Reflections from our Spring 2022 Campus Ambassador Program

This past Spring, Beyond the PhD welcomed our first ambassador program cohort. This program was designed to facilitate the dissemination of information from our group to STEM students across local college campuses. The mission of Beyond the PhD is to provide career seminars, networking opportunities, and career development workshops for students interested in learning about their career options within academia and beyond. Ambassadors attended weekly team members and improved their skills in science communication by hosting career seminars, interviewing professionals, writing articles, and dispersing information about events to fellow students at their university.

For our spring 2022 cohort, we had the pleasure of working with two undergraduate biology students from the University of Hartford, Jaden and Mariangelie. These students worked with Beyond the PhD to dive deeper into their respective career interests, pharmacy and genetic counseling. In order to learn more about these careers, Mariangelie planned and hosted a career seminar with a genetic counselor, and wrote a piece for our blog about the valuable information she learned at the seminar. Jaden held an interview with a commercial pharmacist about the different aspects of their job and advice on applying to pharmacy school. This interview was also published on our website. We at Beyond the PhD have enjoyed working with our Ambassadors and hope that they have expanded their knowledge about the prospective career opportunities available to them.

We believe the first cohort of Ambassadors was truly a success and we look forward to the further expansion of our program. We are currently accepting applications for the Fall 2022 semester for a new cohort of Ambassadors, open to both undergraduate and graduate students in any STEM field. If you are interested in being a part of our group to help expand our reach to students at your university, please fill out the application on our website. We look forward to seeing the great content and careers our new Ambassadors will explore and share with you all.

A few words from our recent Ambassadors about their experience in the program:

Personally my favorite part about being an ambassador for Beyond the PhD was getting first hand information about the career I want to pursue. Being a part of this organization gave me the opportunity to work in a group setting with others to propel my interest and the interest of the group. The ambassador program also gave me an opportunity to write and publish pieces on events that either myself or others have worked on. For any students interested in being a part of a fun and truly inspirational group, I would recommend the ambassador program for you!

-Jaden

My favorite part about being a part of the Ambassador program was definitely having the opportunity to host my own seminar on the profession that I will be going into in the near future. All of the team members were extremely supportive before, during, and after the fact and were so excited to watch me move closer to my goals. As an undergraduate student still figuring some things out, this program was an incredible program to be a part of as I learned a lot and was able to work with a great group of people. I look forward to continuing work with Beyond the PhD, continuing on my journey, and continuing to help others succeed while in the process.

-Mariangelie

A Guide to CVs and Résumés

Have you ever considered what makes a CV or résumé effective? Maybe you’ve wondered what an employer is looking for when sifting through hundreds of applications? Crafting a CV or résumé is a difficult task full of nuance and skill. Recently, Beyond the PhD hosted a résumé and CV workshop to help answer some questions about creating these documents and using them for job applications.

What is a CV?

A curriculum vitae (CV) is a detailed document listing all your experience and important information. A CV should cover things such as your contact information, education, post-graduate education and training, academic appointments, other employment, professional society memberships, honors and awards, teaching, mentorship, presentations, funding, service, and publications. Additionally, there is no page limit, and it will grow as you gain experience and move up the academic ladder.

What is a résumé?

A résumé is a succinct and clear summary of your experience and education. It promotes special skills and competencies and is generally tailored for a specific position. The typical length of a résumé is 1-2 pages, but a single page is often preferred. Standard sections in a résumé include contact information, an objective statement, education, employment history, relevant experience, and a skills section. Think of a résumé as an executive summary; you only need to present the most pertinent information.

When and where to use a CV or résumé

When applying for a new job, it is important to know your audience. When deciding whether to submit a CV or résumé, you can take into consideration what the company values, what they would be looking for in a candidate, and what other materials you are providing.

What an employer is looking for will be different for depending on the role. Hiring committees in academia are often looking for impactful science, independence as a scientist and/or researcher, fundability of projects, potential for collaboration, as well as service and involvement in professional societies.

Industry employers will likely be looking for a different skill set such as technical proficiency, relevant research, project management, communication skills, ability to see the big picture, and business acumen. Examples of industry STEM positions where these skills could come in handy include (but are definitely not limited to) staff scientist, research associate, data scientist, research analyst, or scientific consultant.

