While learning how to become a cosmetic scientist is fun, it doesn’t do you much good if you don’t have a job. Sure, you could start your own company and we love to encourage people to do that, but if you are like most people, you’ll first get a job working for someone else.

Cosmetic Science Jobs

Here are a few places that you might find cosmetic science jobs.

Careers in Cosmetics
This is a site that helps connect employers with job seekers. You can post your resume and search for cosmetic science jobs by job title, company, and location. If you’re searching for a job in the beauty industry, you should be looking here.

Indeed.com
This website takes aggregate results from a variety of online job search sites and puts them conveniently in one place. You can search by job title or location. It also gives you alternative terms which will help you expand your search. For example, if you search for cosmetic chemist, it will suggest cosmetic formulator.

Juju
This job search engine is much like Indeed.com but it seems to give slightly different results.

Twitter
Many people are finding that Twitter can help them make connections with important people and are landing jobs directly. Here is an articles that gives you 50 tips on using Twitter to find a job. After you create your twitter presence, start following all the people in the cosmetic industry that you can find. You can start with this list of >20 cosmetic chemists on twitter.

Society of Cosmetic Chemists
Many of the SCC chapters have job listings in their monthly newsletters. Most of the chapters have websites where you can read their newsletters online. So, if you’re looking go to one of the SCC chapters (find them at the National SCC webpage) and look at their newsletters.

Finally, here is a list of 10 of the best job hunting websites as decided by DigitalTrends.com.

Is there a job finding website that we missed? Leave a comment below and let your fellow cosmetic chemists know.

Getting a degree in chemistry will teach you a lot about science but not much about having a chemist job. We’ve previously talked about what you can do to start a cosmetic chemist career, but you might be wondering what your experience will be like.

Types of companies that hire cosmetic chemists

There are a wide range of companies that hire cosmetic chemists including finished goods manufacturers, contract manufacturers, testing houses, raw material suppliers, etc. Among all these companies you will find both big corporations (>$5 billion in yearly revenue), small companies (<$10 million in yearly revenue), and a few in-between. Having worked at a company that made the transition from small company to big and having talked to many cosmetic scientists who work at different companies, I’ve put together this list of pros and cons of working at either type.

Ideally, you’ll get to choose the type of company you work for. Or maybe you took the first job that came along and you’re wondering if another company would be better. This comparison of companies will help you decide what is best for you.

Compensation

Big companies almost always have better compensation packages than small companies. They have HR departments who analyze different corporations around the world to determine exactly the salary range they should be paying you. Typically, you’ll start on a lower pay scale then get modest raises over time. When you get a promotion, you get put up to the next salary range.

Small companies try to keep costs low so they tend to pay the minimum that they can get away with. However, they are much more flexible than a corporation and you can sometimes get a bigger salary than you might have gotten from a big corporation if the owner likes you or the company had a particularly good year.

Verdict: On average, chemist compensation at a Big Company is better than at a Small Company.

Resources

Big companies don’t mind spending money on equipment for all their chemists. You’ll usually have your own work space, your own mixers, lab equipment, computer, etc. You’ll have access to a corporate library with all the important cosmetic science books. You’ll also have access to analytical equipment that can be useful when trying to develop new products. Overall, Big Companies let you use cool stuff!

Small companies are much more limited. You often have to share mixers, balances, and most lab equipment. You probably won’t have access to much more than a GC, IR or Mass Spectrometer. As far as research goes, the Internet and the public library are your best bets.

Verdict: More money means better equipment and more resources. In this area, the Big Company is better than a Small Company.

Chemist Colleagues

Big Companies hire more people so you will potentially have access to a wide range of experience and abilities. For a cosmetic chemist just starting out, this can be a great opportunity to learn. That is, if you can get anyone to pay attention to you. Office politics often keeps people with the most experience too busy to mentor younger chemists. At a smaller company, there are less people but you will often be paired up with someone who has been in the industry for a long time and has a ton of experience. It’s much easier to learn from them as you’ll work more directly with them.

As in any situation when there are more people there is more chance of conflict. The office politics in a Big Company can be frustrating and get in the way of learning and doing good science. Small companies are not immune to office politics but it is much easier to work around.

