Bio Job Blog : Bio Jobs : Biotechnology Jobs : Biopharmaceutical Jobs : Bioscience, Biotech Jobs : Bio Job Blog : Biocareer : Bio-Business Training, Biotechnology Training : Jobs in Biology : Internships in Biology : Internships in Biotechnology

Last week, financial analysts and social media enthusiast were all a twitter (sorry I couldn’t resist) about LinkedIn’s multibillion dollar IPO. There is little doubt that LinkedIn has emerged as the preeminent job search social media platform. However, there are a few “tricks” that jobseekers ought to consider to improve their job prospects and subsequent employment.

To that end, Paul Boutin wrote a great piece in the Gadgetwise section of the NY Time yesterday entitled “Three Things All LinkedIn Users Should Do.” It was so well written that I reproduced much of the post below.

“Post a photo – A few years ago, people who posted photos of themselves to the Internet seemed self centered. In the Facebook, era, though, an account page without a picture seems like the work of someone who didn’t put much effort into it. It doesn’t need to be a professional headshot. Just stand against a white wall in business attire (or, if you’re a software engineer, a Rush t-shirt) and have someone take a cellphone photo of your face and shoulders. To upload your photo, choose the option Profile -> Edit Profile at the top of your LinkedIn page, and look for the Add Photo link.

Think keywords – On the same Edit Profile page, take a good look at your resume. If your past employers gave you odd titles like “gatorbox wrangler” or vague ones like “senior administrator,” replace them with industry standard terms like “sales engineer” and “accounts payable specialist.” Otherwise, you’ll never be found, because no one will type those terms into LinkedIn’s search box.

Search experts call this problem “discovery.” Other people won’t find you if they aren’t searching for words that match your entry. Pack your LinkedIn profile with as many popular job terms as you can think of related to what you do. If you can honestly change a past job title from something like “Web producer,” to something more senior like “product manager,” it’s better to put it  in your profile, so you can at least get found and get an interview.

Ask a question – A LinkedIn spokeswoman told me that sending a question to your LinkedIn network is one of the best ways to remind people that you still exist, and are still looking for work. Click the menu option More -> Answers at the upper right of the LinkedIn home page, and look for the box that says “Ask a Question.” Get to the point: “Does anyone know of an office administrator position with a full-time salary and benefits?” These days that might get you a part-time contract, but it’s probably better than blindly sending out resumes and watching your inbox in vain.”

If LinkedIn is too overwhelming or more time consuming than you are willing to invest, check out BioCrowd, an online networking site designed EXCLUSIVELY for life scientists and other bioprofessionals.

Hat tip to Paul Boutin and the NY Times!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting  (check out the BioJobCenter)

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Science and medical conference season is in full swing and tens of thousands of persons are attending scientific and medical meeting all over the US. While social media is no longer a new “thing” only a few scientific and medical societies understand its power and ways in which it may be harnessed to improve the experiences of their members who attend their national meetings. 

At most of the scientific conferences that I attend (usually four to fiver per year), people still lug around and are tethered to printed program guides. Further there is no easily accessible electronic repository (aside from the conference website) or guide that conference attendees can use to optimize time management and see “everything” that they want to at the meeting. Unfortunately, most scientific and medical conferences are still being run the same way that they have been for the past 30 years despite improvements to internet access and bandwidth, the advent of social media and the recent explosion of mobile devices and apps.

Finally, and perhaps most egregiously, rather than publicly disseminating what is being reported at these meetings, conference attendees and the lay public must rely on carefully orchestrated press releases (chosen in advance by the organizing committees of the meetings) for information and late-breaking news from the events. This is so web 1.0 that it is almost laughable.

Until last week, I thought that I was the only person who felt this way about social media and medical and scientific congresses. Imagine my surprise when no fewer than three others social media enthusiasts including Mark Senak, author of the EyeonFDA blog, Brian Reid, author of the WCG Common Sense Blog and Sally Church, author of the Pharma Strategy Blog, last week authored posts on the topic! It is always refreshing to find like-minded individuals to confirm that you are not alone!

Unfortunately, many scientific and medical societies like to tightly control information flow, limit access to it and, not surprisingly, are quite suspicious of social media. This is because the use of social media decreases the ability of these societies and their journals to control their messaging and content dissemination. With this in mind, is it any wonder why American scientific and medical literacy is pretty much in the “toilet?”  While the lay public may not be able to understand peer-reviewed scientific and medical publications, they have grown accustomed to gathering information on Facebook, Twitter and most importantly blogs. Why not use these vehicles to better inform the public about scientific or medical breakthroughs that have been validated and generally regarded as authentic?

