Reach for the Seven Stars

Warning. This may be the most boring post about the most exciting opportunity in my career. I am putting it down so I don’t ever forget how it all unfolded (as if it was a marathon – because it was).

Melanoma

Melanoma is a skin cancer that previously had very very poor outcomes – there just wasn’t a treatment good enough to keep people living longer. Now, immunotherapy and targeted therapies have completely changed the game and people are living longer. The Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) has been changing the game, where numbers are showing people being cured. Yes, cured. And I had boldly submitted an application for a job there.

Taken from the MIA website. And this is the powerhouse that is Professor Georgina Long.

Part 1. The application

(Marathon-speak… non-guaranteed application/ballot entry)

Two months ago, I stayed late in hospital, enthusiastically revamping my CV (realising that my most updated one was recently wiped out from my computer). Then I went home and stayed up until 2 am, answering application questions, trying to beat a time difference deadline in Sydney. Reading the CV and the answers to questions several times, my head was already ringing and wavy lines were invading my visual fields.

Saved. Uploaded. Sent. 3 am (UK) – bedtime. 1 pm (Aus) – they’re just about to enjoy their weekend.

I went in to work the next day and told my Education Supervisor (Dr. Olly Donnelly) who is also my Melanoma boss. “Try to set your expectations low. They are Medical Oncologists and you are a Clinical Oncologist.” Good advice, he was right. I got off my high. Life went on.

Part 2. The shortlist

(Marathon-speak… successful non-guaranteed entry)

3 weeks later, I woke up (5 am) to an email with an Interview Date on the subject line.

This was probably the only time that sleeping with a phone by the bedside was ever a good thing. This had set off fireworks inside me and I didn’t want to wake David yet so I went downstairs. It was too early to share it with the world so I enjoyed a quiet moment to marvel at this email with a cup of coffee. This was mine to enjoy. I even re-read my application and discovered all the missing letters and words, grammatical errors, etc. How awful. But I was in. Oh and the interview was in 7 days!

Part 3. The preparation

(Marathon-speak… training – not 16-weeks, only 7 days)

Funnily, on the same day, I was heading to London for a Melanoma Focus meeting at the Royal College of Physicians. Right… Intensive interview-prep mode initiated. 7 days to prep.

Looking at the Programme and Speakers, it turns out that the organiser Mr. Howard Peach had spent some time at the MIA (right, I need to talk to him). I found myself chatting with a Pathologist who was also one of the speakers. I asked him if he can kindly introduce me to Mr. Peach (it’s now or never). When he did, Mr. Peach immediately said ‘Oh the person you want to speak with is Alex, let’s go find him.’ Prof. Alex van Akkoi who is the keynote speaker of the meeting, happens to be a surgeon at the MIA! I spent 10 minutes during the break chatting with both, seeking advice on what I need to be thinking about for the interview.

Reading more about the Institute and the Fellowship itself, I then thought, well maybe I should get in touch with the previous fellow and ask what the experience is like. Even for me, this was next level gunning for it. I found Dr. Andrea Boutros (a Medical Oncologist from Genoa, Italy). I managed to find his email and also asked Dr. Giuseppe Banna (our in-house Italian Medical Oncologist) if he knows him or anyone who knows him in Italy. I sent the email and by Saturday afternoon, Dr. Banna messaged me… ‘I found him but he says you already emailed him.’ I made myself a new friend – Andrea, the 2024 Fellow.

In the span of 2 days, I had met 3 people who had worked at the Institute. Like I said, gunning for it (speed-training).

The next few days I prepared further… I came up with a project idea (as Prof. van Akkoi advised). I contacted super-enthused Dr. Cheng Yeoh (former Melanoma Boss, now in Malaysia), who then scoped any gaps from recent MIA studies. I asked advice from Dr. Ann O’Callaghan (our Research Boss) on fellowship/clinical trials type questions, who called me right after getting back from a weekend getaway in Edinburgh. I also went online (particularly YouTube) and looked for fellowship questions and typed up my very own answers.

