Useful Baby Items

Submitted By: Issel Anne Lim, PhD
Department/Affiliation: FM Kirby Research Center / Radiology

Having a baby seems to be quite common among many of our postdoc friends. Here are a few products that some our parents find especially useful:

Miscellaneous Useful Items

• Avent Soothie pacifiers. Many babies will want to suck on something to be soothed, even when they aren't necessarily hungry. These pacifiers have an open back, which lets you stick your finger into the nipple and wiggle it around, convincing a crying baby to suck on the pacifier and quiet down. Touching the pacifier to the roof of the baby's mouth will also encourage the baby to accept the pacifier.
• Pacifier clip. We like JJ Cole pacifier clips, which have an easily-attached non-metal clip, which is like a chip-clip.
• Nose-Frida Snot-Sucker. The concept sounds a bit gross -- use your mouth to suction out your kid's snot -- but they have a filter to prevent mucus from going through the tube, and you're able to control the power of the suction, which makes it quite handy and portable). Before using the snot sucker, it helps to put a few drops of saline into your kid's stuffy nose, so that the boogers become a bit more liquid-y and easy to suck out.

Baltimore: Finding a Roommate

Submitted By: MB Nebel
Department/Affiliation: Kennedy Krieger Institute

I’ve lived in Baltimore for a little over three years, but for various reasons, this past month I found myself in search of a new place to live. When I first moved to Baltimore from North Carolina, I contacted a bunch of people looking for roommates on Craigslist and eventually found a great row house (and a great roommate) in Federal Hill. My original Bmore roommate also gave me a really helpful piece of advice for picking a neighborhood: you don’t want to live on a deserted street. If people are outside walking around, it’s because they feel safe doing so. There are always people out and about in Federal Hill; it’s not the most convenient neighborhood as far as getting to and from the East Baltimore campus is concerned, but my schedule is pretty flexible, and I wouldn’t trade riding the (free and always on-time) Harbor Connector to work everyday for anything. 

Anyway, this past Friday on my way home from work, I went to check out another apartment and to meet a potential roommate. We’ll call the person looking for a new roommate “Amy.” She’s a young professional whose job requires her to be away from Baltimore three weeks out of every month. Her current roommate, “Michele” is an undergrad and is about to graduate. When I arrived at the apartment, both Amy and Michele were in the kitchen. Amy proceeded to ask Michele if it was okay if she showed me her bedroom. Michele asked for us to wait just a minute while she went in first to tidy up a bit. Michele was only in her room for 2 minutes at most, and when she came back into the living room, she asked me to pardon the mess in her room, as she was getting ready to bring a bunch of stuff home. I told her not to worry about it, and I walked into her room; it wasn't any messier than mine. 

While I was trying to figure out which direction her window faced, I started to open one of her closet doors. After safety, closet size is probably my next biggest concern. Initially only seeing the inside of the closet in my peripheral vision, I thought to myself "Does she have a mannequin in her closet?" And then it moved! And I realized it wasn't a mannequin; it was a guy hiding in her closet! I took a little step back and let out a quiet "oh" as the man hiding in the closet raised his finger to his mouth to indicate to me to be quiet. Amy hadn’t followed me into the room; she was standing in the doorway, and luckily, my face was blocked from her view by the now-open closet door. I quickly closed the door and went back into the living room struggling to think of anything to say other than "There's a man hiding in your roommate's closet." Amy took me on a tour of the rest of the apartment building - the patio on the 9th floor and the gym on the first floor and whatnot - and the whole time, all I wanted to do was tell someone/anyone/everyone that I just found a guy hiding in a closet because that just happened! It was not a dream or a figment of my imagination. Should I have told Amy? Did Michele know? I’m assuming that’s the real reason Michele went into the bedroom before me, but who was he and why did she tell him to hide in the closet? If it was some sort of roommate test, I guess I failed. Oh well. I’ll just add “men hiding in the closet” to my list of apartment deal-breakers.

Interested in Interviews? Part 03: Your Interview

Submitted By: Issel Anne Lim, PhD
Department/Affiliation: Radiology / F.M. Kirby Research Center

After finally getting that oh-so-elusive academic degree, we then need to figure out how to get a job. Whether you're trying to get an interview or get the offer, here are a few things to think about: showcasing your skills, customizing your application, and brainstorming your interview answers.

Part 03: Your Interview

Research the job and organization, so that you're familiar with the lingo (e.g., if you're interviewing for the FDA, find out what a "PMA" is). See which things they emphasize on their websites, and get a feel for how you may fit into the work environment. Also think of a few questions that you may have for the interviewer -- what's an example of a "typical" day on the job? What sorts of things would you want to improve about your job?

The best way to prepare for an interview is to practice -- especially with a real, live person. Schedule a mock interview with the Professional Development Office to figure out what sorts of questions you may need to answer, and/or look through the questions below. 

Interested in Interviews? Part 02: Your Application

Submitted By: Issel Anne Lim, PhD
Department/Affiliation: Radiology / F.M. Kirby Research Center

After finally getting that oh-so-elusive academic degree, we then need to figure out how to get a job. Whether you're trying to get an interview or get the offer, here are a few things to think about: showcasing your skills, customizing your application, and brainstorming your interview answers.

Part 02: Your Application

Now that you've got a pretty good skill set, how do you showcase yourself? Well, at the least, potential employers will want to see your résumé or curriculum vitae, along with a cover letter. 

A résumé is a summary of the skills that you're bringing to an organization, so don't forget to customize each résumé for each job that you apply to. Oftentimes, a non-technical person will be searching through applications to find someone that may match a particular job, so sprinkle your résumé with words or phrases from the job description. You may want to include a "Summary of Qualifications" that summarizes how your skills will be useful to that particular organization. Also look at the job description's requirements; for example, some government positions want to know how many hours you worked per week on a particular project. Limit your résumé to two pages maximum, or only one page for some consulting jobs.

Interested in Interviews? Part 01: Your Skills

Submitted By: Issel Anne Lim, PhD
Department/Affiliation: Radiology / F.M. Kirby Research Center

After finally getting that oh-so-elusive academic degree, we then need to figure out how to get a job. Whether you're trying to get an interview or get the offer, here are a few things to think about: showcasing your skills, customizing your application, and brainstorming your interview answers.

Part 01: Your Skills

Most job applications require your résumé. The first step is to actually have things that you can put on your résumé. These not only look good, but also give you something to talk about at the interview. Join some of the extracurricular governing bodies or nonprofit organizations, like the JohnsHopkins PostDoctoral Association or Association of Women in Science, which let you organize events, create resources, and/or meet lots of interesting people. Leadership positions not only teach you how to manage people and resources, but also help make an impact on the community.