Verdict: This one is a wash. There will be more people to learn from at a Big Company, but office politics and corporate structure makes it harder to learn.

Job Security

On the whole, working at a Big Company offers a bit better job security than at a Small Company. In a Big Company, it is easier to get away with doing mediocre work because your impact on the overall company is not as noticeable. At a Small Company, if you are slacking off someone will notice. But even beyond job performance, a Big Company is much less likely to be bought out by another company. Small companies (especially successful ones) are frequently the target of a Big Company take-over. Often when this happens, the lab people from the Small Company are either laid off or required to transfer out of state.

Verdict: For the most part, Big Companies off more job security.

Job Flexibility

Big Companies follow specific rules that are created by lawyers and HR departments. These cover things like sick time, personal days, work hours, etc. Unless you can work out some deal with your boss (sometimes you can) you pretty much have to follow the company work rules to the letter of the policy. In a small company, policies are often determined by a person who doesn’t specialize in human resources. This could allow for much more flexibility than at a big corporation. Of course, if you happen to work for a tyrant, then things are even less flexible than at a big company.

Verdict: Overall, a Big Company will be less flexible than a Small Company.

Creative Control

One of the best things about being a cosmetic chemist is the ability to create your own formulas and see your own ideas come to fruition. In a Big Company it will take many years and a lot of schmoozing to get one of your ideas developed into a product. Big Companies are generally not set up to allow chemists the freedom to create. You will be limited to the types of ingredients you can use, the types of products you can make, the types of packaging, the specifications, etc. Big Companies work because they can make a lot of product in an efficient way. This necessarily limits your choice.

Small companies are less limited. When you are responsible for the formulation, scale-up, performance testing, stability testing, claims substantiation and everything else that goes into a product, you become a key influencer in what the end product looks like. When you have a small marketing department they are more reliant on you to come up with clever new product ideas.

Verdict: You’re more likely to be able to flex your creativity at a Small Company.

Responsibility

In a Big Company, research and development is highly segregated. You often work on a small product line of a big brand and have to focus on something like formulation, testing, or product evaluation. There are different groups who each handle some aspect of the formula. Your responsibility for the overall product is limited. In a Small Company, you frequently are responsible for everything from the start of product development through all the testing and production. Also, you frequently have to work on multiple product types including emulsions, solutions, powders, etc.

Verdict: If you want the maximum amount of responsibility for a formula, a Small Company is the place to work.

Impact on the Company

Finally, we look at the impact you can have on a company. In a Big Company, your impact on the overall performance of the company is severely limited. It is easy to get lost and not stand out among your peers both in R&D and those in other departments like Marketing and Sales. This isolated feeling can make you feel less important and the truth is, in a Big Company, no one person is terribly important. Everyone can be easily replaced. In a Small Company, you are definitely replaceable too, but it’s just harder. The skills and ability of one person can directly affect the bottom line of a company. You often know the owner of the company personally and can frequently tell them your ideas.

Verdict: Working for a Small Company will make you feel more important than working for a Big Company.

Which Chemist Job Should you Get?

This is tough to answer as it depends much on what is important to you. If you want a job where you can have access to cool stuff, be well-paid, and have a fairly stable existence, then a Big Company is for you. However, if you want to make a difference, have an impact on the company, and maximize your creative abilities, a Small Company makes more sense.

Of course, for many people neither option is satisfactory. If you want to maximize creative control, flexibility, and financial potential, nothing can beat starting your own successful company. That just takes a bit more work.

What kind of company do you think is best to work at? Leave a comment below.

I received the following question and it’s a pretty common situation that most new science majors will find themselves in.

Although I have an excellent educational/research background in the field of Antioxidants, many skills/lab techniques in the field of Biochemistry, I cant find a job in cosmetic science. What would you do if you were in my position??

I’m not exactly sure how things work in Europe as I’ve never worked there. However, if it’s anything like here in the US, I would suggest you try the following to get a job in the cosmetics industry.

1. Identify companies that hire cosmetic scientists. This way you’ll know where you might find a job. Don’t limit it to finished goods makers. Look also at raw material suppliers that make surfactants, emollients, specialty chemicals, etc. There are cosmetic chemist jobs there too.

