Our employer spotlight for today is with Tom Schwei, the Vice President, CFO and General Manager of DNASTAR, Inc. He graduated from the University of
Tom Schwei
Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.
Q: Can you tell us about your company?
A: DNASTAR, a global software company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, has been meeting the needs of life scientists for more than 25 years. We design, develop and sell software to geneticists and molecular biologists in more than 65 countries with Sanger and next-gen DNA, RNA and protein sequence assembly and analysis and microarray gene expression desktop computer software. Our mission is to provide useful, affordable, innovative tools to all life scientists on their desktop computers to help them accomplish their research or related objectives.
Q: What kinds of students do you typically seek?
A: We believe that we can best serve our life science customers by employing as many life scientists in various roles in our company as possible. Therefore, for most of our positions, it is critically important that prospective employees have a strong life science background, preferably in molecular biology or related fields. For our software development activities, we look for formal computer science education and experience. In both cases, the more education someone has, the better qualified they will be for positions at our company (i.e. PhDs are best, Masters degrees are good and BS’s are usually a minimum requirement). We can teach people sales, quality assurance, customer support and other disciplines, but, in the technical environment in which we exist, a life science and/or computer science educational background is an extremely important foundation on which to build.
Q: What would be the one thing that would impress you the most about an applicant?
A: Expertise in our specific product and application area domain combined with knowledge of DNASTAR as a company and enthusiasm for working for us.
Q: What do you feel are some necessary things an applicant must have in order to be considered for one of your positions?
A: Life science or computer science education at least at the Bachelor’s level (PhD level to be considered for one of our scientist positions) and an understanding of what it takes to be successful in a small (40 employee) company. In this environment, we need people who are versatile and flexible, able to work well independently, and willing to try new things and be successful at them.
What is the one thing you hate to see from an applicant?
A: Lack of knowledge or interest in working specifically for DNASTAR or general lack of passion for our field. Why bother applying if you aren’t enthusiastic about our field and company?
Q: What are the most common things you see wrong with an applicants resume?
A: Typos. If a person can’t be perfect on an application, I question that person’s attention to detail in their work. One typo I can probably live with. Two or more is a pretty difficult level of mistake to overcome. Also, don’t just send me your resume. Send a nice cover letter as well. Tell me what position you are interested in, why you are well qualified for it and share with me why you are passionate about working for DNASTAR.
Q: What is your perspective on the one to two page resume debate?
A: If you have sufficient relevant information to share regarding your qualifications that requires more than one page, use more than one page. If you are using the second page to tell me all about the part-time jobs you had in high school, cut it off. However, as stated earlier, maybe a better use of a second page is to put together a thoughtful cover letter to accompany your resume.
Q: What are the most common things you see wrong in an interview?
A: No questions of me from the person being interviewed. If you are truly interested in my company, you should be able to come prepared with at least a couple of good questions for me. Right behind that mistake is the mistake of being unprepared for some of my easier questions. There are certain questions you can anticipate coming in virtually every interview (tell me about yourself, what are your strengths, etc.) Prepare and practice your answers in advance so you can answer them well. Don’t be or act surprised at my easy questions. Finally, take the opportunity to truly differentiate yourself. People remember stories. Answer my questions by telling me stories to illustrate your strengths or other attributes. That will increase the likelihood I’ll remember you, hopefully positively.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about applying to a position in your company?
Scan our website in advance of applying or visiting. We have a lot of information about our company, products, etc. Weave comments about us into the interview and discussion to let me know you have done your homework. I’ll appreciate that and so will others you speak with at DNASTAR.
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