PostdocTransformation show for scienctists leaping into business
Get to know companies which hire people with a doctor title
Episode 0041 Shownotes
In this PostdocTransformation Show episode, Dr. Irène Kilubi shares her experience from being employed as a consultant based on her industrial engineering background and growing into entrepreneurship with two marketing boutiques. She shares her strategies and insights for individuals transitioning from academia to business, discussing personal growth, early supporter networking, humility, continuous learning, mental health, and gratitude. She is an advocate for age diversity in the workplace, and we celebrate her new book “Du bist mehr als eine Zahl” – You are more than just a number, Murmann Verlag.
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About our PostdocTransformation show
Invest in your PostdocTransformation. Welcome to the seasonal show for scientists leaping into business. In every sponsored episode, we are happy to recommend employers of choice for you. Make sure to check your readiness to leap out of science with us for free, as linked in the show notes. For your career transition, we offer customized career transition e-courses and memberships, also at graduate schools all over the world.
Maybe yours too. And if your university isn't yet our customer, enroll in your free email course for career transition made simple as linked in the show notes. I'm your host, Professor Dr. Eleonore Soei Winkels, with my team who is rooting for you. And let's build your PostdocTransformation with this episode.
[00:01:05] Special Guest: Dr. Irène Kilubi's Journey and Insights
Eleonore: Hello, PostdocTransformer. I have a special guest today for you. You will want to listen to Dr. Irène Kilubi, who is sharing about personal growth and career transition, and she will be talking about the importance of early supporters while starting a network for a career advancement, pursuing a PhD alongside a demanding job, and the significance of mental health and humility, and asking for help.
And that comes from no one less than Dr. Irène Kilubi, and we actually have gone a long way. Back in June 2020, Dr. Irène Kilubi saw me when I was struggling during the first COVID 19 lockdown. I was lecturing from home with two little kids in kindergarten age, and she wanted my perspective on diversity in her #OnPoint campaign.
At first I did not react due to time constraints, but While she was asking again and again, I realized that my LinkedIn bubble actually decreased because many caregiving women minimized their online presence.
So I thought, well, you know what? That really is a diversity issue. COVID impacts us differently. I must support Dr. Irène Kilubi in her initiative for more diversity. And if you're curious about my statement, you can click on the link in the show notes.
[00:02:28] Exploring Age Diversity with Dr. Irène Kilubi
Eleonore: But now let's talk about who is Dr. Irène Kilubi with Roundabout 50,000 followers on LinkedIn?
You must know her. Alright, so she's a doctor and industrial engineer and she's been working as a consultant in top companies.
And that alone makes her a perfect guest for our show, but she's also a natural and proven marketing expert. And nowadays she's focusing on JointGenerations, which has been awarded multiple times as a social impact initiative. Her personal growth will hopefully inspire you for creating your own impactful career.
I am proudly one of many advisors of JointGenerations. Why we at JointGenerations aim to sustainably foster age diversity. We want to do that by innovative and gamified communication and collaboration across all generations. So we want to share insights and encouragement from business, society, politics, and also media.
We do that by developing and offering a co creation app and reverse mentoring app. We also organize and host the Generations Festivals so that our future can be co created by young and old as joint generations.
Irene Kidubi is a community builder across many social platforms, and she supports companies in setting up corporate influencer programs. She's a juror in many entrepreneurial and startup competitions. She's a celebrated speaker, no wonder. She also lectures digital marketing and entrepreneurship at an applied university in Germany, where she is actually based in Munich. has been recognized by awards and appreciations from the Business Insider, Xing, Beyond Gender Agenda, Zukunft Personal, and Sales, Impact of Diversity, and the German Federal Ministry of Education and research. I was literally begging her to come to my show from day one, and I'm really happy to celebrate her now with her new book, Du bist mehr als eine Zahl, You are more than just a number, and why age does not matter.
So, Drumroll, and welcome to the stage, Dr. Irène Kilubi, and if I have forgotten something, let us know what we need to know.
