Chi Le (Kate)’s Post

One common question I got from fresh-graduated food technologists and students is "How to get a R&D job without experience?". From my point of view, it depends on the requirements of the position. If the company really needs a senior person to lead the project, it is difficult to choose an inexperienced one. However, if this position is for a team member, I think the opportunity for fresh ones is high. If the candidates show they are talented, which means they have a solid background in food engineering, together with the passion and the necessary skill sets related to researching as well as soft skills, they can persuade recruiters completely. In some cases, it also depends on the views of recruiters. However, the fact is that many juniors can find a R&D role. Therefore, instead of worrying about experience, let's focus on learning and preparing for the necessary competencies. Experience can be accumulated through self-learning and connecting with experienced ones to get their sharing. They can also join specific groups on LinkedIn; take part in Food seminars. There are many specific know-hows as well as sharing from experts they can get. They can start with any role after graduating, such as QC, QA, or production, to accumulate real working experience and help them develop working skills. Then, they can pursue their passion with an R&D job later. In this post, I hope that you, my connections, can leave some comments or opinions on this question, "How to get a R&D job without experience?" to support juniors in having directions to orient their career path with an R&D job. Thank you so much!