Find out the top 10 core skills you need to master as a forensic biochemist and what hard skills you need to know to succeed in this job.
A Forensic Biochemist is liable for carrying out DNA testing and examining minute contact traces of blood, hair or clothing fibers in an attempt to disassociate suspects with victims on crime scenes.
The major responsibilities of this post are attending and examining crime scenes, analyzing samples in the laboratory like hair, body fluids, glass, paint or anything else involved in a crime scene, applying allowed techniques like gas and high-performance liquid chromatography, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and genetic fingerprinting sift and sort evidence, analyze and interpret results and computer data, liaise with team members and coordinate with outside agencies like the police, review and supervise the work of assistants, presents the results of work done in clear written record, giving oral evidence.
Core Skills Required to be a Forensic Biochemist
Core skills describe a set of non-technical abilities, knowledge, and understanding that form the basis for successful participation in the workplace. Core skills enable employees to efficiently and professionally navigate the world of work and interact with others, as well as adapt and think critically to solve problems.
Core skills are often tagged onto job descriptions to find or attract employees with specific essential core values that enable the company to remain competitive, build relationships, and improve productivity.
A forensic biochemist should master the following 10 core skills to fulfill her job properly.
Collaborating with others:
Collaborating is willingly working with one another and cooperating in whatever task one is assigned without behaving poorly or having an attitude change that hurts others.
A Forensic Biochemist is meant to collaborate with all workers and management both male and female without causing frustrations or sidelining any worker or delaying their promotion from any informal conversations where most decisions are often made.
Dealing with Difficult People:
Dealing with Difficult People is learning how to tactfully calm down an obnoxious person who is either verbally attacking you or stealthily criticizing you or your professional contribution.
A Forensic Biochemist must learn how to combat and tone the demanding customers or staff who are competing for power, privilege or spotlight which defy logic not with fights but with the truth and more listening skills as well as lots of patience.
Strategic Planning:
Strategic Planning is organizational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations while guaranteeing that employees and other stakeholders are working towards common goals.
A Forensic Biochemist should be liable to develop the systematic tools to be used in the organization's processes that coordinate and align resources and actions with the mission, vision, and strategy throughout the organization.
Ethical Behavior:
Ethical Behavior is acting in policies that are consistent with what the society and individuals typically think are good morals or values.
A Forensic Biochemist should put emphasis on ethical behavior as best as he does to performance because it's as important as high morale and teamwork to all individuals who are committed to keeping the company values as well as speaking up when such costs are broken.
Orientation to Work:
Orientation to Work is the introduction that is given to a new worker whereby he is introduced to coworkers and given relevant information like schedules, performance standards, benefits and facilities, names of the supervisors, etc.
A Forensic Biochemist must ensure that all new employees go through an orientation process to assimilate into the workplace and become familiar with what is expected of them.
Empathy:
Empathy is the understanding of another person's condition from their perspective by placing yourself in their shoes and feeling what they are feeling.
A Forensic Biochemist ought to practice empathy with his staff by learning to be a good listener and understanding what his employees are going through and choosing to feel it with them through the use of imagination and accommodate them.
Practical Thinking:
Practical Thinking is the skill to think creatively about projects or work that requires your full attention to be completed and to bring great results.
A Forensic Biochemist must ensure the decisions he makes are well sought after using professional characteristics for employees with high-level responsibilities to feel included and to allow growth for everyone in a constantly changing world that requires creativity.
Business Ethics:
Business Ethics is the ability to learn what is right and wrong in the world of business and choosing to do what is right at all times.
A Forensic Biochemist must emulate good business ethic that is essential for the long-term success of an organization by implementing an ethical program that will foster a thriving entrepreneurial culture while increasing profitability and personal maturity.
Business Etiquette:
Business Etiquette is a basic framework of rules set by companies to ensure and allow you to understand the way you should conduct yourself in the professional world.
A Forensic Biochemist must establish the tone for proper behavior in the workplace by making sure all the distinct boundaries are laid out for everyone to follow and understand the implications of defaulting.
Technology Savvy:
Technology Savvy is the introduction of the digital technology in the workplace as a strategy to make tasks run swiftly against doing them manually.
A Forensic Biochemist must ensure that the technology he introduces to the workplace integrated seamlessly with the workflow and empowers the users rather than complicates and damages the workflow making sure the employees are well prepared and not overwhelmed with the technology.
Hard Skills Required to be a Forensic Biochemist
Hard skills are job-specific skill sets, or expertise, that are teachable and whose presence can be tested through exams. While core skills are more difficult to quantify and less tangible, hard skills are quantifiable and more defined.
Hard skills are usually listed on an applicant's resume to help recruiters know the applicant's qualifications for the applied position. A recruiter, therefore, needs to review the applicant's resume and education to find out if he/she has the knowledge necessary to get the job done.
A forensic biochemist should have a good command of the following hard skills to succeed in her job.