Dr. Irène Kilubi: Hello, Elli. Great to see you again. I hope you're doing fine. I'm so happy that you're already holding my book in your hands.
[00:05:03] The Launch of JointGenerations and Brandpreneurs & Brandflluencers
Dr. Irène Kilubi:: So as you correctly pointed out, I'm a fresh born author, I have initiated the social impact initiative joint generations. And our motto is the future is young and old besides the social impact initiative, I also founded a small marketing boutique called Brandpreneurs and Brandfluencers. And here we have the focus on corporate influencers. You probably know it, most commonly under the term employer brand ambassadors or employee advocates. And we also do, community building, as you know, right?
So we've been working together on quite a few small project and you've been supporting JointGenerations from day one on, and I'm so happy to join your podcast today.
Eleonore: Yeah, it's been a really long time coming in and it really is so valuable for me because your work is so close to my values of honoring and also building the future for all of our children.
[00:06:06] Dr. Irène Kilubi on Writing Her Book
Eleonore: So as a first time author, why did you write your book?
Dr. Irène Kilubi: I Could tell so many different things but my mother and my sister work in the elderly care So I grew up with Knowing how other people feel and under which circumstances they live here in Germany. And next, during my studies, one of my major courses was human resources management. I studied industrial engineering and I wanted to write an essay on age diversity. And my professor was very surprised and he said like, Oh, this is not a sexy topic. Why don't you talk about, Cultural aspects of companies and so on still I did it and after that he was so impressed and he said like oh, this is a very exciting topic and as you know after my studies I joined several companies as BMW Siemens in house consulting and at the end I worked for Deloitte And was, strategic advisor for several companies such as the European Central Bank for Allianz Global Investors, Vodafone, you name it.
And, besides, I've been always pursuing different side projects. So, since then, I've been also a university lecturer, for example. Nowadays, I'm sitting in the advisory board of many different, companies and organizations and I met lots of great people, founders, entrepreneurs, as well as people who were involved in female empowerment. And I still work with them today. So I realized that many people focus on gender diversity, a bit on like, so to say, cultural background, ethnicity. However, I felt there was a lack on talking about age as a diversity dimension. And this is so surprising because age is the only diversity dimension that we all have in common.
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Dr. Irène Kilubi: We're all babies, children, teenagers, adults, and then hopefully, happy grandmothers and grandfathers one day, right? Ellie? So, I did my research and was looking for organizations that I can support in this undeaver. However, I didn't find any initiative or organization where I felt comfortable with, you know, because there are so many initiatives focusing on young people and just a few on elder people and rarely any organization focused on bringing all generations together.
So, the idea of Young Generation was born. And, after encountering so many prejudices because I was always too young for something and I don't know, maybe I'm too middle aged now. However, I know that soon I'll be too old for something. And this is something I want to protect our children from, you know, to be discriminated because of their age.
Eleonore: Oh, this is so important. Age diversity really impacts us intersectionally. Aging is different for men versus women. And that really dovetails nicely with one of my previous episodes on PictureAScientist with, Professor Dr. Richa Chandra and Dr. Amber Miller.
And to your point, aging is for transgender people even harder. I know a transgender woman who has been feeling beautifully in her younger years, but now growing older, she has returned to dress like a man because she doesn't feel beautiful enough anymore as a woman.
Dr. Irène Kilubi: This is what our society can do with us, you know, and as you pointed out, we as women, we're never in the right age. We're always too young or too old. And I love the fact that you're mentioning the intersectional aspect of this topic because it's totally different. A man who is homosexual, lives in a bigger town, urban city, like Berlin for example, and let's say 30 years old. And someone who is homosexual and 60 and lives in a small suburb, for example. It's a total difference, this is something we have to consider. In particular, if related to the age, other dimensions come into place as well, you know?
Eleonore: Absolutely, this is the reason why your book and also this interview should be listened and read by a lot of HR representatives of companies who want to make a difference from within the system, who want to become the people who support the people at work.