2. Start off in a QA/QC job. Ultimately, you don’t want to stay in one of these jobs as they aren’t really cosmetic chemistry and you’ll probably get bored. However, you can learn a lot and you can use the experience to meet new contacts & improve your resume. If you can get a technician job that would be great too. Don’t worry about what your first job is. Remember, it is just a way to get started in the industry.

3. Go through a temp agency. Many lab jobs are filled by people who first started off at the company as a temporary worker. In the US, we’ve got companies that help place temporary lab workers into companies. If they have something like that where you live, it’s a great way to start.

4. Use social networking. The key to finding a job is to meet the right person. Social networking on the Internet is an excellent way to meet new people. I would suggest you start using LinkedIn. This is like Facebook but for professionals. You can identify people in companies and building your network on LinkedIn can certainly help you identify jobs & important contacts.

Getting an advanced degree in cosmetic science is helpful, but it is only one step on the way to getting a job in cosmetic science. Ultimately, you need to meet people who work in the industry and have them introduce you to the people who are hiring. An advanced degree only helps with that a little.

Good luck!

“What does a formulation scientist do every day?”

This was a question I received in an email from someone who was doing some research about different chemist careers. And if this person wanted to know about it, it makes sense that some of you might be wondering the same thing. So, here it is, 75 things that a formulation scientist or cosmetic chemist might do on any given work day, conveniently presented in four categories.

Cosmetic product development

Create formulas
Gather raw materials
Get equipment for making batches
Make batches
Restock lab supplies
Keep notes in notebook
Write experimental results in notebook
Clean glassware and lab
Research formulation topics
Generate new product ideas
Create prototypes
Create dye solutions for color matching
Make samples for marketing
Supervise / make batches for home use tests
Supervise first production batches
Solve stability problems
Generate test ideas to substantiate claims
Figure out ways to make formulas less expensive
Attend focus groups
Participate in brainstorming meetings
Review product label copy
Assist in writing product concepts
Present new technologies to non-scientists

Cosmetic product testing

Take pH readings
Take viscosity readings
Fill and label glass and plastic bottles
Wash & comb hair tresses
Color matching
Bleach and color hair tresses
Conduct foam tests
Run stability tests
Conduct skin moisturization tests
Run project specific, customized tests
Try formula prototypes
View samples under a microscope
Observe salon tests
Conduct odor tests
Participate in product panel testing
Get samples for testing
Evaluate competitive products

Personal Training

Read trade journals
Read Chemists Corner and other useful blogs in your RSS reader
Attend meetings with suppliers
Go to SCC meetings
Go to industry trade shows
Take continuing education courses
Attend conferences
Review latest patents
Listen to podcasts like the Chemists Corner podcast
Read industry text books
Take online training courses
Pursue an advanced degree in cosmetic science

Business stuff

Respond to emails
Create presentations
Attend corporate meetings
Attend project planning meetings
Respond to phone calls
Do desk side interviews with beauty editors
Conduct training sessions for non-scientists
Write business travel reports
Fill out expense reports
Write monthly reports
Go to office celebrations
Engage in “water-cooler” chat with co-workers
Write memos
Sign and review contracts
Give instruction to people who report to you
Meet with your boss to update them on your progress
Interview candidates
Entertain kids during Bring Your Kid to Work week
Keep track of project progress
Engage in debates with regulatory & legal departments
Write patent applications
Write employee reviews

Whew! My brain is fried and I might be able to go on, but I think I covered practically everything I did as a cosmetic chemist.

Is there anything we missed? Leave a comment below

When I was in college, I had no idea what kind of job to get when I graduated. In fact, I switched from a biology major to chemistry major in my first senior year because I realized there were a lot more job listings for chemists in the newspaper than for biologists. Biology was great but I needed to make money to pay off my college loans. I accidentally stumbled into the cosmetic science field and have enjoyed it as my chemist career.

If you are unsure about what to do with your science degree, you might find it helpful to know the types of jobs you might enjoy in the cosmetic industry. And if you’re in the cosmetic market, you might find it useful to know about the other jobs you might get.

