Home » Blogs » vintagemmv's blog

Chemists wanted

Submitted by vintagemmv on Tue, 09/02/2008 - 00:00

 

Reflection
  1. As a chemist interested in the interface between biology and chemistry, I have become increasingly interested in the pharmaceutical industry.  My interest has only grown after interning at Eli Lilly this summer.  I have talked with Abbott representatives several times at Industrial Roundtable; however, an internship with them has never panned out.  Therefore, I choose this add because getting an internship at another pharmaceutical company would give me a different perspective on the industry and help me to decide if this field should be my career path.

I am qualified for this position.  Although I will be graduating from Purdue in the fall, I will be enrolling in a graduate program in chemistry.  Therefore, I meet the requirements for being a chemistry major, graduate student, and enrolled in school the following semester.  The ad also emphasizes academic performance and leadership.  My cumulative GPA and academic awards as well as my leadership positions in both American Chemical Society and InterVarsity make me a strong candidate for this position.

  1. While Abbott accepts resumes for internships almost year round, this posting was last updated August 19, 2008.
  2.  Abbott is located in Lake County, Illinois.  Especially for a summer internship, I would be willing move out of state.
  3. Abbott is located on the north side of Chicago.  Living in Indianapolis this summer, I found I enjoyed the opportunities a large city offered in terms of entertainment and dining.  However, I also liked relaxed feel of a Midwestern city.  While I imagine Chicago is very different from Indianapolis, it is significantly more similar to the type of place I would like to live than Boston or Los Angeles.
Job Ad Analysis
  1. Due to the wide range of internships offered by this job ad, specific technical skills are not expressly mentioned.  However, the ad does explicitly state two criteria as very important:
  • Academic performance
  • Leadership skills
The ad also seems to imply that the following skills are also necessary or at least highly preferred:
  • Scientific skills (especially in the area of need although this is not specified in the ad)
Familiarity with
  • Drug delivery and development
  • Operations technical support
  • Medical products research & development
  1.  I believe the following skills from my experiences match the skills listed in this ad:
  • research experience
  • organic synthesis skills
  • analytical instrumentation skills
  • knowledge of drug delivery
  • knowledge of drug development process
  • independence
  1.  
Skill
Paragraph
Academic performance
I believe that my undergraduate studies have demonstrated academic excellence. My cumulative GPA has placed me on the dean's list for six semesters.  I have also been accepted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.  Finally, Purdue's College of Science has named me an outstanding junior in the college of science for my performance in the 2007-2008 school year.
Leadership skills
Through my involvement with student organizations, I have had the opportunity to develop my leadership skills.  As a event coordinator for Purdue Science Olympiad, I discovered how to organize and prepare for a major event.  As the drama coordinator for InterVarsity, I learned to build a group from the ground up and to deal with conflict and missed expectations.  Finally, as the treasurer for the American Chemical Society--Student Affiliate, I learned how playing a supporting role can be just as important as being actively involved.
Technical scientific skills
Through research experiences, I have developed both basic and more advanced organic skills.  My undergraduate research experiences at Purdue have developed my basic organic skills: anhydrous conditions, working-up reactions, extraction, thin layer chromatography, and column chromatography.  In addition, I have learned to use the Varian NMR and have had exposure to HPLC and mass spectroscopy.  Through my internship at Eli Lilly, I was able to develop a very different skill set.  By creating more rapid syntheses, I was exposed to and became familiar with a number of new technologies including microwave and flow reactor chemistry.  In addition, I also learned how to integrate these technologies onto an automated synthesizer.
Familiarity with drug delivery and design
My research experiences both at Purdue and Eli Lilly have given me a good understanding of drug delivery and design.  For two years, I worked closely with a graduate student on two projects involving the use of lipids in drug and gen delivery.  This application still remains a focus of the lab group, and I often hear more about our progress at the weekly group meetings.  Spending time at a major pharmaceutical company exposed me to the elements of drug design.  While my project focused on high-throughput chemistry, I was able to discuss the process with employees as well as other interns who were more involved in the design process.
Familiarity with operations technical support, medical products research & development
 While I have no familiarity with these areas, Abbott does not require knowledge of all three.  Having understanding of these other areas would make me more marketable.  However, I do not believe it poses a severe detriment to my prospects.
 
History of the Company
  1. I have talked with company representatives at Industrial Roundtable and been to an information session on the company.  From these encounters, I learned that Abbott has two sites on the north side of Chicago where most of the interns are placed.  I also learned a little about the intern program, especially that they strive to give their interns meaningful work and not just projects that normal employees do not want to do.
  2. Abbott's website is available at www.abbot.com.
  3. Abbott's mission is to make a "Promise for Life" by "Turning Science into Caring."  In order to do this, Abbott desires to advance cutting-edge research to improve health worldwide, to focus on exceptional performance to drive these advances, and to sustain success to continue to provide jobs for employees and care for patients.  Abbott also values diversity which will fuel developments through novel perspectives.  Finally, Abbott strives to earn the trust of those it serves by behaving with integrity and excellence in all it does.
  4.  
  • leading-edge science
  • diverse perspectives
  • caring
  • translating science
  • improvements
  • meaningful difference
  1.  In the late 1800s, Dr. Wallace C. Abbott began making granules which more accurately dosed medicinal plants.  As the result of increasing demand, he incorporated in 1900 as Abbott Alkaloidal Company.  By 1910, the company had even established international branches in London, Toronto, and India.  Over the next century, Abbott continued to grow, eventually entering the synthetic pharmaceutical industry during World War I and continuing to expand its product line even until today.  More recently (2007), Abbott integrated Kos Pharmaceuticals establishing itself in the in lipid management market.
  2. At face value at least, Abbott appears to value its patients and its people.  The website definitely contains this vision.  Unfortunately, many companies have a great vision but poor execution.  However, through interacting with Abbott representatives, I have seen that this lack of follow-through is not the case at Abbott.  The leadership truly tries to help people find their best career path in the company and to deliver quality products which will change people's lives.
  3. The Center for Career Opportunities (CCO) does have a relationship with Abbott.  In fact, Abbott has already posted interviews for several jobs (though not this one) on the CCO website.
  4. I do not have any personal connections at Abbott.  However, I have corresponded several with a member of the human resources department who specializes in University relations.