Laid Off Survival Guide

Resume organization

2010-02-11T14:29:00.000-08:00

Most hiring managers review dozens of resumes and do not have time to go through multiple pages to determine if you are a good fit for their position. It is critical that you get across who you are and what you can do within the top half of the first page of your resume. I accomplished this by describing myself in detail within a Qualification section followed by a list of skills and experiences that were relevant to the posted position. I also listed my technical skills up front on the first page prior to listing my professional experience.

Stephen Matteson

Address

(H) ###.###.####

(M) ###.###.####

Mattesonsp@gmail.com

Qualification SUMMARY

Over twenty years of experience supporting clinical development operations and reporting as a Customer Engagement Manager, Technical Team Lead, and Senior SAS Programmer within the Pharmaceutical Industry and Public Health with a proven track record of delivery and customer service. I am seeking SAS programming opportunities that can leverage my knowledge and experience within the Pharmaceutical/Biotech Industry.

20+years programming in SAS

TLG generic code development that can be applied across clinical trial designs

Parameter and data driven macro procedures

Regulatory reporting of Clinical Safety and Protocol Registry data

General Efficacy – Change from baseline, Behavioral and Functional Scales

Clinical AR, CSR, IB, NDA Reporting Types

Integrated Summary of Safety (ISS) and Efficacy (ISE)

Clinical Medical Dictionaries: MedDRA, ICD9, Whodrug

Familiar working with Oracle Clinical Tables, Views and RXA_DES meta-data files

ETL processing of clinical data using Pfizer Data Standards which is based on the CDISC/STDM Industry Standard

Developed applications and reporting system that are 21 CFR Part 11 compliant

Enterprise Life Cycle Experience

Customer Engagement Manager / Business Analysis / Project Management/ Technical Team Lead & People Manager

Technical Skills:

Office Productivity: Microsoft Office Suite

Programming: SAS, SQL, Perl

Collaboration Tools: Livelink, SharePoint, Mind Manager, Enterprise Architect

Software Engineering Tools: Source Forge, CVS, RCS

Database / Tools: Oracle, PIMS, Quest Toad & SQL Navigator

Operating Systems: Solaris UNIX, Windows XP

Visualization Tools: Spotfire

Professional Experience

Company Name, City, State (Start Date – End Date)

Description of role

OTHER POSITIONS HELD

List of companies and date if they exceed 15 years

EDUCATION

Degree, Major, University, City, State (Date Graduated)

Made it out of the unemployed wilderness

2010-02-11T14:26:00.000-08:00

In February of 2009 I was informed that my position was being eliminated. I could have reapplied to other positions or take a generous severance after 17 years in a job and for a company that I loved. I spent many sleepless nights and countless hours discussing my options with my wife and we decided to take the severance package and explore new employment opportunities. My employment ended 10 months later after being asked to help in the completion of a critical project. After my decision to leave, I immediately began investigating into preparing for my departure and formulate my thoughts around my past experience and what I want to do next. During this time I posted my resume to every known online job board and spoke with recruiters on a daily bases without a single viable lead. Over time I fine tuned my resume and job search, developed an interview strategy, and have been offered 3 positions since the beginning of this year. I am not a professional recruiter, but I have real life experience and lessons learned that I do think could be of value to you.

Areas I think I can help:

· Resume organization

· Navigating the online job sites

· Working with professional recruiters

· Leveraging Linkedin

· Prepping for the Interview

· Understand the full compensation package

If you are a technical professional interested in exploring new employment opportunities please do not hesitate to drop me a line at mattesonsp@gmail.com. Many people have helped me along the way and I would be glad to help as best I can.

Don’t hesitate to lean on me

2009-09-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

Keep your head, maintain your sense of humor, and remain positive and you too will make it through the laid off wilderness.

Please do not hesitate to drop me an email (mattesonsp@gmail.com) if I can assist you in any way.

Elevator Speech

2009-07-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

An "elevator speech" is the 30-seconds you have to introduce yourself to a potential employer while running into them in an elevator. Many of us have developed and practiced this speech regarding the importance and status of projects we have worked on in our professional life, but now it needs to be adjusted to reflect our new goal to market ourselves in order to obtain a new challenging assignment or employment opportunity.