[00:11:46] Age Diversity: A Deep Dive into Dr. Kilubi's Book
Eleonore: So coming back to your book, what are your favorite chapters and insights that you want to share here with my audience, the postdoc transformers who are scientists leaping into business, but also with my students in real life, the bachelor and master students of industrial and occupational psychology.
What are the things that you want to share with them as they become fathers and mothers in the near future?
Absolutely. And there's one very important factor that you forgot to mention, dear Ellie. That you are also part of the book. You contributed.
Yeah, I know. But to be honest, we both know how that came. Right. So you were thinking of me. And I'm grateful that you did so.
Dr. Irène Kilubi: Thank you so much. So, coming back to your question, there's, for example, one chapter that I really like it's called, I need to translate it from German into English.
I hope that it's, close to it. It means like, don't fear anything. Why we should, , give younger people more responsibility, right? Something around this lines. So I talk about reverse leadership. Because nowadays, this is also something that one quarter of all companies are facing right now, that we have younger people who are managing older employees, right? So, I'm talking about my experience is when I was young and people, thought that I was too young to take on any decisions or to take on responsibility. However, I didn't have that much of this problem because they believed that I was competent enough, but still, they were so stubborn. Stick and tie to my age.
They said, Oh, you're too young. Just wait a couple more years. You're performing. You're great. And so on and so forth. So why, if I have all the required skills and I'm motivated, you are only focusing on my age. What is the difference if I'm 20 or 30, if I have the skills to do something bigger or to advance in my career.
So this chapter is totally devoted to this topic, and also many experts come to word and I have mentioned several statistics as well. My personal experiences, some voices from the community, what they think about reverse leadership. And then also at the end of each chapter, you have a little exercise and time to reflect on the chapter, what you have learned from it.
I'm also presenting some methods, strategies, and tied to best practices from people, from organizations like yourself or from companies, corporates and startups. So I'm so excited about this book and I really want people to take the most out of it, right? There are some chapters that are really close to my heart, one is called staying hungry and why the color of your life journey should be colorful. I don't know how it's called in the English speaking countries, but in Germany we say, Oh, you should have a red line in your CV. And I think that's so awkward because red is a color signal, it's always like danger, you know, and I thought like, why shouldn't it be like green or yellow? And I said, at the end of the day, it should just be colorful. The journey of your life should be colorful. It's not in a way like in the past, like for our parents, you know, Ellie, they did their apprenticeship or their studies whatsoever, started their professional career and remained at one company until they retired. You know, so make your life colorful because you are facing many different life stages and you have a great personality with many different facets and many different skills. So live it out, right? Make your life journey and your CV colorful. And this applies to every age, you know, like if you're very young, you still don't know what to do. Try out things. You know, you don't need to be stuck in your comfort zone and the other, the same thing applies to people who are older as well. Even though you're 50, if you think that there's a career move, the right thing for you to do, so go for it.
Eleonore: Absolutely. And you know, for me, becoming a mom was almost one of the most profound decisions, if you can call that a decision, because it really is a gift, you know? It made me so much stronger in what I advocate for myself and my kids. So, talking about your picture of a thread that is really colorful, I could spin that a little bit further. You know, you could also think of it as having a lot of threads that you can braid or dovetail and they become stronger. So, instead of having one thread of one color, you can have a stronger and more colorful rope, which is even more elastic and resilient for your future. So now, let's come back to your book again.
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[00:17:36] The Future of Work and Age Diversity
Eleonore: As you know my various audience groups, for whom is your book relevant?
