When you think about your career, do you focus on strength and value assessments, personalized development plans, and your next move? These are valuable aspects of managing a career, but they are self-centered. Don’t get me wrong, you need to think about these attributes, but it is critical to think about them relative to your employer.
Companies have unique strengths and values. Knowing what these are enhances your fit and lets you be a champion for the organization. Companies have customized development plans (strategy) that shows where they plan on going. If you align with the direction the company is heading, jump on board initiatives to lay the groundwork. In healthy organizations, company success will be your success. Knowing the organization’s big picture helps you succeed and understand decisions made (even if you may not enjoy them). Occasional re-alignments are needed, like with tires, but that’s part of normal career “wear and tear.”
This idea has served me well. I’ve been surprised by developments in companies when I didn’t have this focus. By paying attention, I’ve been able to tell when an organization was heading in a direction that I didn’t align with. At Evonik, I apply these principles, and it has worked well. I’m at a place of alignment with the company.
Adam Myers is a versatile chemist and leader with more than 16 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He has done synthesis, contract analytical (cGMP and GLP), and contract manufacturing, with a focus on complex project management, commercial API manufacturing, and in vitro comparative analysis (bioequivalence, dissolution, diffusion, volatilization, and solubility).
Adam is currently a senior project manager in Research, Development & Innovation at Evonik Tippecanoe Laboratories. Adam received his B.S. in honors chemistry and biochemistry as well as his PhD in organic chemistry from Purdue University.
He has had a variety of leadership experiences both in the laboratory and beyond, including extensive ACS roles. For ACS, Adam has held local and divisional officer positions and has served nationally on the Young Chemists Committee, the Committee on Science, and the Meetings & Expositions committee. He has a passion for career development, and greatly enjoys serving as an ACS Career Consultant and Career Pathways Workshop facilitator. Adam has organized many symposia, and has presented numerous times at local, regional, and national venues.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the view of their employer or the American Chemical Society.
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