It is important that your elevator speech conveys who you are, what you do, what you’re seeking and any other key information relevant to your experience or job search goals.

Who am I?

I have over 20 years of experience as an IT professional developing analytical solutions supporting the clinical and scientific communities within the Pharmaceutical, Medical, and Public Health industries. I am passionate about contributing to the development and approval of new drug treatments and therapies and enjoy engaging the business and scientific communities to help implement new automated solutions that improve our ability to combat disease and treat patients.

What am I?

I am an IT professional specializing in SAS software development that is capable of acquiring and manipulating clinical, medical, and scientific data for visualization and reporting purposes. I continue to explore new ways that will improve the process and tools used to generate regulatory reporting of clinical research data.

What I am seeking?

I am seeking the opportunity to apply my knowledge and experience working with clinical and medical data within the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, and Medical Research community.

Other key information relevant to your experience or job search goals.

Over 20 years as a SAS programmer working with Clinical, Medical, and Public Health research data

Capable of accessing Oracle Clinical tables and views and writing back to Oracle tables using SAS

Industry Medical Dictionaries: MedDRA, ICD9, and BNF and WHO Drug Dictionaries

Industry Data Standards: CDISC, ICH

Trained and implemented GCP regulatory requirements

21 CFR Part 11 Compliance – implementation of dependency and revision control to manage the traceability of artifacts in the generation of clinical reports

Business analysis and process modeling experience

PMP Trained Project Management and documentation required to ensure quality through all phases of the Software Development Life Cycle: Idea/Charter, Business and Functional requirements, Design, Implementation/Build, Test, Deploy, and Uptake

Improving the exchange of information and knowledge by leveraging business Collaboration Tools such as SharePoint, Documentum, and SourceForge

Software engineering revision control and configuration management tools such as RCS, CVS, and Subversion

Professional Experience

Clinical Reporting Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Technical Team Lead in developing the 21 CFR Part 11 compliant clinical reporting system called CDARS at Pfizer

SME responsible for the development of generic clinical reporting software at Pfizer in support of Annual Safety, Investigator Brochures, Clinical Study, and NDA regulatory reporting

Developed Integrated Safety and Efficacy Summary data and reporting

Ability to extract and translate clinical trial safety, efficacy, and protocol registry data from Oracle Clinical using SAS so that it can be easily reviewed by clinical teams using Tibco Spotfire, Pipeline Pilot and Excel

Re-engineered Safety and Risk Management Protocol Registry Brio Query Periodic Safety Update Reporting using SAS in the CDARS environment

Deployed the Genologics Lab Instrumentation Management System (LIMS) in support of Pharmacogenomic research - Currently collaborating on a white paper detailing the complexity of deploying a LIMS solution within a shared server environment that is both GLP and GCP compliant

Re-engineered a complex Web-based J2EE / Oracle application that managed and tracked clinical biomarkers using functionality within SharePoint - This effort resulted in a $125K annual reduction in application support costs and empowered the Translational Medicine / Biomarker communities to independently manage the content and access to this critical data

Professional Biography

2009-07-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

In the past I have been asked to pull together my professional biography for internal Web sites and organizational communications. What I have recently learned is that this tool can also provided valuable information that can be shared with potential recruiters to use when introducing or advancing you as a possible candidate to a company or organization.

Biography Example:

Stephen has over twenty years of IT and management experience as a Strategic Program Director, Project Manager, Technical Team Lead, and Software Developer with a proven track record on delivery and customer service. Stephen has managed Informatics teams responsible for the strategy and implementation of IT investments in support of Clinical Analysis & Reporting, Global Clinical Network, Clinical Statistics, Clinical Pharmacology, Molecular and Translational Medicine. He has co-chaired Business and Informatics Integrated Process Teams that championed the technical investment needs of the above Clinical and Scientific business communities. Prior to coming to Pfizer, Stephen held positions in public health in support of oncology and gerontology research. Stephen holds a BS in Biology from the University of Massachusetts and will be accepting early retirement in November 2009 after an 18 year career at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Stephen will be exploring new professional opportunities that will benefit from his extensive experience developing analytical software to manipulate, report, and visualize clinical and medical research data.

