*Concerns of Young Mathematicians* Volume 3, Issue 21 July 5, 1995 An electronically distributed digest for discussions of the issues of concern to mathematicians at the beginning of their careers. Please direct submissions and questions to Emil Volcheck Emil.Volcheck@risc.uni-linz.ac.at , editor for the month of June. Next issue: Wednesday, 19 July. June Editor: Emil Volcheck Emil.Volcheck@risc.uni-linz.ac.at July/August Editor: Kevin Madigan madigan@math.nwu.edu To subscribe: Contact Charles Yeomans at cyeomans@ms.uky.edu Back issues and other information are available via anonymous FTP to ftp.ms.uky.edu, in pub3/mailing.lists/ymn-list. Or connect to the YMN homepage on the WWW, the URL: http://math34.gatech.edu:8080/YMN/ymn.html The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the administrative board or membership of the Young Mathematicians' Network. The editorial policy of this newsletter is to encourage discussion of issues, and facilitate the dissemination of information, relevant to the concerns of young mathematicians. Table of Contents Item # Title ------ ----- 1 Editor's notes 2 Conference attendee in need of a roomate 3 More advice on industrial employment seeking 4 Closing Credits _______________________________________________________________ Item #1 Editor's notes: Greetings. As one would expect, this issue is a bit slim, but contains more good advice for those of you seeking (or interested in seeking) non-academic employment. I hope all of our US based membes enjoyed their 4th of July holiday and I wish those of you still on the job market the best of luck. I know what a pain it is. Now that I am in the insurance biz, I have been trying to think of some words of wit and/or wisdom I could pass along to those of you interested in similar lines of work and/or a move to the corporate world. I have been unsuccessful in this task. I can say there are many small differences between the two worlds (academic and corporate) which are hard to quantify or specify. (Of course, there are many which are glaringly obvious, like having to be to work by 7:30 or 8:00 every morning! At least I don't have to wear a tie.) If any of you have any questions, feel free to write. Maybe I will get an article idea out of your mail. Kevin Madigan madigan@math.nwu.edu _______________________________________________________________ Item #2 Conference attendee in need of a roomate If there's anyone out there who will be attending the ILAS conference in Atlanta, Georgia this August, and would be interested in sharing a room at the Radisson Hotel, please e-mail me at rreams@utdallas.edu -- Robert Reams. _______________________________________________________________ Item #3 More advice on industrial employment seeking Mark Winstead's excellent article on tips for mathematicians seeking industry work hit the nail on the head. Four other books I've found useful are: Howard Figler, "The Complete Job Search Handbook: All the Skills You Need to Get Any Job & Have a Good Time Doing It" New York; Henry Holt & Company, Inc.; June 1988. ISBN 0-8050-0537-4; Trade Paper; $12.95 Retail. This book is packed with perceptive advice, information and exercises on every conceivable stage of job-hunting, from deciding what you like to do, to closing the deal. I tend to read the book a chapter at a time, as necessary. For example, the night before an interview I read the chapter on "Interviewing." The night before another interview I read the chapter on "Asking Questions." Donald Asher, "The Overnight Resume" Berkeley; Ten Speed Press; 1990. ISBN 0-89815-381-6; Trade Paper; $7.95 Retail. "The Overnight Job Change Letter" Berkeley; Ten Speed Press; April 1994. ISBN 0-89815-595-9; Trade Paper; $7.95 Retail. "The Overnight Job Change Strategy" Berkeley; Ten Speed Press; Feb. 1993. ISBN 0-89815-487-1; Trade Paper; $7.95 Retail. "The Overnight Resume" will help you get rid of your academic c.v. and create concise pointed business-style resumes. At the same time, it hammers home and drills you in the key point for industry job-hunting: "Ask not what the company can do for you, Tell what you can do for the company." "The Overnight Job Change Letter" has examples and advice about letters for all the stages of a job search--and there are lots more different types of job search letter than just a cover letter. "The Overnight Job Change Strategy" expands on the type of concrete accurate advice that Mark Winstead gave. Since Mark mentioned the "resume is not a vita" problem, I strongly recommend "The Overnight Resume" to *everyone* looking for a non-academic job. It contains tips and ideas that I would never have thought of myself. One of the difficulties in writing a resume is that you have to throw out so much of the information that you're used to putting on a vita. It was hard for me, after years in academia, to realize that *none* of the hard-hitting mathematical words describing my research ("volume-minimizing representatives of homology classes on Grassmann and Stiefel manifolds") could appear on my resume. "The Overnight Resume" showed me how to think of writing my resume as a positive task: instead of negatively pruning my vita, it led me through creating a relevant and targeted resume from the ground up. Submitted by Sharon Pedersen, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, pedersen@polar.bowdoin.edu __________________________________________________________________ Item #4 Closing Credits Charles Yeomans cyeomans@ms.uky.edu Mark Winstead mwwinst@pic.net Nancy Wilson nwilson@stmarys-ca.edu Emil Volcheck Emil.Volcheck@risc.uni-linz.ac.at Frank Sottile sottile@math.toronto.edu Vic Perera vicum@math.ohio-state.edu Franklin Mendivil mendivil@math.gatech.edu Kevin Madigan madigan@math.nwu.edu Leigh Lunsford lunsford@math.uah.edu Steve Kennedy skennedy@mathcs.carleton.edu Matt Hudelson hudelson@math.washington.edu Silvia Heubach silvi@cinenet.net Greg Dresden dresden@fireant.ma.utexas.edu Bob Dobrow dobrow@cam.nist.gov Lyle Cochran lcochran@fresno.edu Kevin Charlwood kec1@bradley.bradley.edu Wendy Brunzie brunzie@mathfs.math.montana.edu Frank Arlinghaus frank@math.ysu.edu Edward Aboufadel aboufade@sun.scsu.ctstateu.edu _______________________________________________________________ End of Journal -- Next week: The Discussion Continues