<p>At this point I'm assuming rejections from all of my remaining schools for biomedical sciences. I had three interviews that I thought went well but, was rejected from one of them and waitlisted at the other. Well, I could technically be accepted to the last school I interviewed at but, I didn't like the city or areas around the campus so wouldn't accept anyway.</p>
<p>Right now I know people in both Boston and Dallas so, I would be interested in getting a lab tech position somewhere in those areas. Really I would be willing to go to any of the top research universities to get some more experience so, I can try to apply again in two years or something. I'm wondering when is the best time to start applying for openings at these places? Also, do they normally require you to interview in person or can you setup a phone interview? </p>
<p>Here are my stats to know if I should even bother applying to some of the top universities.</p>
<p>3.2 GPA biology
1 summer of research in a breast cancer lab
1 year working on senior project involving plant biology </p>
<p>I've been looking at different places online and there are openings now but, I'm not sure if I should apply since I won't be graduating until the middle of May.</p>
<p>You should start applying now. The postings now are likely for jobs that will begin in the summer, and they’ll assume you won’t start until after you graduate.</p>
<p>I don’t know if what my lab does is typical, but we phone interview as a first cut, then invite more promising candidates for an in-person interview paid for by the lab.</p>
<p>Yes, look now. My lab is looking for people to replace me when I leave, probably in July or so. That being said, I was hired in August because I took a summer off. Labs are looking for people all the time, but most openings will be filled from now until the start of summer. </p>
<p>Personally, I think being a lab tech has helped my application tremendously, let alone my abilities as a researcher. I highly encourage it. Especially with your GPA - research experience will more than make up for an average GPA.</p>
<p>What you do as a tech is important! Core facilities and industry are not ideal. I would look for positions where you can essentially operate as a grad student at least half of the time.</p>
<p>Start applying now. I started in April, it took 1 month to get my first interview. I didn’t start working until August. Also. just because a job was recently posted doesn’t mean they’re looking to hire ASAP.</p>
<p>The first 2 interviews I did were over the phone because they were at out-of-state universities. The last interview I did (for the job I got) was in person. Keep in mind many PIs (from what I’ve heard) are slightly apprehensive about hiring an out-of-state candidate. So if you’re set on moving to Dallas or Boston, tell them that you have planned to relocate there and thus will need a job in that location.</p>
<p>Apply now. Usually phone interviews precede face to face interviews. If the labs aren’t looking to hire until the summer, they will tell you that. </p>
<p>I had three different job hunting sessions between undergrad and grad school (spread across several years). One important thing I gained was that applying through HR is a waste of time. You would need to put out hundreds of apps to find a good job that way. I suggest contacting faculty that you might be interested in doing grad school with.</p>
<p>You should definitely start applying now… My lab starts looking at the application for tech positions now and usually hires people that can start working in June/July and I know that most other places will take you as soon as you can start if they really like you…</p>
<p>Speaking specifically of Boston, you have 2 nice hubs where you can look for people (especially if you’re staying in breast cancer work): Longwood medical down near Kenmore has a variety of research going on and you can find excellent people working at Harvard Medical, Harvard Institute of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess, Dana Farber, and Brigham and Womens Hospitals. You also have MIT and Mass. General which are over on the Red Line near Cambridge. Most of the Hospitals I listed there have affiliations with Harvard Medical, which is pretty nice for networking. </p>
<p>Most times an institute will set up a phone interview - if they are still interested, they will pass your name on to a hiring director (or PI, or lab manager - someone who actually does the science and not necessarily works in HR). They can usually do a phone interview or face-to-face, depending on your situation. This is sometimes circumvented and your name is just immediately passed to the hiring manager or lab manager and they screen the resumes. </p>
<p>I could go on about this crap, but it’s late and that’s the general answer to the stated question.</p>