Chemistry Majors

In the cosmetic industry, a degree in chemistry or chemical engineering is most useful. No doubt other scientists are hired, but chemists always have a leg up. There are a variety of different jobs available depending on the type of chemistry you liked.

Organic Chemistry

If you liked mixing things together in the lab during organic chemistry course than you’re well-suited for a job in a cosmetic laboratory. Here are just a few of the jobs you would like.

• Formulation Chemist – Responsible for creating product formulas.
• Synthesis Chemist – Responsible for synthesizing new raw materials for formulation chemists to use.
• Basic Science Researcher – Responsible for doing basic research on skin, hair, or surfactants.  Not many of these jobs out there.

Analytical Chemistry

If you enjoyed your analytical chemistry classes and liked doing those chemical isolation investigations then these are a few jobs you’d like.

• QA/QC Chemist - Run samples through instruments like GC, Mass Spec, IR to test raw materials, formulas, and insure quality.
• Analytical chemist – Use instruments to come up with tests for QA/QC scientists to run.  Also, solve complicated production problems & assist product development group.

Physical Chemistry

Although this is one of the toughest classes you had to take, if you enjoyed it you might also enjoy the following cosmetic industry job.

• Process Engineer – Responsible for scaling up formulas from beaker sized batches to thousands of gallons tanks.  Also, assist in picking batching equipment.
• Basic Science Researcher – Responsible for doing basic research on skin, hair, or surfactants.  Not many of these jobs out there.

General Chemistry

If you didn’t specialize in any specific area of chemistry these jobs might appeal to you.

• Technical Services – Responsible for evaluating raw materials and finished products to see what they can do.
• Sensory Scientist – Develop and conduct tests which will predict consumer response to formulas.
• Claims Substantiation Scientist – Develop tests to help support cosmetic claims made about products
• Cost Savings Chemist – Take existing formulas and figure out how to make them less expensive.
• Regulatory Scientist – Ensure your formulators are not infringing on patents or otherwise getting themselves into legal trouble.

Biology

If proteins, genetics, plants and animals held your interest, there are a few jobs in the cosmetic industry you can do.

• Microbiologist – Responsible for ensuring finished products are not contaminated with microbes.  Also, will recommend preservative systems to formulators.
• Sensory Scientist – Develop and conduct tests which will predict consumer response to formulas.
• Claims Substantiation Scientist – Develop tests to help support cosmetic claims made about products
• Regulatory Scientist – Ensure your formulators are not infringing on patents or otherwise getting themselves into legal trouble.

Corporate Food Chain

Depending on the size of your company and the number of scientists they hire, you can expect something like the following hierarchy to exist.

• Technician - People with associate science degrees or those fresh out of college with a BS but no experience.
• Associate Scientist – People with college degrees just entering the cosmetic industry.
• Research Scientist – Scientists with a 2 to 7 years of experience.  People with Masters degrees will often start at this level.
• Senior Scientist - Those who have over 7 years of experience.  Sometimes a PHD will enter the industry at this level.
• Principle Scientist – Someone who has a PHD with relevant experience or someone who has worked 15+ years in the industry.
• Research Fellow – A 20+ year veteran who has managed to stay relevant and convince the people around them she is smart.

Other Chemist Career Avenues

While I’ve outlined one path that takes your career through the lab, there are others that are likely more lucrative for science majors.  These would be the Sales path (you sell chemicals to these scientists) and the Management path (you tell these scientists what they have to work on).  We’ll discuss those jobs at another time.

Were you unsure about what to do with your science degree?  How did you figure it out?  Leave a comment and let us know.

The other day someone asked me for some tips on how to find a cosmetic science job in the cosmetic industry with personal care companies like Alberto Culver, P&G, L’Oreal or other big companies.

Of course, you should go through and do the standard things like tailor your resume to specific jobs, apply through HR departments, etc.

But if you want to stand out among the crowd or even discover un-posted job opportunities, you’re going to need to “know” someone on the inside. There are three ways you can get an inside track on jobs in cosmetic companies.

Job Hunting Tips

1. Deal directly with R&D people. Ideally, you would get to meet the managers in the R&D departments, but if you strike up a friendship with someone from the company, they can give you information on the jobs that might be available. The best way to meet people at companies is to attend SCC meetings or find people on LinkedIn.

