daftypatty Posted May 23, 2014 Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 I'm trying to apply for a research position at my university, and the investigator wants a cover letter, resume and a transcript. My marks are okay, but I have doubts about the quality of my resume and cover letter. What exactly is the investigator looking for in the resume and cover letter? The research is to look at the role of methylation and unexplained intellectual disability in pediatric population. He said that the main role I would mainly be doing data extraction from selected cases and data entry. I have no research experience, but if it was worth mentioning about the lab skills I've acquired from my undergrad classes (chemistry, organic chem, etc.). I am also highly proficient in computers, MS office, and technology in general, and I know that I could do with data collection and entry, but I have no "official" experience to back up this claim, other than hobby stuff I do on the computer.. Other experiences I have include volunteering with a spinal cord rehab centre, teaching English/math to children, being part of a media club in high school, and that is pretty much all the "relevant" experiences I have to this field. Since job requirement they are specifically looking for is data collection and entry, should I solely focus on how proficient I am with computers and the attributes I have possess which would make me a good data organizer or would it be worth mentioning the volunteering and involvement I had with the community as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daftypatty Posted May 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 They also did mention that the opportunity would provide exposures to clinical and scholarly aspects of academic medicine and that it would provide opportunities to work with other healthcare professionals and researchers... So would it be worth while mentioning my plans/goals/why I am interested in medicine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimi.mtl Posted May 23, 2014 Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 I just finished my MSc but before that had worked in a number of different research settings. For your cover letter, talk about your relevant academic experiences - you mention working on a project involving a pediatric population...show your interest/relevant experiences pertaining to that (i.e. I took course XYZ on children's psychology and have since become really interested in intellectual disabilities in this population/I volunteered at ABC spinal cord rehab where I've gained an interested in blah blah blah). And yeah, as you mentioned, it would be helpful to talk about organizational skills related to data entry, extraction, etc. As for lab skills and related courses, etc., if you're going to be working in a lab, this could also be good to mention. Maybe this PI is hiring you to do data entry/extraction, but there is potential for you to do other things also which can be appealing...in my experience, this often happens where you're hired to do one thing and then someone needs some help somewhere else and you end up getting involved there. computer skills - this can just be a 1-2 liner saying you're proficient in MS office, whatever stats packages, or anything you see as relevant. don't mention everything under the sun as being able to use final cut pro for example is probably irrelevant as you might have assumed lol I can't think of anything else...keep it down to a page. Good luck! I'm trying to apply for a research position at my university, and the investigator wants a cover letter, resume and a transcript. My marks are okay, but I have doubts about the quality of my resume and cover letter. What exactly is the investigator looking for in the resume and cover letter? The research is to look at the role of methylation and unexplained intellectual disability in pediatric population. He said that the main role I would mainly be doing data extraction from selected cases and data entry. I have no research experience, but if it was worth mentioning about the lab skills I've acquired from my undergrad classes (chemistry, organic chem, etc.). I am also highly proficient in computers, MS office, and technology in general, and I know that I could do with data collection and entry, but I have no "official" experience to back up this claim, other than hobby stuff I do on the computer.. Other experiences I have include volunteering with a spinal cord rehab centre, teaching English/math to children, being part of a media club in high school, and that is pretty much all the "relevant" experiences I have to this field. Since job requirement they are specifically looking for is data collection and entry, should I solely focus on how proficient I am with computers and the attributes I have possess which would make me a good data organizer or would it be worth mentioning the volunteering and involvement I had with the community as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimi.mtl Posted May 23, 2014 Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 I don't think is necessary...I've never mentioned my long-term goals in a cover letter. I think it can also sometimes be a red flag to PIs that you may (or may not) be a pre-med just looking to tack some research experience onto your CV. They also did mention that the opportunity would provide exposures to clinical and scholarly aspects of academic medicine and that it would provide opportunities to work with other healthcare professionals and researchers... So would it be worth while mentioning my plans/goals/why I am interested in medicine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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