There are also non-research STEM positions such as program manager, science writer, medical science liaison, journal editor, or grant support specialist. These types of roles are often looking for skills such as scientific communication, scientific writing, public speaking skills, adaptability, the capacity to learn and synthesize new science, and other transferrable skills.

If you’re interested in learning more about various careers inside or outside of academia, check out the career discovery seminar series on the Beyond the PhD website (https://ctaiog.home.blog/).

Crafting and Formatting a CV or Résumé

Below are some guidelines for crafting a strong résumé and CV. First, order the information presented in a chronological, concise, clear, and intuitive way. Also, make sure you know to the best of your ability who will be reviewing you application and the type of position you’re applying to. Using action words in the bulleted content sections can make your experience stand out. Below, you’ll find a table of action words you can utilize to upgrade your application materials.

Another way to improve the content in your résumé is to incorporate metrics. For example, you could quantify the number of papers you’ve published, talks you’ve given, or posters you’ve presented. Another example would be to list the amount of grant funding you’ve received. Making your résumé and CV visually appealing can also help it get noticed. Ways to do this include effectively using white space and making the formatting consistent and legible. To organize the content in your sections, use headings, subheadings, bold, and underline to make headings and titles stand out. You can additionally use bullet points to break up big blocks of text and describe your accomplishments.  However, it is recommended to stick with the same font throughout.

Finally, you need to tailor your application materials specifically for the position you are applying to. Since the requirements for each role will probably be different, you may need to modify your application for each job. Additionally, résumés are slightly subjective, so using a more generic résumé is often safer than submitting something overly creative. One thing to note is that both objective statements and skills sections are optional and can be removed to conserve space. You could also add a link to your LinkedIn profile, twitter handle (if appropriate), or a link to a blog or website under your information in the contact section. To optimize your résumé, consult the job postings and include as many preferred skills as possible. Make the content of your résumé keyword rich as well as appropriate for the sector. Lastly, don’t forget that it’s totally okay to apply for jobs that you aren’t 100% qualified for. A strong résumé or CV can help you stand out as a quality applicant!

If you found this content helpful check out our website for more information (https://ctaiog.home.blog/). To access the full recording of the CV/Résumé workshop click here.

Go Fund Me: Help us apply for 503(c) nonprofit status

Beyond the PhD (Previously AIOG) was formed in 2018 at the University of Connecticut by Robert Pijewski, PhD and Giulia Vigone, PhD. They created the group to help students understand their career options after completing their PhDs. Knowing academia was not the only track students were taking and the uncertainty of landing a position in academia, Rob and Giulia formed a local networking group and monthly career seminar series called Academia-Industry Opportunities Group (AIOG). AIOG provided a space for students to hear from and meet professionals on a variety of interesting career paths. Since 2018 we have grown in several ways… below is a timeline of some of our achievements. 

In the first 2 years we had hosted 2 in-person networking events and monthly seminars. 

During the 2020 shutdown we made a website that is now viewed by students all over the world.

Spring 2021 we co-hosted an online networking event with Dimensions Sciences for US and Brazil students in STEM fields.

Summer 2021 We rebranded to Beyond the PhD

Fall 2021 we sent the first Beyond the PhD Weekly Digest with blog articles on careers, events, advice for students by students, and resources for job hunters.

Spring 2022 we selected the first two Campus Ambassadors from the University of Hartford to join the Beyond the PhD.

This summer we held our first Summer Office Hours for students to receive peer review of their job application materials. And Beyond the PhD began partnerships with Cerneos Group and Westchester Biotech Project. 

This September we will host a 2-part workshop for that will teach students how to “brand” themselves during the job search with Amy Aines.

All the while each month we host 2 STEM professionals in our Career Discovery Seminar Series via Zoom. 

ALL FREE Events

Now we are asking for donations to help cover the costs associated with the paperwork and legal fees to file to become a 503(c) nonprofit organization. As a 503(c) nonprofit organization we will gain access to grant funding opportunities, business development resources, and many free or below cost tools that will enable Beyond the PhD to better support students and their career development in STEM.

If Beyond the PhD/ AIOG benefited you in some way or if you believe in our cause please donate by clicking http://gf.me/u/3hh2j7

Every dollar gets us closer to our goal.

Thank you!

