FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | March 17, 2009

ACS offers career help for members in economic downturn

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2009 — The American Chemical Society (ACS) is offering a variety of "comprehensive and strategic services" to members seeking employment during this economic downturn. ACS is the world’s largest scientific society.

According to David Harwell, Ph.D., assistant director of career services and diversity, "ACS has one of the most comprehensive and strategic suites of services offered on its careers Web site for members." Harwell said the site utilizes what research has shown are the three top ways that members seek and find successful employment. All are accessible on the ACS Web site, www.acs.org/careers.

Harwell said they are:

  • electronic resources, including a job data bank that is easy to use by members and by employers,
  • the ACS Network offering a professional networking platform that allows members and global partners to connect and communicate with friends, colleagues, and potential employers. That network now includes more than 16,000 scientific professionals, and
  • utilizing employment and placement agencies.

In addition Harwell said unemployed members are eligible for special discounts for a variety of career-building on-line classes, including the ACS Harvard Business courses. ACS is also offering help through its recently established Leadership Development System (LDS), a new curriculum that provides practical courses to sharpen leadership skills, increase marketability, and advance a career.

ACS also offers a monthly Careers Industry Forum teleconference focusing on the skills workers in the chemical sciences need to develop for current and future workplace goals. ACS leaders, such as ACS President Thomas H. Lane, Ph.D., are guests on the program, sharing their knowledge and experience in the workplace. More information is available at http://acscareers.wordpress.com/industry-forum/

“ACS members also have free guidance from ACS career consultants, a group of trained ACS members who volunteer to offer assistance and advice in preparing resumÉs, building interviewing skills, searching for jobs, and negotiating salaries”, Harwell said. Through the ACS Career Blog at http://acscareers.wordpress.com/, chemical professionals can read weekly postings from a variety of authors on topics related to job search strategies and employment trends. To further sharpen interviewing skills, members can access InterviewStream, a new online tool that helps build and strengthen interview skills. The system, which can be accessed in the privacy of their own homes, uses a webcam to record responses to sample interview questions.

Harwell said, “ACS and its leaders will continue to look for innovative ways to help members of the chemical community during this economic downturn. Additionally, we will build on our cadre of career development resources to meet the evolving needs of our members and others in the chemical profession.”

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— Charmayne Marsh

For further information, please contact:

Charmayne Marsh

202-872-4445