Communication and Social Networking

2009-07-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

All of my personal and professional contact information was stored within my corporate Outlook Address Book. I initially printed out my address book and started hand entering contacts into my new Gmail account. As an IT professional, I knew there had to be a better way, and once I stopped took a breath, I realized that all of the communication and social networking tools have the ability to export and import contact information.

Please find below the steps I took to export my address book out of Outlook and import this information into my newly created Gmail and LinkedIn accounts.

Export Outlook Address Book

Select Contact Tab -- File -> Import and Export -> Export to a file -> NEXT
Select Comma Separated Values (Windows) -> NEXT
Select folder to Export from: -> Contacts -> NEXT
Save Export as a file -> Browse -> NEXT -> FINISH

Import into Gmail

Gmail requires that your imported address book be in a CSV format. Spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel make it easy to create and edit CSV files.

Your CSV file should be formatted as a table and must include a header, or first line, that defines the fields in your table. Gmail accepts many common header fields (name, email address, etc.). If you're updating an existing file, you probably won't need to change your header field names; if you're creating a new file and need some guidance, you can use any of the field names used in the examples below.

Outlook.CSV Table Format:

First Name Last Name Email Address
Stephen Matteson mattesonsp@gmail.com

Select “Contacts” -> Upper Right “Import” -> “Browse”
Select “Outlook.csv”

Import into LinkedIn

LinkedIn will allow you to import directly off of your Outlook address book.

Select Contacts -> Import Contacts -> Upper Right “Add Connections”
At the lower right side of the screen you will see an icon “Check Outlook Contacts” that will allow you to import directly off of your Outlook Address book

NOTE: You will be prompted to download an additional application that will assist you with this process. Your import list will also show which contacts you have already LinkedIn and will allow you to deselect and select who you would like to reach out too.

Career Stories

2009-07-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

This document lists three to six career defining stories that describes your specific involvement along with the outcome resulting from your actions. This is not only a great tool that can be handed off to a potential hiring manager, but it also helps you clearly identify your personal achievements and value you provided to your former employer.

When I was first notified that I would be laid off I began questioning my contribution to my employer. Writing down these career stories helped me remember the hard work, sacrifice, friendships and ultimately delivery that made my 18 year career so rewarding.

Next Topic: Communication and Social Networking

Feedback

2009-07-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

In preparation to seeking new employment opportunities, do not hesitate to gather feedback from colleagues, direct reports, and customers while still employed. Some of this feedback can also be found within your annual performance reviews. It is easier to gather this information while you are still employed and have direct access to colleagues and customers. You can package this feedback into a document that can be handed off to a potential hiring manager at the end of an interview.

Next Topic: Career Stories

Cover Letter

2009-07-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

A dear friend shared with me the following advice which I believe will help differentiate you from other applicants applying for the same position. Instead of merely introducing yourself within your cover letter to a potential employer, use your cover letter to align your skills against the key requirements within the job posting you are interested in. I have attempted to do this by listing the primary requirements within one column and in the adjacent column describe how my past experience aligns with what a potential employer is looking for.

Next Topic: Feedback

Important Lesson Learned about importing your resume into career search engines

2009-06-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

Don’t use the header feature in Word to list your contact information. Many of the search engines that allow you to import your resume do not recognize headers and footer. This was a lesson I learned the hard way, after receiving feedback from recruiters and hiring managers that my contact information was missing from my resume. Not a very good first impression.

Next Topic: Cover Letter

Revise your resume around your passions

2009-06-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

Based on my earlier analysis I modified my career search from a leadership position back to an individual contributor leveraging my industry knowledge and technical experience working in support of clinical trial operations.

Most hiring managers – including myself – never make it past the first page, that is why it is important to relay what you want to get across right up front on your resume

Your resume should not exceed 3 pages and if possible limit it to 1 page. This will require you to consolidate your experience and if you have been in the work force for many years, early experience right out of college may no longer be relevant. This is not an easy task and it is always good to review your resume with other friends and colleagues

Recruiters are an excellent source for advice on constructing resumes and provided me with the above format recommendation

I originally had a 6 page resume which I needed to condense to no more than 3 pages. The first page is the most critical page

Create a table below you Qualification Summary that lists the 10-12 skills and experiences that best relates to the position you are applying for

Next Topic: Important Lesson Learned about importing your resume into career search engines

Analysis: When was I the happiest at work?

