This blog is an archive of the monthly Virtuous Cycles newsletter, started on Pi Day, March 14, 2025. The newsletter is sent on the 3rd Friday of each month and (usually) posted to the blog a week later. Topics include (but are not limited to): professional development and networking, career goals, productivity and time management, diversity in STEM, women in tech, psychology, and navigating work and personal relationships.
Posts
Self-Care at Conferences
Conferences are special. They are cornucopias of knowledge, ideas, and connection, brimming with opportunity… which makes it easy to get carried away. For the very same reasons they are exciting places to be, conferences can be exhausting and anxiety-inducing. In our effort to make the most of every moment, we can run ourselves ragged, leaving us sleep-deprived, scattered, and underperforming. It doesn’t have to be this way. Intentional self-care at conferences can make a huge difference. Self-care is one of the core principles of the Sustainable Networking approach for a reason. In the long term, self-care fuels the virtuous cycle…
Informational Interviews
Build Your Network & Make Smarter Career Decisions with Informational Interviews The Informational Interview is a powerful tool for strengthening your network and making informed career decisions. And yet, many scientists and engineers haven’t heard of it. It wasn’t until I transitioned from my career as an industry scientist and into a policy fellowship that I was introduced to the concept. It is both elegant and simple: the Informational Interview is a meeting where the only agenda is to learn about the other person and their work. Here is how you can use Informational Interviews to benefit you, your network,…
Poopket Theory
People are complicated. People, even those we know well, can behave in unpredictable and even contradictory ways. I’m always fascinated by the reports of how thoroughly numerous serial killers are able to fool close friends and neighbors. For example, serial killer Dennis Rader murdered at least ten people in Wichita, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. His family and the church he led were flabbergasted at his arrest. They had no clue. This is confusing. As humans, we like to identify patterns and predict future events based on those patterns. When our predictions are wrong, it creates uncomfortable cognitive dissonance. We…
Opportunity Momentum: Ride the Wave
Networking is a powerful tool that can help you accomplish your goals and be more successful. One of the ways that this works is through a concept I call Opportunity Momentum. I define this as a phenomenon where increased participation in an activity leads to building more skills related to that activity and being associated with that activity in the minds of others, consequently resulting in more opportunities to engage in that activity. Let me illustrate this for you with an example directly from my own career. As a graduate student, I volunteered to serve as treasurer for my student…
Rules for Public Speaking—Learned the Hard Way
During my time practicing public speaking, I’ve learned many lessons through feedback, experience, and, frankly, by screwing up. But screw-ups are great learning opportunities! Sure, it’s nice to skip the embarrassment and suffering associated with screwing up, but that’s what makes mistakes such powerful learning experiences. Below is a list of rules I’ve established for myself based on my public speaking screw-ups. Some lessons are from specific engagements and others are one-offs or apply in most cases. This list is not exhaustive—it only includes lessons learned the hard way. I hope the vicarious experience of my embarrassment and suffering will…
Better Slide Design Through Science
Why We Should Care About Slide Design Love it or hate it, many of us regularly have to give presentations. That means making slides. Only, most of us never get any formal education in slide design. Not that one has to have a formal education to design good slides. It just means there’s a lot of variability in how it’s done. And unfortunately, there are some common design choices that make it hard for the audience to understand or enjoy the presentation, and, in turn, make it hard for a presenter to succeed. Making good slide design choices benefits both…
Self-Awareness and Empathy as Trainable Skills
I’m going to open today’s newsletter with what might be a controversial opinion: I don’t believe in natural talent. I believe in training, practice, and passion. When you see someone who has mastered a skill—such as playing an instrument, performing a one-armed handstand, or becoming a chess grandmaster—what you are seeing is the result of hours upon hours of training and practice, and the passion necessary to sustain that level of effort for years. Every Skill is Trainable I believe every skill is trainable. The geometry of our bodies or the neurobiology of our brains might make some things harder…
Networking for Equity
Professional networking is a powerful multitool for community building, productivity, and career success. For fans of the long-running BBC show Dr. Who, you can think of your network as the sonic screwdriver of your career. In the show, a sonic screwdriver could do anything narratively convenient that the Doctor needed it to do: send and receive signals, project holographic images, create force fields, disarm weapons, hack ATMs, and, yes, tighten and loosen screws. No matter your field of work or your stage of career, you can use networking to address a multitude of diverse goals or challenges. Do you want…
Sustainable Networking 