Like it or not, social media is here to stay. And if leveraged correctly, it can be an extremely effective educational tool. I think that it is time for scientific and medical societies to consider using social media at their annual meetings. A failure to do so may have negative consequences for future membership in these societies and also reduce their effectiveness as purveyors of timely and accurate scientific and medical information!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

By now, many of you have received an invitation by e-mail to join someone’s LinkedIn network. While some of you may have heard of LinkedIn, you may not exactly be sure what it is and whether or not you ought to accept the invitation to join your colleague’s network. To that end, watching the video below (sponsored by LinkedIn) may help to answer some questions about the network and whether or not it may be right for you.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that participation at online social networking at sites like LinkedIn, BioCrowd, Twitter and others are necessary to land jobs in today’s competitive job market. Unfortunately, many scientists are still reluctant to join these networks to help to find jobs or advance their careers. Hopefully, this will change in the future as scientists begin to recognize the career benefits of online networking sites.

BTW, LinkedIn, which has 100 million users* and a presence in over 140 countries, is going public. It latest IPO price was today announced at $45 per share; the top of its expected price range! Other social media companies like GroupOn and Facebook are expected to issue IPOs later this year.

* In a previous iteration of this post, I mistakenly published that LinkedIn had over 200 million members. The actual number is about 100 million....Mea Culpa!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

Addendum: LinkedIN successfully completed its IPO on Thursday. After opening at at $83 — up from its I.P.O. price of $45 — and rose as high as $122.70. The shares closed at $94.25, giving the company a market value of roughly $9 billion

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Despite what you may have been told, managing a career and finding new job opportunities is all about networking. Yes, I know that scientists and many other bioprofessionals loathe networking, but that is the way the game is played and if you want to win you have to play by the rules (written or otherwise).

Thankfully, the advent of professional social networking sites like LinkedIn and BioCrowd helps to take some of imagined or real discomfort associated with “in real life” networking where face-to-face communication is required. Despite the growing popularity of professional networking sites, many scientists and other bioprofessional have little idea about what they are and how they ought to be used! Because of this, Laura Hales, PhD, put together a mini-primer on how to use LinkedIn to maximize exposure to promote a business, find a job or advance a career.

Laura is the Founder and President of The Isis Group, a scientific communications company. She regularly blogs on tips for writing scientific manuscripts and grants at www.isis-editing.com/blog. Mention BioCrowd and receive a 10% discount on an overhaul of your CV or LinkedIn profile!

Five Strategies To Advance Your Career Using LinkedIn

By Laura Hales

OK, so you posted your profile on LinkedIn, connected with some colleagues, got a few recommendations … now what?

Tip 1: It’s your profile; here’s how to make it feel that way in five easy steps.

• Upload a good headshot. Crop out the background so that your face survives the shrinkage in quality and size required by LinkedIn.
• Accurately define yourself in your professional headline — along with your headshot, these shows up in LinkedIn whenever you do.
• Update your status frequently with a tweet, a new blog post, an interesting article you read, or a seminar you’re thinking of attending. This will keep you appearing in the digest of network activity that is sent to your connections every week.
• Fill your “Specialties” section with industry-related keywords so that people can find you in a targeted search.
• Customize your profile’s URL. This makes it easy for people to find you quickly (hit the “Edit” button next to “Public Profile” on your homepage and choose your own URL. Mine is: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lauramhales). Add it to your email signature.

Tip 2: You can join up to 50 groups. Max yourself out!

Use keywords to search for groups to join that can help you accomplish your goals, whether that’s finding a job or your next client. To avoid looking like a LinkedIn Groups “Junkie” (or to keep that job search under wraps), you can choose to hide a group on your profile. You can either do this when you join the group (by unclicking “Display the Group Logo on My Profile”) or at a later date (go to your Edit Profile page, hit “Change Visibility” next to the group’s name). If you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, you could even start your own group! Spam all your connections and see who joins.

Tip 3: Now that you’ve joined these groups, participate

There are so many ways to do this. Here are a few I’ve tried that really work:

• Start a new discussion asking for thoughts on a current trend in your field.
• Post interesting articles and include your opinion, or a thought-provoking question to the group about the article.
• Publish a link to your latest blog post, including an attention-grabbing headline about it (use bit.ly to shorten the blog post’s URL, and go back to bit.ly later to get analytics and see how many people clicked on your link).
• Subscribe to a digest of the activity in your groups and post comments on others’ discussions. This is a great way to gain exposure in your field and showcase your knowledge about various topics.

A related tip: To share a network update such as a blog post or article with multiple groups at once, hit the “Share” button after the update appears on your profile, then check the “Post to Groups” box. This allows you to enter in multiple group names to post your update.

Tip 4: Add applications to your profile (found under the “More” tab on your profile page)

LinkedIn users can incorporate a multitude of add-ons into their profile, with more being added all the time. These applications include:

• Reading List by Amazon: Not so much for the book you’re reading about potty training your two-year-old, but more about books relevant to your field or profession. Include your opinion about the book in a few sentences.
• WordPress/BlogLink: This automatically posts the title and the first few sentences of your latest blog entries.
• Tweets: Get on Twitter!
• Events: Let your network know what seminars, conferences and other events you’re planning to attend.
• Box.net/SlideShare: This application lets you share files such as your résumé or a recent presentation you gave. 