Dr. Irène Kilubi: As I aforementioned, age is something that applies to everyone. Something that is relevant to all of us. So, in the first place, of course, it's dedicated to HR professionals. I hope that it will help them to Change their mindset in terms of people being too young or too old to, on the one hand, the young people to take on responsibility or to make the right decisions or to be taken seriously when they have great ideas, great concepts that they want to follow. On the other hand , older people, where HR professional might probably think, Oh, they're too old to, to. Still possess certain competencies or even to learn new skills, right? So for them to not think in terms of age, but in terms of passion, potential, skill level and motivation as well, right? So it's a good thing, for them to reflect on that, to be aware of that and also to understand, how people in that position feel when they apply or when they're in the company, working with teams together and Also to understand the different generations and their life stages, right? But still, there are also some exercises, some thought provoking chapters for every individual out there because everyone can relate to it and feel it. Everyone has been Perceived either as being too young or too old and also to reflect on that and to be aware of like, how do I feel about my own age? How do I face challenges when it comes to societal life or professional career? How do I face the situation and how do I overcome that can come along that, you know? Just to mention one example. Maybe you are 50 and you want to try something new or you want to make yourself independent, but you are doubting because you feel like, okay, no one will employ me or I'm too old for that.
Will I be accepted being perceived as old, right? And also do I limit myself due to my age, right? And if I do so, what can I do to overcome it? You know, and what does it mean in terms of the way I live my life? Because the book is called you are more than a number, you know?
So, do you live a life where you are a number or where age does not play a role?
Eleonore: Absolutely agreed. I really do think that age as a number shouldn't matter that much.
Eleonore: And looking at your book, it's more like a workbook for the individual, but also for companies who can offer discussions around that during a Lunch Learn, you know, to talk about this in a group or whatever. So, what are ideal outcomes from your book, Irene?
Dr. Irène Kilubi: I also want to emphasize that this book is an action book for every generation, right? So, the ideal outcome would be, just put it simple. That age does not matter anymore.
This would be the ideal world, that we also focus on our commonalities rather than our differences. Because this is what unites us. Let's take work life balance as an example because sometimes older people claim, Oh, those young people, they only care about work life balance. We didn't have work life balance.
We worked hard. You know, but I say like, nowadays we live under Totally different circumstances, different context. And the funny thing is, our parents claimed for themselves to have work life balance, but they didn't have the opportunity to realize it because, here again, the societal and political circumstances were totally different. And now, The so called Generation Z, for example, has the opportunity to really claim it and Also say like if there's an employer who doesn't provide it, I go to the to another employer, right? Say goodbye. Why should I be loyal towards you if the values And the company culture you promised me don't stick to reality
Eleonore: Yeah. And I really do encourage also my own bachelor and master's students to be valuable and contributing high performance today so they can also be picky as they can afford it.
They are our future of work. Now, we may look into your future, what's coming next around your book, but also your own business, which you mentioned in the intro, Brandpreneurs and Brandfluencers.
Dr. Irène Kilubi: Yes.
Dr. Irène Kilubi: So as you know, I had my release, last week on Thursday. So there's a lot of marketing, spreading the words and also talking about marketing, Marketing a book is one of the toughest things you can do, right? So, it definitely helps if you have a community that pushes it forward and posts about it until, people can not see it anymore. Then it's the right time, you know, it's the right level, the right level is reached. You know why? Because for every other product, you need five to seven touch points until people buy it.
But for books, it's nine touch points. It means they have to see the book like nine times somewhere. Listen or see people talking about it nine times until they buy it because you know Buying books is something highly emotional. Why should a person buy a book from someone they don't know? you know who's not a celebrity or a TV star or a soccer star. Selling books starts like insurances with your family friends and community and then it spreads the word You know and if it doesn't spread the word It will be lost in transit somewhere, you know, because the first one, two weeks are very important for a book to get this traction.
If it doesn't, you know, like the bookstores, they will not present it in their shelves and make it visible and then you're gone.
[00:24:51] Engaging the Community and Future Plans
Dr. Irène Kilubi: So it's a pretty tough time right now for me, but I hope that it will help make JointGenerations more visible that more and more people also support the mission and more and more organizations initiatives, um, get founded, you know, like to, to make this topic more visible so that not so much responsibility rests on my shoulders alone, you know, so I feel really excited about it that also other people are joining this mission.