Remember relationships are a two way street. Don’t just request help from someone without first figuring out a way you can help them.

2. Work for a lab temp agency. Most big cosmetic companies work with temp agencies so if you can get a temporary job assignment, you will get the inside track on available permanent jobs. In fact, while I was there, at least 30% of people hired at AC in R&D started out as temporary workers.

3. Meet cosmetic industry raw material sales people. If you go to a trade show (like the Teamworks event coming up in Chicago) you’ll get to meet all of the suppliers in the cosmetic industry. Typically, the salespeople are the ones who man these booths. Sales people visit lots of companies and often know of job opportunities.

Finding a job is almost always about who you know, not what you know. The more people you meet at a company, the greater your chances of landing a job with that company.

Resume help

And if you’re looking for tips on putting together a good resume, you might find this ebook helpful.

You’ve gone through preparing the slides for your scientific presentation. And you’ve learned how to prepare yourself to make a scientific presentation.  Now, you’re ready to present!

Ready, Set, Go…

Don’t be afraid to take some alone time 15 to 30 minutes before the presentation. You can use this time to double check materials, and review introductory and summary statements. It seems silly but don’t forget to take a last minute trip to the bathroom and check buttons, zippers, and your appearance. Grab a bottle or glass of water and keep in nearby. Take a few deep breathes while you are being introduced to calm your anxiety, but try not to sigh heavily.

You can ask your audience to turn phone to vibrate or silent. Though don’t expect them to completely turn them off. Also, it’s not uncommon to have audience members tweeting about a presentation they are listening too. So, don’t be offended if you see them typing on their phones.

A Polished Presentation

Monitor your movements and try to avoid habitual behaviors like pacing or fidgeting. Moderate yourself using hand gestures to prevent you from looking stiff, but avoid overdoing it. Remember to monitor your talking speed when speaking. Rehearsing thoroughly before hand will help you keep a natural even pace.

Respect Your Time Limit

Keep your eye on the time. Nervousness often leads one to speed up their speech. Spend a good portion of time rehearsing the presentation so you are comfortable and speak at an even pace. And try not to exceed your time. If you plan to allow questions during the presentation be sure to increase the expected completion time by about 20% when you practice the presentation. You can offer to answer questions outside the presentation if needed.

Never apologize for any aspect of your presentation; this should be your best effort. Apologizing is an admission that you haven’t done a good job in either preparation or delivery. This undermines your message! Hopefully you won’t have to apologize for tiny fonts, or poor slide design if you’ve read my previous post on the topic.

Finishing Touches

Be sure to have prepared a memorable summary to end your presentation and avoid adding any last minute words. This will be the last thing your audience hears and you want it to be well rehearsed, not sloppy. Be sure to state your conclusions clearly. It might also be advisable to have an important piece of data or information on the final slide to avoid flipping through your slides during questions.

Be sure to give credit where credit is due. Acknowledge sources of information and data, contributors, and sponsors. This shows a professional attitude. Don’t be afraid to consider a more interesting approach to acknowledgments like using a collage of colleague photos. Just be sure to keep them professional.

Question & Answer Time

The presentation is done, but how will you handle the Q&A portion? This can be just as stressful as the presentation. You may have given a brilliant presentation, but the Q&A can quickly diminish your credibility if not handled well. You can’t always predict what your audience will ask, but here are a few tips to get you through the Q&A.

• Wait – Allow the person to finish their question before responding. The only exception is when the question is rambling, this is your forum and you have a limited time to get your point across. Break in tactfully by saying, “So, the question you are asking is…” and restate the question following with your answer. Remember your ability to interact with the audience is being judged.
• Repeat – Always repeat each question so the entire audience knows what you have been asked.
• Reflect – Pause to reflect on the question and formulate a response, be sure to ask for clarification if you do not fully understand.
• Postpone – There may be many reasons to postpone answering a question, the topic may not be relevant to your presentation goals or you may be running out of time. Don’t be afraid to take questions after the presentation or during a break. If you find you can’t answer a question, don’t apologize. Instead, offer to answer after you’ve done more research the answer, suggest a resource where they might find an answer or put it to the audience to answer.

