I completely agree with Susan, as there are many non-technical aspects of jobs that also need to ‘fit’- and Susan covered that well. But there are times where the technical fit isn’t ‘perfect’. Not all job openings are expected to be filled with exactly the skillset that a company wants. For example, when I got my first job out of school, the cell therapy R&D group at BD had an opening for a Surface Chemist (for peptide modifications of biomaterials), and a cell biologist able to look for conditions for switching cells between proliferation and differentiation. With a Tissue Engineering PhD, I modified biomaterials with peptides, and did the cell biology – but I didn’t consider myself a chemist, or a cell biologist. They also didn’t consider me a chemist or a cell biologist – I was a hybrid that knew a little of both but not either as deeply as they wanted. I was a great fit for the group – both scientifically and personally, but there wasn’t a position open that I was great for. I told them I would accept a Post Doc position in the group for less money (i really wanted this job) so they could keep both positions open, and it was a big success. I even turned down a full Scientist position at another company just because of the ‘fit’ that was created with BD. They liked me and were flexible,and I was promoted to a Scientist in 1.5 years. BD got a lot out of my background, and I got a lot out of the position – a real win-win situation. A good ‘fit’ leads to the ideal win-win where both sides are getting a lot out of the business agreement, in this case, a job.

Best Regards from The Regeneration Station, and good luck in your own job search.

Jon