2009-06-27T05:38:00.000-07:00

On Day 1 of being laid off I thought I needed to pursue an IT Management position responsible for strategy, budgets, and people. After completing the previous exercise and considerable time soul searching for what I was truly passionate about. I realized those things that I have done for 10 or more years still excites me today as they did when I first started developing these skills. I still love the Pharmaceutical / Biotech industry and their mission to discover new treatments and medicines to combat disease. As an IT professional with a biology background, I love diving in and understanding the science and business processes of moving a drug through its lifecycle from discovery through regulatory approval and ultimately into the hands of physicians to help patients. I care about understanding our customers business and looking for ways that automation and proper technology can assist in their day-to-day work. I love working with others and coaching and mentoring colleagues through the challenges we all face in the work place. I also realized that being hands-on understanding the data and being able to manipulate it to meet regulatory reporting needs is my small way of contributing to the overall drug development mission.

Next Topic: Revise your resume around your passions

Breathe

2009-06-27T05:06:00.000-07:00

This was my first mistake; my impulse was to quickly find employment opportunities similar to what I had been doing over recent years. What I should have done is to assess what I needed in a job and what was important to me. What do I enjoy doing and level of proficiency that would be truly marketable within our new challenging job market?

My first concern was ensuring that I could find a position that would provide medical benefits for me and my family

This narrowed my search to full time positions with benefits
The need for medical benefits conflicted with my desire to not have to relocate or be away from home every week

Could I find a job that would allow me to work from home?

Knowing that travel would be necessary to stay close to colleagues and customers

I then listed my talents and passions along with time spent on tasks and skills

Role (Time) - Experience / Skills

Strategic Management (<5>

Business Strategy
IT Strategy
Portfolio and Budget Responsibilities

People Management (5+years)

Goal Setting
Performance Reviews
Annual Ranking
Coaching / Mentoring / Motivating

Customer Engagement Manager (10+years)

Deep Domain Knowledge
Business Process Modeling
Data Analysis
Charter/Idea
Business Requirements
Change Management
Project Management
Risk Mitigation

Technical Team Lead (10+ years)

Deep Domain Knowledge
Functional Requirements
Design
Task Delegation
IT Process and Methodologies
Configuration Management
Bug Tracking and Mitigation
Coaching / Mentoring / Motivating

Developer (15+ years)

Deep Domain Knowledge
Deep Data and Business Logic Knowledge
Technical Competencies (Unix, Oracle, SAS)

Next Topic: Analysis: When was I the happiest at work?

First Stop and Breathe

2009-06-27T04:45:00.000-07:00

I am very interested in how people survive difficult life and death situations, such as being lost in the wilderness or at sea. The first thing that you learn from survivors in these situations is that they stay calm and stop what they are doing and assess where they are and what supplies and tools they have to help them survive. The bottom line is they use their brain and do not panic.

Of course all of my reading and preparation to survive in the wilderness was thrown out the window when I learned back in February that I was going to lose my job. I immediately panicked, quickly updating my resume and jumped head first into the online job search sites such as Monster, Career Builder, and Dice without first truly assessing my skills, passions, and interests.

There were few jobs available as an IT Manager within my chosen Pharmaceutical and Biotech industry and even fewer willing to match my current base salary. My resume was 6 pages long going back 25 years to my first job out of college. The lack of response to my resume also fueled my anxiety and led to many sleepless nights wondering how I was going to provide for my family. I was also concerned about leaving my home, family, and friends and the impact of uprooting my wife and children to chase after a job that potentially was full of uncertainty.

It is now 4 months later and I have made it through almost all of the change curve phases from denial to anger to depression and now finally on my way out of the hole of despair and beginning to think that this change could actually be a blessing in disguise. Please do not get me wrong, it has taken me months to move through all of these phases with the love and support from my wife, children, family and friends. This has been a hard journey and I know that it isn’t over yet. I have made many mistakes along the way, but I also learned a few tricks that I would like to share with you with hope that it will make your journey a little easier.

Please be aware that my personal journey has been full of mistakes and fraught with obstacles.