Avoid Arguments

Hostile questions pose a special challenge, and they can come in a variety of forms. Not every tough question is a hostile one, but some are and you should be able to spot them. They may come as a challenge to something you’ve said, or even as an attack on you. The best way is to head them off.

During your preparation consider what parts of your presentation could lead to disagreement. You may be able to address these potential questions by embedding what amounts to a rebuttal in your presentation.

Don’t put the questioner on the defensive and certainly don’t criticize the questioner. Get right to the issues. You may find an area of agreement that you can build on in your response. That doesn’t mean you should back down when all your research tells you you’re right. Looking for common ground is not a form of compromise. You can acknowledge the other person’s point of view without agreeing with it.

Stick to the facts and what you know. Stay within the immediate discussion. Avoid offering more facts or opinions that could trigger more disagreement. And avoid getting bogged down in an adversarial exchange that seems to go on forever. Once you’ve covered a topic thoroughly, end the discussion by saying simply that you’ve explained your position and it’s time to move on. You can offer to discuss the issue further after your presentation.

Do interrupt when someone with a dissenting view wanders onto another subject or appears about to give a presentation of his own. Make it clear that time is short and you want to stay focused on the day’s agenda.

Always finish by asking the questioner if you fully answered their question. This acknowledges the questioner and helps the audience feel comfortable asking questions. If the person feels you did not answer fully ask for clarification or suggest that you two discuss later to facilitate timing.

Conclusion

Preparing and giving a good technical presentation is no easy task, but by utilizing these suggestions and taking time for serious preparation, you will be able to communicate effectively and clearly. The better you become at communicating scientific information to your peers, marketers, and even consumers the more you will be able to build trust and credibility.

If you have any tips for preparing and delivering presentations, please leave a comment below and let everyone else know!

In a previous post on scientific presentations, I discussed some of the finer points of presentation slide design. Once your slides are complete, the hard part starts; going in front of an audience and delivering the presentation.  In this post, I’ll give some tips to help prepare yourself for the presentation.

Before Your Talk

“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” –Arthur Ashe

One of the biggest challenges in delivering your presentation is overcoming anxiety, but taking sufficient time to prepare and rehearse allows you to overcome this hurdle. Preparation also involves getting acquainted with your audience, the location of the presentation, as well as the presentation technology and tools.

Know Your Audience

Audience composition, expectations on content, and the time allotted are intertwined in their importance. In preparing to give a presentation it is helpful understand whether your audience will be scientists or a general group. This will let you understand how technical you can be, or tell you whether you need to provide basic content or take a more creative approach to help a more general audience understand your presentation.

It may also be prudent to do a little research on possible audience members (if you have this information) to identify areas of common interest or potential questions.

More Time = Less Retention

Time allotted may also dictate the content. The more time you have the further extent to which you can explore your topic, but remember that the retention of information decreases as the talk proceeds, so make sure to emphasize the most important information early on. And with shorter talks, stick to only what is essential.

Setting Up

If at all possible, visit the location where you are scheduled to speak prior to the presentation. If you will be unable to do this, ask for information from your host. Look for potential issues with furniture that would block the line of sight for your audience.

Check to see if the lighting could be adjusted if needed. Also be aware of intrusive noises, for example I sat through a morning’s worth of presentations with a chandelier clattering overhead due to an air vent and found it pretty distracting. Also, if the room is large or you speak softly, request a microphone.

Check your Equipment

Technology has certainly made presentations easier; however it can also cause a presentation melt down. Here are some tips to prevent problems.

1. Ensure compatibility. First, it is a good idea to ensure that the host computer software is compatible with your file format if you are not using your own computer.
2. Does it look right? Make sure the fonts, bullet points, backgrounds, and colors are the same as you intended.
3. Have a backup. Save the presentation to an alternate flash drive, cd, etc just in case. And it is a good idea to ensure your copy of presentation stays in your carry-on if you are traveling to ensure it reaches your destination with you. Or, e-mail yourself and the host a copy so you can access it readily. Depending on your degree of concern, you can print copies of the presentation for distribution in case of major electronic failure.
4. Special requests. Be sure to ask for special equipment in advance if you need it. Waiting until the day of the talk means you may have to do without it. For example, I have a Mac laptop that requires a special cord to connect to most projectors.
5. Test before you talk. Definitely make sure to familiarize yourself with the projector and be sure it is already warmed up and ready prior to the talk.