-Beyond the PhD Team

Words from a Retail Pharmacist to a Prospective Pharmacist

Hi my name is Jaden Richardson I’m currently a senior biology pre pharmacy major at the university of Hartford. My long term goals is too become a clinical pharmacist or potentially own my own practice one day.

Hello to all students of pharmacy, prospective students of pharmacy, and anyone else who comes across this blog who is interested in this field. Through Beyond the PhD I was granted the opportunity to speak with Dr. Melissa Sandlin, a retail pharmacist, about her career journey into the pharmacy world. Melissa attended Northern Arizona University for her undergraduate degree where she studied Biomedical Science; she went on to earn her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy. Melissa has been practicing pharmacy since 2016 and has been working in her current position at CVS since 2020. As a retail pharmacist, she explained that a typical day can be rewarding yet challenging. She expressed that being the first face that some patients seek for medical advice is a rewarding aspect of being a pharmacist. In this role, she gets to be both an educator and a provider for her community. The biggest challenge she mentioned facing on a day-to-day basis is mustering up the strength to tell a customer/patient, “No,” to some medications they feel may be best for them. Melissa explains that, as a pharmacist, she has the ability to refuse a patient medication for a multitude of reasons, such as a belief of over-use, a belief that the quantity of the dosage prescribed is unnecessary, or that the medication would cause more harm than good for the patient. Melissa’s job also entails verifying medication orders, catching discrepancies, and utilizing the drug utilization review (DUR) to evaluate the administration and ingestion of medications. When asked, “What are the current issues in pharmacy that you believe I should be aware of as a prospective student in this field?” Melissa responded to the extensive responsibility that the world of pharmacy had to undertake during the COVID-19 pandemic. When put into retrospect of her job she described the heavy workload that retail pharmacy was faced with. This workload entailed a high demand for COVID vaccines, testing, medical treatments, added questions and concerns of the public, along with day-to-day aspects of a retail pharmacy pre-pandemic. Another topic covered we discussed was the differences between other types of pharmacy besides the retail sector. Melissa divided the field into three additional groups: inpatient, outpatient, and clinical pharmacy. As a prospective pharmacy student, the type of pharmacy that seems the most intriguing to me is clinical pharmacy. Melissa described clinical pharmacy as consulting with other doctors seeking and developing treatments for patients in a hospital setting. 

As someone interested in the pharmacy world, I had a few questions for Melissa regarding the pharmacy school application process, extracurricular activities while in pharmacy school, and steps that I would need to take to succeed in pharmacy school. With my initial concern about preparing for the PCAT, Melissa soothed my worries by reiterating that although it is an exam that should be taken seriously, many schools tend to prioritize other aspects of the application. Once in pharmacy school, Melissa stressed the importance of immediately applying to receive an intern license. She explained this process could take up to 6-8 weeks to be completed, but once it is, students can apply to places to work. Another great opportunity she suggested was becoming a pharmacy tech in undergrad, as this position does not require a pharmacy intern license. This could be used as a means of becoming more familiar with drugs used in pharmacies, specific names of drugs, and having hands-on training in a pharmacy environment. The next biggest piece of advice she gave was once someone is in pharmacy school, maintaining a good resume is crucial for success after schooling. For instance, she explained how rigorous and competitive it is to apply for residencies and fellowships, which she made abundantly clear are necessary components of landing a job in a hospital or industry. Melissa also explained that having a residency or fellowship is not always required to go into retail pharmacy. She also included that, “The world of pharmacy is small and because of that, building connections would also be a valuable asset to you”. One way of building these connections for Melissa was to attend the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) conference while in pharmacy school. My next question was, “What was the hardest year of pharmacy school and why?” She responded that the first year will be the most challenging because the course load and time management are completely different from undergrad. Melissa expressed that good study habits are necessary for grad school but setting boundaries with your work is equally as important so that someone doesn’t lose their love for pharmacy. The graduate-level classes revolve around more group work which encourages students to become more accountable. Melissa noted this as being advantageous considering that the pharmacy field tends to be very hands-on and communication based. 