So it's great to see.
Eleonore: And I also want to jump in, dear PostdocTransformers, you are currently listening to a LinkedIn Rockstar in Germany. I call Dr. Irène Kilubi the Community Queen. She's got over 40 000 followers and the list of the co contributors is the WhoisWho on LinkedIn Germany. I follow a lot of them because they themselves are inspiring for leadership, new work, age inclusion, employer branding, diversity, digital marketing, and entrepreneurship.
So, I'm now talking especially to my bachelor and master students in real life. If you are planning a career in Germany, This book is full of people you should know and follow on LinkedIn. Irene is really in the trenches of these topics since many, many years, and she's got a gift for you. Drumroll! You can win a book by sharing in your TikTok, Instagram stories, or posts in LinkedIn, X, YouTube, or comment with your podcast app or whatever.
And very important, tag me and her, Dr. Eleonore Soei Winkels, why you want to win her book. And I will send you one of the copies which she graciously sent to me for this episode of the PostdocTransformation Show. Woohoo!
Dr. Irène Kilubi: Yes, absolutely. And you know what? There are two people from my network, that presented me a great idea.
They said like, it's the best birthday present ever because you know, sometimes people feel frustrated getting one year older and then say like, hey, look at this. You know? And, one of my friends, she'll have birthday, round birthday, 70 years old, she'll turn, and she said, like, you have to come, we will present some of your books, because that absolutely fits to me, me and my current situation, because every time I get frustrated getting older, I would just see, like, you. You're just more than a number and your age doesn't matter, you know, it's like also like a feel good book, you know To feel good about your age
[00:28:55] Irène Kilubi's Journey from Academia to Entrepreneurship, Startups & Small and Medium Enterprises
Eleonore: And that really is the perfect segue to the next topic, because now I want to talk to specifically the scientists leaping into business who may feel a little bit old compared to all the, you know, freshers who come from the bachelor and master studies when they enter the business world and they then find themselves in very similar roles because all of them are very fresh in industries.
So, Dr. Irène Kilubi is also someone who leaped into business.
Eleonore: Can you tell us a little bit more about your own PhD story, Irène?
Dr. Irène Kilubi: Well, you know I did all my education here in Germany. I did my university entry level certification.
Then I studied in Germany. I studied one year in the UK, did my master's there. And then I joined the industry. As aforementioned, I'm a corporate kid, I worked at corporates a lot, but doing some side hustling. I also learned the world of startups and entrepreneurs, which I found very exciting as well. And nowadays having two companies. I'm also getting to know the small and medium, enterprises, you know, like depending on the context I work with different industries.
And so I realized that totally different. The corporate is totally different from a startup or scale up and from a small and medium enterprise, you know, in terms of company culture. And in particular, in terms of the whole processes that work together, and most of the time a corporate is larger and, the employees are dispersed globally. And processes can take on lots of time until you make any decisions and startups are so fast paced and very quick, very agile. And I would say like small and medium enterprise, something in between, you know, they are trying to take the best of both worlds. And so for me working there, it was very exciting when I entered, BMW, it was my first employer after my studies. I was. By far the youngest in the department. The next older colleague was 43. So we had like 18 to 19 years of age difference and this is where I also particularly realized how relevant, irrelevant my age is, because everything I did was always tied to my age. Oh, you're so young and dynamic. You think you can change the world and you're so excited and you're always in a good mood. Wait a couple of years that will change. Those who are older, they said like, Oh, I'm getting paid for being present and not for my performance.
You know, and I was. I always thought like, how sad is that, that you spend like at least 80 percent of your lifetime at work, and you feel so negatively about About working, work itself and your working environment and so on. I said like, I don't want to live that, that life, you know, and wait until I retire to be happy finally.
And this is something I can recommend to everyone. Be it that you are in your mid twenties or you are fifty. Don't wait until it, it hurts, you know.
