The career importance of community service work

Recently, I had a chat with a chemical society, on the subject of leadership in the UK chemical industry. The hour consisted of situational questions on subjects ranging from teamwork and communication to change management for innovative technologies. Many of my responses naturally drew on experiences from activities outside my labwork and data work. I discussed internal project management, coaching a team of students to run seminars, and judging prizes with the RSC. Even when my answers did draw from technical work, for example discussing a recent setback, the answer I gave focussed more on the networks of people I needed to draw upon to fix it, rather than the details of how a new web tool was built and implemented. This active encouragement of service and community work was the opposite of what I came to expect as a student. While I am sure the world has not changed a great deal in its attitude since then, I have noticed a seismic shift in the responses of the people I most often associate with as I have grown and moved between different chemistry communities.

Nine years ago, I was anxious to discover how I could present myself as a strong candidate for graduate studies. A well-meaning and exalted professor instructed me to emphasise ‘outreach’, since admission committees look well on it, apparently. So, when applying to multiple US institutions for graduate positions, I showcased two main external activities in my CV. The first was inviting leading scientists from around the UK to give cutting-edge seminars, with a wonderful group called Oxford University Scientific Society. The second was some education work I’d done during university holidays, at the Catalyst Science and Discovery Centre in Widnes, which amazingly is within walking distance of my parents’ house.