Something Melissa advised is to stay on top of all deadlines. I’ll be implementing this advice during this upcoming application cycle -. whether it be for requesting a letter of recommendation or for managing various deadlines for multiple schools. Lastly, the advice that she said that will stick with me throughout the rest of my pharmacy journey: it is okay to not know everything 100 percent; it is more important to know which resources to utilize to be able to find the answers that you need. In summary, I believe this interview was very insightful and I intend to incorporate much of the advice Melissa offered along different parts of my pharmacy journey. I truly feel this helped grow my love for this field even more. 

The Importance of Making and Maintaining Connections

While you may or may not always be on the job market, it is not only important to make connections, but to maintain connections with your network that you have made. Your network as a whole should be different from a “friend group”. Your network should have people that you have worked with, people that you have met through professional means (networking, conferences, etc), and individuals that you want to be like. What makes a good network? I believe that the best quality of your network is not quantity, but quality. It is tempting to connect with every individual in your company on LinkedIn and most times those individuals will connect with you, but what good does this do for you? If somebody asked one of these random connections what your best qualities are, they will likely respond with “not a clue”.

So, who should you network with and why? Off the bat, you should connect/network with your current team/department and past teams/department. You have worked close with this group of individuals and staying connected with these individuals (whether personally or through an online networking tool such as LinkedIn) will allow you to stay up to date with your past lab mates or team members career developments . If you worked in a similar department, staying connected can help you see various career trajectories of your colleagues without doing much research on your part.

If you are completely new to your field or you are entering the job force after completing educational training, who should you connect with? The best way to make these connections is reaching out to individuals on LinkedIn who have careers that you are interested in. If you want to learn more with who you should/how you should reach out, check out our article on “Using LinkedIn to create your brand and network”.

If you put the time in to making connections through LinkedIn you will find yourself with an arsenal of connections on LinkedIn. Like any social media website, it is important to stay engaged on the professional networking platform. This doesn’t necessarily mean posting content every day. It is important to not “spam” your network. Instead, consider creating and posting content as well as liking and celebrating posts made your network members. This can lead to a potential gateway to conversations. Another way to stay engaged with your network is to schedule in person or virtual one on one check-ins with members that you would like to create deeper connections with such as professional mentorship relationships. If your connections are local, grab a coffee or a beer. If they are more distant, schedule a quick zoom meeting and have a virtual coffee or lunch meeting.

Having face-to-face contact, whether in person or online, builds a stronger relationship with your connections. If you are anything like me, it may be hard to continue to reach out to individuals online. Tools like Refer.com can allow you to track your contacts and remind you to reach out to specific individuals based on time periods you set. Depending on the type of contact, this should determine how often you should try to engage with them. Also remember to be respectful of your contacts schedules.

An article posted in the Wall Street Journal titled “Take your search for a job offline” states that 80% of job openings are never publicly advertised. Many times your connections on LinkedIn will know of employment opportunities so staying connected could enable you to be a VIP in learning about a position before the opportunity goes out to the public. Following up with connections over the years, pruning current contacts, and maintaining vibrant relationships can give you an edge when looking for employment opportunities. However, don’t treat your network solely as “what they can do for you” and a one-way relationship, but try to think of value you can provide to your connections. In a recent article published in Harvard Business Review, the authors dive into the importance of maintaining professional relationships including listening to your members and what they need. This could be as simple as sharing a connection’s post if they are looking for something, or even providing your own expertise in a subject matter. Provide this service to your network without requiring something from your network.

What’s the take-away message from this article? Make meaningful and helpful connections via social media, and engage with these contacts over the years. Share your successes, your insights, and thoughts. Take time to help others and don’t be afraid to ask for help yourself. Now, go back to your social media platform and take some of this advice. Happy Networking!

Career Showcase: Medical Science Liaison

Beyond the PhD recently hosted Dr. Leia Shuhaibar, who gave the first hybrid seminar in our Career Development Seminar Series. Dr. Shuhaibar is a Medical Science Liaison (MSL) at Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Her educational background includes earning a B.S. in Biology from the University of Zulia in Venezuela, a Masters in Cell & Molecular Biology from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a PhD in Biomedical Science from UConn Health. As a PhD student, Leia’s research focused on reproductive biology. At that time, she had interest in becoming a lab director of at an in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic. In pursuit of this goal, she took every opportunity to get closer to the IVF world – attending courses & conferences, doing job shadowing at the local IVF clinic, and connecting to professionals in the field. In addition, Leia mentioned some teaching activities she participated in like teaching a cell biology course at a local UConn branch campus and teaching lab skills for a summer class.