[00:31:53] The Importance of Passion and Performance in Your Career
Dr. Irène Kilubi: Change it immediately when you realize that you're not happy or you're not living your full potential because at the end of the day studies have shown that the most important thing for employees is if they feel that they can bring value add to the company. So it's a win win situation for the employer and for the employee. So ask yourself, do you feel where you are right now you can bring value add to the company or not? So if it's not the case. Either you should talk to your supervisors or like look for another activity within the company. If this still doesn't help, you have to look for something where you really find a way to bring together.
I think that those two components are very essential. Passion and performance. You get my point? Because if you're pursuing an activity where you only feel passionate about, but you feel that you're Your performance is mediocre and so many other people are better than yourself, you won't be happy if you, pursue a job where you bring a lot of performance but you don't feel passionate about it.
You won't be happy either. So here, the art of all things is finding a way to bring both together. And this is also one of my methods in the book, the soul analysis, so to say, right.
[00:33:21] Leveraging Networking and Personal Branding
Eleonore: Irène, I already introduced you as my community queen on LinkedIn, so tell me, what is your secret sauce?
Dr. Irène Kilubi: You mentioned it LinkedIn being visible, personal branding, networking, you know. Start networking, building your personal brand as soon as you can and it's not only about social media, it's also offline because I would, I would tell that my network is even stronger outside of social media, you know, because not everyone in my network is on social media and to be honest, most of the great, great deals I get from offline activities and people that I know offline, or they recommend me, right? So. At the end of the day, I feel like bringing both together, balancing it out is a perfect match, I would always say that social media is only the starting point, but the real partnerships, the strong bonds can only be realized in persona. And oftentimes I experienced, I've been talking so many times with people online or also via conference calls. And it took so long until we finally made a deal, but once I met them, after five minutes, so Dr. Kilubi will sign the contract and say like, what is the difference now after five minutes? And we talking for months and weeks, but I think that sometimes people just need this personal connection, and this is absolutely valuable.
So, and to be honest, I already started building my network early on without even thinking of building my own company just because I enjoyed networking. I enjoyed exchanging with people and that's the the number one thing to be successful, you know, to enjoy it and not to consider it as work.
I don't consider it as work, you know, if it feels like a burden, you will not be successful. Just imagine like going for for dinner or for lunch with several people enjoying your time. That's the same thing.
[00:36:41] The Power of In-Person Connections
Eleonore: I can absolutely attest to that because, and you and I have also met in Duisburg, which is a city nearby, and you told me by that so many things in the sense of how can considerate you can be, you send me a message that you will be nearby and let's meet because you know that I don't travel nowadays anymore, that really made such a huge impression on me and I absolutely cherish this meeting and I haven't posted about it because it's so rare and valuable for me. And now your interview here in the PostdocTransformation Show is the perfect place to show that picture because I really agree with you.
Meeting someone in person can even make a bigger impact than just a post, just a like, just a comment. So I second you here, Irène. Apart from networking on LinkedIn, et cetera, on social media, which is arguably great for introverts, I encourage all PostdocTransformers, if you don't go out and meet the key people in person, you will miss out on opportunities for your career transition into business.
All right.
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[00:37:45] Marketing Skills and Career Transitions
Eleonore: So let's switch gears a little bit and look at your background. I already alluded to it earlier. You are an engineer. So, how come you are so great on marketing with your engineering background?
Dr. Irène Kilubi: Yes, to be honest, it's also a little bit of my history because when I grew up, people always tend to say like, Oh, you're so outgoing, communicative, you should be something, do something creative. And my marketing professor, she was always very impressed with me. And she was like, you have to be Someone in the marketing field, she always called me, you're a marketing rock star, it totally matches. And I always felt upset when people told me that because I said like, I'm good at math and technical fields, but no one sees it because I was thought like marketing. It's easy. Everyone can do it. And being communicative, networking, talking to people, how difficult can that be? You know, it's nothing special, you know, and.
