Ep 89 – Trends we are seeing that may influence 2026 - Propelling Careers Podcast

Welcome to Propelling Careers Podcast episode 89. We hope everyone had a nice holiday and new year.   Jim and Lauren are looking forward to 2026. For our first episode in 2026, we thought we would dive right in and talk about trends we are seeing that may influence 2026.  We hope you find this episode helpful and that you enjoy listening! 

•  Some organizations are still hiring
• Standing out as a candidate is still hard
• Casting a wider net is important in this current market
• Not all roles are broadly posted 
• A few factors affecting the life sciences industry include funding uncertainty, SBIR/STTR funding expired in sept 2025 and has not been renewed yet, and Give kids a chance act has not been passed yet, which incentives rare disease research
• Lauren will be at JPM next week, week of Jan 12th, in San Francisco to keep a pulse on our sector
• Episodes that we plan on doing / topics that we want to talk about in 2026

Lauren Celano, CEO of Propel Careers and Jim Gould, the Director for Postdoctoral Affairs at Harvard Medical School,launched this podcast as a way for us to share our advice, insights, and reflections to help others navigate their careers.

As we develop new episodes, this podcast will provide insights regarding career advice to help listeners navigate career choices and become more confident in their decisions. We look forward to busting myths and providing real life, timely, and accurate advice. Jim and Lauren work heavily with Ph.D. trained scientists, but the advice we provide can be applicable to other audiences. We hope you enjoy listening!