After graduating with her PhD, Dr. Shuhaibar set out to find an embryologist position but ran into some hurdles doing so. This position often requires an individual with experience, but it was very difficult to get your foot in the door in this field to gain that vital experience. To complicate the matter, Dr. Shuhaibar was an international student with no working permit. As such, Dr. Shuhaibar decided to pivot and take a post-doc position, still at UConn Health, where she continued her work with ovarian physiology research and also started a new project involving bone growth and disease. Eventually, her immigration paperwork issues resolved and she landed a job as a part-time embryologist at the IVF clinic. She noted this as rewarding, but challenging since she had to complete the same amount of work as a full-time post-doc while working part-time. After getting this position which she worked for years to attain, her family plans changed when her husband got a job in Texas.

In Texas, her first choice was to continue training as an embryologist and researcher. However a position in this line of work didn’t present itself. To expand her job search, Leia reached out to contacts in her network that could lead to a job opportunity. This included visiting PI’s at Baylor School of Medicine, attending recruitment events, and performing dozens of informational interviews. For informational interviews specifically, Dr. Shuhaibar mentioned reaching out to people on LinkedIn and asking if they had ten minutes to answer two questions about their career. She said her best advice is to talk to people. Many of these conversations lasted longer than ten minutes, and Leia was impressed with how many people were willing to help her on her journey. She considered jobs in embryology, teaching, consulting, research & discovery (R&D), medical writing, and clinical research. During her search, she re-connected with one of her contacts she had made six years prior at the IVF clinic who had a job opening for an MSL position near Houston, where Leia now lived, at Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

While the MSL role always intrigued her, Dr. Shuhaibar was hesitant due to the travelling responsibilities potentially disrupting her family responsibilities as a mom. When she discovered the Ferring MSL position covered a mostly local territory, she decided to pursue it. To prepare to apply for the job, Leia made her CV into a 1-2 page resume in industry format, meaning that publications were listed last and “soft” skills, like teaching and presenting, took the spotlight. Additionally she listened to podcasts like “MSL Talk” and “MSL Consultant” so that she could incorporate more field-specific language in her application materials. For example, instead of using the term “PI’s” or “doctor”, she used terms like “key opinion leaders (KOLs)” and “health care professionals (HCPs).”

You may be now wondering, “What is an MSL?” Well, they are a part of the medical affairs department and are the scientific intermediary between pharma companies and HCPs & KOLs. Their main responsibility is to establish strong relationships with HCPs & KOLs within a specific territory and to gather medical insights to inform decision-making within the pharma company. Typically, individuals with a PhD, PharmD, or MD are qualified to be MSLs. Leia placed particular emphasis that MSL are couriers of purely scientific data. They are not selling or promoting any of the drugs the pharmaceutical company offers. In fact, an MSL can get in a lot of trouble for promoting a drug or even engaging in scientific conversation with a physician while a sales rep is in the room. Ideally, an MSL is a resource for physicians. This requires MSLs to stay abreast of current literature and clinical trials, attend conferences to provide summaries to physicians, and answer any questions physicians may have. Other responsibilities of an MSL include helping prepare for product launches, submitting insights from HCP interactions, compiling weekly travel expense reports, and planning future travel.

The onboarding process of becoming an MSL can take approximately 3-5 months. During this time, an MSL must become knowledgeable in all the products they will be supporting, learn about ongoing and concluded clinical trials, understand the current state of the disease, learn current protocols being used in the field, and understand regulations around the role itself. It is key for an MSL to create value in themselves without being promotional. It is also very important that MSL’s don’t speculate about anything, and that what they tell doctors must be supported by data. For more information on the MSL career, check out the Medical Science Liaison Society (https://www.themsls.org/) or our blog post from another MSL Seminar we hosted at https://ctaiog.home.blog/2022/04/30/amanda-rendall-transitioning-into-an-msl-role/ .

Getting ready to apply for a job?