So I decided not to pursue a career in marketing, you know, at that moment here again, it's something that you have to learn along the way. At the end of the day, I couldn't change it anymore. You know, now I can say. Yes, I'm damn good at marketing and networking, and I'm very good at talking to people. Not everyone can do it, and in particular, in the way I can do it, you know, that's the difference again, so, I couldn't imagine myself saying like, I have a marketing agency. I have a marketing boutique because I said, I felt like. Oh, so cliche, you know, a black lady, of course, what else should she be doing?
Right? Other than something creative or something with marketing. Nowadays, yes, I'm really proud of it. And, I feel happy about it. That's the main thing. I'm happy and confident and comfortable with it. You know? So this is also what I can recommend. So I went back to the roots, but still, I also enjoy everything I learned in terms of innovation, digitalization, working with people. And this is something I can also still live with joint generations, right? Because we are always trying to build the bridge, yeah? Between age diversity and improved productivity and innovativeness. So. You get my point? Nothing is lost. Nothing that I learned from the past and all the skill set. It's still mine. It's still there. It's not lost. You know, I can still do something with that.
Eleonore: Absolutely. And to even take it a step further, I really do think it's a compound effect, right? So whatever you have learned in engineering really makes you understand the mechanisms of marketing. And that really is, you understand why and what and how it needs to be operated also in technical terms.
And you can also communicate with people. So that really makes you a unique integrator and you bring so much to the table as an engineer looking at marketing from an unusual point of view, and that's why I'm so glad that I have you here as a role model Irène as you are so encouraging to many people. In the sense of whatever my next step is, it doesn't have to be the last. It doesn't have to be the end. I have a lifelong learning curve and the next step is just the next step.
It doesn't have to be the last. The next iteration for me is my opportunity to try new things out and to play around with all the experiences, all the skills that I have and I can now Be proud of myself that I have reached that point in time, and I can look back, but I also can look and expand on top of that, and one day, I can even choose to spiral back.
So, this is the book that you should all read!
Does Irène regret anything in her professional life?
Dr. Irène Kilubi: absolutely. You know, sometimes I dwelled about Why did I spend so many years, right, nine years at corporate, but at the end of the day it helped me, it served me because I understand their languages, I understand their challenges and they're my greatest clients and also it taught me so many things, to work in a complex matrix organization and To understand how people operate, how they think, act, and react in different circumstances. It's also a very Psychological thing put it this way, you know, like so many human factors that you can only learn when you Work as an employee rather than just starting to work and I always feel like it was good for me to serve first before You know, to serve first and it's always a thing like to, to have some, a supervisor, you know, because now you can apply everything you've learned to your own employees without having this experience.
I think I wouldn't be where I am right now, you know, and also like there's so little things that you learn like meeting deadlines, connecting with other people, like brainstorming with others, exchanging, and then sticking to processes and guidelines, you know? So it taught me so many things to consider while starting my own businesses.
Eleonore: and there's so much else to say. I want to highlight our panel discussion in the podcast of Karin Tischler, on job sharing and beyond. And the theme was Canada's Career Month. So, we talked about career transition and career advancements for everyone, not just scientists, but especially for bachelor, master's students, and also young minded people who want to transition their careers. So, if you remember our conversation, it really dovetails nicely into this topic.
So, instead of sidetracking, I wanna refer our listeners to that conversation.
And now we'll link to our panel discussion on Karin Tischler's podcast, job sharing and beyond in our show notes.
[00:45:22] Advice for PhD Students and Postdocs
Eleonore: Irène, what is your best advice for current PhD students and postdocs?
Dr. Irène Kilubi: I would say, while you're doing your PhD, it's a phase where you're learning, where you're growing. I would always recommend you not to think that, okay, I know everything and this is my topic area. Ask as many questions as you can because this is the time everyone will forgive you. If you're 40 and asking questions that you should already know with 25, people would think that it's a bit weird.