Andrea also advised… ‘They’ve already seen your CV and have read your application. The interview is 20 mins, they now just want to see if you fit in.’

I felt like I entered another level of interview prep. I called EVERYONE for advice. I really wanted this and was really going for it.

Part 4. The interview

(Marathon-speak… Race Day)

Another 5 am email from Australia on Interview morning… ‘Due to unforeseen events, we need to postpone your interview to the 20th of October.’ I felt all sorts of emotions as I was sooo ready. Everyone was wishing me good luck. But alas. Probably better for my nerves as they all went away and I had to switch gears to the Great South Run for that Sunday. (It turned out that the interview was postponed because Prof. Long was racing in a triathlon. Yes, she is a triathlete.)

Then came Monday, I was propped in a room at the Education Centre that I had booked last week, ensuring I had the best internet connection. I had headphones, good lighting and a white background. I started to worry when the Zoom link didn’t work an hour before the interview. Initially, I didn’t panic as there was still an hour to go. Then it was becoming more apparent that it really wasn’t working. I received an email from Prof. Alex Menzies asking for my number as there is a worldwide failure of Zoom that day and we may have to do the interview via WhatsApp. Seriously, the biggest interview of my career on WhatsApp. I could not make this up. But I was so ready… let’s go!

And so the call came, and there she was… Prof. Georgina Long herself, no cam for Prof Menzies but sounded so welcoming behind his photo. I was starstrucked. But we were all too distracted by the Zoom outage, it broke the ice instantly.

The interview went on for about 30 minutes with a clinical question, research question, ongoing projects. After answering the opening clinical question… I received one of the best compliments I have ever received in my training career. Prof. Long responded, ‘Monica, I don’t think anyone has answered that question as thoroughly as you.’ That was it, I was in. The rest of the questions were then more like a chat. It was a much better interview compared with my Training post interviews. One last comment from Prof. Long was ‘it is so refreshing to get someone so clinical.’ It made me realise that everyone who apply are quite academic.

After the interview, I was on a high. I felt that I prepped well enough. I felt that the interview went well. I felt that I have built my CV over time well enough for this opportunity. But the last time I felt good about something, I failed by one mark. So I was glad for the experience, but also expected that maybe it wasn’t for me. I thought, even if I did not get the post, meeting with and being interviewed by the biggest gamechangers in the melanoma world, this was already the highlight of my career. Right… off to do a solo Melanoma clinic, the boss was off.

Part 5. The references

(Marathon-speak… The crowd and supporters)

That Friday, 5 am, ‘another congratulations to getting to this stage’ email… ‘please let your references know that we are about to get in touch with them.’ OMG. What does this mean? Was this it? I was an idiot and responded ‘will they be interviewing the references too?” I also asked Andrea and he said, ‘you are in!’

We were on our way to the airport (for Dubrovnik) when I emailed Olly, Eleni, and Ann to keep an eye out. I also emailed our Clinical Director (Dr. Freddie Bartlett) as back up as Ann was on holiday. Their job was to say that I was not a psychopath. Please don’t say I’m a psychopath. If this was a marathon mile marker, this would be Mile 25. And let me tell you, this race is not mine alone. So many people practically carried me throughout the process. This is not a victory of my own, it is also my team’s, the Oncology department of the Queen Alexandra Hospital.

Part 6. The offer

(Marathon-speak. The Finish Line)

Let me tell you, I did not have one good night’s sleep throughout the holiday as I kept waking up checking my emails.

Wednesday morning… found out I didn’t get into the Sydney Marathon ballot. But wouldn’t it be sweet… a bit too sweet and I am not that lucky.

Thursday morning (usual 5 am), there it was. After confirmation that all 3 of my references had responded, I was offered a fellowship post at the Melanoma Institute Australia for January 2027. The Finish Line.

The first thing David said when he woke up was ‘so we’re going to Australia?!’