Join us on Friday July 1st (2pm ET) to hear from members of the Beyond the PhD team to learn about CVs and resumes. The Beyond the PhD team consists of Biomedical Science senior level PhD students, early career professionals in academia and, outside of academia with several years of job applying experience. Attendees of this workshop will be guided through the process of creating a CV and resume and how to convert your CV to a resume when applying for jobs outside of academia. You will review real examples of both documents. Moreover, you will gain insight to the types of buzz words and skills to be sure to include in your applications to help you land that perfect job wether it be in industry, academia, or beyond. Register below to secure your seat! (link here as well: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/362473577227)

Register on Eventbrite

How to find quality mentors in your PhD and beyond

At this point in my graduate career, I have been fortunate to find and maintain various mentors that have not only supported me throughout my schooling, but also pushed me to reach beyond what I thought my limits were. Below you will find some tips and tricks which I’ve gleaned through my experience that may help you on your own journey through a PhD.

What is a mentor? This word often gets used to refer to a variety of roles that a specific individual may play in your life. I personally think of my mentors as those who are more experienced in the field that I am seeking advice in, and whom I have developed a relationship with in order to be advised more personally. Let me share a few examples of mentors I currently have:

Starting in undergrad, I was able to build a strong connection with a professor, Dr. Cody. I took many courses with him and eventually joined his lab doing microbiology research. Dr. Cody was highly influential in my decision to pursue a PhD program and he opened my eyes to the many opportunities available to me in the sciences. To this day, now four years out from when I graduated, he continues to offer words of wisdom and guidance when grad school seems unbearable at times, helping me to reach my full potential in my field.

When I entered graduate school, I was tasked with finding the right lab, the right project, and ultimately, the right mentor. I was told once that graduate school is likely the only time you get to choose your boss, and thankfully, I chose very well. My current PI, Babak, is very supportive of my career goals, my science, and my desire to maintain healthy boundaries between work and personal life. In the mentor role, he takes the time to sit with me each week to discuss project progress and direction to make sure I am on track for my goals. Outside of my project, he also provides mentorship in my career goals, reviewing my IDP (an individual development plan is used to help you focus your professional development; here’s the one I use: https://myidp.sciencecareers.org/) and helping me get in contact with those that can offer the best advice for my future career in industry. 

As I am in the final years of my program, I am starting to look for additional mentors, particularly to help navigate the transition from academia to industry. Within this process, here is the advice toward forming mentorships that I am reimplementing and want to share.

Identifying quality mentors. Now that I have given a handful of personal examples of mentors in my life, it begs the question of how do you find a quality mentor? While the specifics will vary person to person, generally you want to look for these key qualities when identifying potential mentors: 1) they are knowledgeable and more experienced in the area you need help in, 2) they take your background into account before advising (sometimes advice is not universal!), 3) they have the time to commit to mentoring you, 4) they have similar values to your own, and 5) they balance criticism or reality checks with encouragement and support. Finally, a very important aspect of choosing mentors is more subjective in nature and that is whether you personally feel comfortable interacting with and receiving constructive criticism from them. A mentor/mentee relationship is like any other relationship— the benefit you receive is going to be affected by how much you get along and are comfortable with the other person. Opportunities to start forming these initial interactions and identify mentor candidates is through networking events, conferences, or informational interviews. This is then followed by building and maintaining the relationship.

Building a mentor relationship. You shouldn’t enter into a conversation looking to walk out with a mentor immediately; these types of relationships take time to build. To start, identify people that could offer help in certain aspects of your professional life, build a relationship with them through repeated contact and conversation (both formal and informal) and mentorship will naturally grow from that. Next, build trust with your mentor by following through on action items they suggest or offer advice on, and always do your best work. With consistency, you build valuable trust with your mentor and establish a stronger relationship moving forward.

To foster a mentor relationship, consistent contact is necessary. In-person meeting are great and valuable to fully form the mentorship, however, between more formal meetings, using social media could offer a no-pressure interaction on a more regular basis. Using Twitter or LinkedIn to share interesting articles or industry news is a great way to keep in contact with a mentor. Personally, I am also a fan of email updates on my professional development or “small wins,” especially when I have time or distance constraints limiting the ability to communicate in person. Frequent contact is invaluable.

Over time, this mentorship will grow and hopefully benefit both people. The last advice is to be proactive! The only way to form a mentorship is for you to seek it out and actively maintain it. 

If you have additional advice you’d like to share about forming a mentorship, comment below, we’d love to hear from you!