink, a positional astronomer and software developer at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, who has written the commonly used software packages WCSTools and RVSAO and worked on a variety of astronomical projects over 40 years. Much of her story is told in this interview with the American Astronomical Society's Working Group on LGBTIQ Equality (WGLE). 

While I consider myself to be a woman astronomer, I have not always been one. Since I made much of my reputation with a different gender expression and remain in the field, I have to accept the fact that I am also a transgender astronomer, and as a representative of that small group, serve as an ambassador to the rest of the astronomical world.

While gradually (over 40 years!) transitioning from male to female, I have thought a lot about gender and its various facets, but when I volunteered to write a blog entry representing my gender minority for the Women in Astronomy blog, I realized that I hadn't been very systematic about it. It is likely that most readers don't have any trans* friends (that they know about), but this far into the 21st century, most thinking people are aware of our existence and might even know of one of us.

Survive Academia with this One Simple Trick!

Cross-posted from Astrobetter:

Dr. Sarah Ballard completed her PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics at Harvard University in 2012 and is now a NASA Carl Sagan fellow at the University of Washington. She’s written articles for the Harvard Crimson and for the Women in Astronomy blog about parental leave, values affirmation, and the intelligence of groups.  On her website, she also provides some resources for running your own Impostor Syndrome workshop.  Follow her on Twitter at: @hubbahubble

Local scientists discover the technique they don’t want you to know about!
(Sarah Rugheimer at left, Sarah Ballard at right)

Postdoc-hood & Infertility: Part 2

Guest Post: the below post was submitted anonymously by an astronomy post-doc.

A few weeks ago I posted about my husband and my quest for fertility. The emails and conversations I’ve had since have been heart-warming. It’s so helpful to hear other people’s stories; those who have happily come out the other side, those who have adopted, and those who are in the thick of it now. It’s also been further confirmation that there are a lot of women and men in STEM juggling infertility issues and career uncertainties. My best wishes goes out to all of you.

In the most general sense, this experience has been a good reminder of the obvious – people present a certain version of themselves at work, but who knows what kinds of obstacles and hardships they’re dealing with outside of work. Remembering this has made me more empathetic in my workplace interactions, treating people with extra gentleness and give.