You know, you've been in this profession for so long. No ask, ask, ask questions because this is the way you learn the most. You know, because if you are just assuming to know it better, assuming that you are the hero for this research field. So, it's not a good thing to act like this and always be humble.
You know, people who are experienced appreciate what they have done and also helping hand. You know, that's always a good thing. You know, like. You are in a research field, and you are seeking advice from someone else, or need support. Also, ask them from time to time, do you need support?
Is there anything I can help you with? So, those are, in fact, now it's two things. Asking questions, and always asking to provide your support. You got it right, Ellie, with the nine touch points, right?
Eleonore: Yes, I was actually counting. No, no, I'm not counting, but now I know. It's time to show this book again because it really is fantastic. And honestly, I'm so proud to have this book in my hands because, you know, the only reason why I am in this book is really because Dr. Irène Kilubi is so, so generous. I have to say, I did not plan to be in this book. I didn't even know how far you were already in your writing and publishing process. And when you asked me to read the manuscript, I was like, sure, I'll do that. And of course I will promote it. And then I was like, what? I'm in there?
And it's like, wow. So you just surprised me with this unexpected, sweet surprise. And I'm really touched by you because. In my current life stage, writing a book is really at the back burner of my plans, so to speak. So, thank you. That really speaks for you.
Dr. Irène Kilubi: Sorry. No worries.
[00:47:46] The Impact of Networking and Remembering Your Roots
Dr. Irène Kilubi: You know, for me, it's always like this. it's also the third thing: never forget where you're coming from.
And never forget the people who supported you at the beginning. You can you can be a rising star in your research field, you'll be probably a great star professor at Harvard, every one of you out there, I'm pretty sure. However, never forget those people who were with you at the beginning, you had nothing, because those are people believing before seeing, you know? And of course, You popped into my mind although several times we didn't have contact, but it was not due to you it was just due to my circumstances and the corona and so many stuff, you know, and But still for me, it was totally clear that you will be part of the book. Definitely Yeah, you are the supporter from the first hour for JointGenerations, so If not you, who else right?
Eleonore: Uh, and before we part is there anything that you want to share with my listeners as well?
Dr. Irène Kilubi: So, Elli, I also really appreciate the work you're doing for all the PhD students out there, because I know how tough and challenging it can be, because I did my PhD while working full time, so I did it besides my full time profession, so I think that the Mental support you're providing is also very valuable and this is something I was missing, you know, because it was also very on delivering content, writing, conducting the statistics, the studies, but the human factor was lacking a little bit, you know, because sometimes I needed someone to motivate me and also to, to bring me back on track and so I think that you're a great supporter for people out there and keep on doing the great work.
Eleonore: And that is the moment where I have to say drop mike, right? I want you, dear PostdocTransformer, to connect with Dr. Irène Kilubi on LinkedIn. You just have to follow her, she really is an inspiring role model for me. And I want you to also learn from her. On TikTok, on Instagram.
And if you also want to listen to our previous panel on Career Advancement and Career Transition in Karin Tischler's podcast, Job Sharing and Beyond, then you will find all that in the show notes.
If you want to win this book, then comment below why you want to win this book and connect with Dr. Iréne Kilubi and me if you want, but especially with her so that you can impress her with your comment and that really is a great investment of commenting. And if you can't win, buy this book, get this for your mom, get this for your dad, because really, Du bist mehr You are more than just a number.
So, we are at the end of this episode, and I would love to have you, PostdocTransformers, to contribute to season four. We have a PostdocTransformation show newsletter where we inform about upcoming episodes, or we lay out the planning for the next seasons so that you are able to forecast who you want to ask as well as role models, or maybe you want to ask a couple of questions certain guest that is upcoming.
This PostdocTransformation show was brought to you by Prof. Dr. Eleonore Soei-Winkels
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Thank you for reading our full transcript of this episode.
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All right, thanks for listening and I hope that you will watch our show and also listen to our show for the next episodes. And like I said, go back to the previous episodes. I think they have valuable insights for you.
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Until the next episode,
Cheers,
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