Dress for Success

I’ve heard that about 90% of your first impression is made from non-verbal cues. It may be even more that! That means your appearance matters. When selecting your presentation attire think of what you want your appearance to say about you.

List a few adjectives to describe you, your business, or your industry and judge your outfit against them. For example, if you chose words like creative and innovative make sure your overall look is up-to-date and unique. Think about accessories and choice of color to help accomplish this. Other presentation style tips include:

• Stay one step ahead – The audience is likely filled with professionals, so dress professional. No one will ever fault you for dress one step up from what’s suggested.
• Remove distractions – remove items from your pockets and dangling jewelry
• Beware of the glare – If you wear glasses, it’s a good idea to have a non reflective coating so that you don’t lose eye contact with the audience
• Comfortably cool – Be sure you can move comfortably in what you decide to wear. Dress in layers so you can add or subtract to adjust to the temperature of the room.
• Styling – Keep hair well groomed and make-up simple with emphasis on the eyes.
• Change to spare – Did I mention preparation is key? It’s always a good idea to have an outfit to spare, you never know when you might have a spill.

Figuratively Speaking

Your body language is also an important aspect of how you’ll be perceived. Do your best to avoid pacing and fidgeting during the presentation, again rehearsing helps. Moderate your movements. Gesturing prevents you from looking stiff but don’t over do it. And be sure to keep your gestures above the waist. Low gestures will only draw the audience attention down and away from your face. Penguins may be cute, but they aren’t the best at giving presentations.

Engage your audience by making visual contact, and not just with one individual. If there is a podium you do not have to stand behind it. Get closer to your audience or get a better perspective on the projection screen if possible.

In Part 3, we’ll finish with how to deliver an effective scientific presentation.

Working in corporate America you will quickly learn that your success is not completely based on your scientific abilities. In fact, if you really want to advance in your career you’re going to have to learn how to impress your boss.

In this article on ItStartsWith.Us they list 12 good ideas for impressing your boss.

Here are a few that I thought were pretty good advice.

1. Care about other people – Being selfish at work won’t help your career.
2. Always be honest – Even if it’s going to make you look bad.
3. Ask for help – Never be afraid to admit you can’t do everything yourself.
4. Plan to wing it – Things rarely go as planned so be adaptable
5. Help others - If you help someone else achieve their goals, they’ll be more inclined to help you.
6. Stop following the rules – Sometimes you need to break the rules (but follow them too)
7. Give more than people expect – Most people just get by. Give more & you’ll benefit

Of course, you should still dazzle them with your cosmetic chemistry prowess.

We recently wrote about all the Cosmetic Chemists on Twitter and even listed some things you can do with the service.

But here is an application we didn’t think of. According to this article on WSJ.com, some people are using Twitter to get themselves jobs.

How to find a job through Twitter

Step 1: Sign up for a Twitter account
Step 2: Create a profile that lists your career goal (e.g. To become an excellent cosmetic chemist)
Step 3: Link to your LinkedIn profile or personal website in your profile
Step 4: Put your Twitter alias on your resume
Step 5: Search for major companies on Twitter who you’d be interested to work for
Step 6: Follow them and respond to Tweets you find interesting.

How to search for people in the Beauty Business

This can be challenging if you don’t know where to look.

Try TweepSearch.

For example, if you do a search for P&G on TweepSearch, you’ll find 31 people who you could follow.

Search for L’Oreal, and you’ll find 52 people who might be worth following.

Search for Unilever, there are 36 people to follow

Note:  It’s a bit harder to find smaller companies because this method depends on people to have put their company names in their profiles. But you can still find many people who work at the companies you may be interested in. It’s worth trying!

And for more tips on using Twitter to find a job, see this article which lists 50 more tips.

And don’t forget this article on Twitip on how to get a job using Twitter.