Tip 5: Use LinkedIn Answers (also under the “More” tab)

Subscribe to an RSS feed of the discussion groups you want to follow. Post answers to questions in your field of expertise, and if the asker of the question indicates your answer is the “best,” you’re on your way to gaining “expert” status in the community.

LinkedIn boasts that a new member joins every second of every day, making it a powerful networking tool. Good luck using these tips to help advance your career using LinkedIn!

This blog post originally appeared on the HiredPens Blog

 Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Facebook has over 500 million users and Twitter has close to 175 million who write 95 million tweets daily. Conventionally wisdom suggests that using either of the platforms to advertise or brand a product or service would be a no brainer. However, my experience with paid ads on Facebook (I haven’t tried Twitter yet) suggests that the ROI on using social media to advertise may not be that substantial. There is no question that using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, GroupOn  to build brand awareness or create a buzz about a product or service or to share coupons is extremely useful. But for straight up advertising and click through rates—not so much!!!

I will be the first to admit that I know little about marketing and advertising (although I did take an advertising class as a microbiology major @Cornell). However, the sheer number of users on Facebook and LinkedIn, suggested that I may be able to grow membership @ BioCrowd and promote readership @ BioJobBlog by advertising on these platforms. To that end,  I invested several hundred dollars into advertising campaigns on both platforms. Unfortunately neither campaign had any noticeable effects on enrollment at BioCrowd or readership at BioJobBlog. I attributed the lack of success of these campaigns to my woeful understanding of the arcane disciplines of marketing and advertising —I am a scientist, after all! 

Imagine my surprise (and delight) when I read an article in a local newspaper entitled “More and More Executives Using Social Media to Promote Business” which described several business owner’s experiences with advertising on social media that were identical to mine! Like me, they thought that advertising on Facebook and other social media platforms was so obvious that they couldn’t pass on the opportunity. Also, like me, they were extremely disappointed with the results. For example, a Princeton, NJ-based clothes retailer (which caters to college students) invested $500 on a Facebook ad. While the ad, that offered 20 percent discounts on clothing, received 1 million page views, not a single one translated into a sale! Others described similar experiences. I guess the old saying “misery loves company” may be apt here.

Although some still consider social media to be a passing fan, I strongly disagree. I think that social media is clearly here to stay and has become an essential way in which we communicate with one another. That said, because social media is only about six years old, it may be too soon to determine whether or not advertising on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media platforms can translate into a reasonable ROI. I guess only time (and money) will tell!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Before the advent of social media, the only way job candidates could communicate to a hiring manager why they—rather than other applicants—were the right fit for a job was through a face-to-face interview. Conventional wisdom suggests that a skilled candidate who can also demonstrate a legitimate enthusiasm for a position is generally the applicant who wins out. However, the online world, specifically the social web, has changed all that.

Numerous studies suggest that over 70% of hiring managers screen prospective job applicants by trolling social networking sites like BioCrowd, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. While some hiring managers do this to make sure that a potential new hire hasn’t done anything untoward or unseemly, the plethora of blogs, forums, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles and Twitter feeds enable them to get to know job applicants better than ever before. In some cases, a well-crafted and carefully managed Facebook or LinkedIn profile or blog can make the difference between a new job and unemployment.

This is not to say that jobseekers are required to have Facebook or LinkedIn page or Twitter feed to get hired. But, if executed correctly, they can help. That said, there are certain cardinal rules that must be followed to not run afoul of prospective new employers. These include:

1. No swearing or use of foul language
2. Do not post party or sexually-explicit photos
3. Don’t say bad things about past employers or current co-workers
4. Keep posts and status updates to a minimum and make sure that they are posted before or after working hours
5. Avoid posting opinions about religion, sexual orientation and politics

Also, it is a good idea to Google yourself from time to time to see what the search results look like. Most employers routinely Google job applicants to acquire more information about prospective hires. As many social media gurus like to say “Google never forgets.”

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Those of you who may be old enough to recognize the slogan “We’ve come a long way baby” ought to consider reading the list below about the things that the majority of today’s 18 year olds (college freshman) have never done. The reason why I think that the list is important is because we educators (most of whom are baby boomers and increasingly Gen Xers) grew up in a different world than the Millennials aka Gen Y. 

Like it or not, these differences must be taken into consideration when devising strategies on how to teach these students! What may have worked for you or me, may no longer be the best way to teach this and future generations of students.

The article was sent to me by a representative at matchacollege.com.

10 Things the Class of 2014 Hasn’t Experienced

Below is a list of the 10 things the class of 2014 hasn’t experienced, or more accurately, the 10 things a majority of 18-year-olds haven’t experienced firsthand.

1. A world without the internet
   Not only do new college students not know a world without the internet, but many also haven’t endured the screaming modem connecting through a telephone landline. A dropped connection or the fear of it limited your enjoyment and inhibited you from accomplishing much. But as the internet has evolved, connections have become faster and almost everything has become available with the click of a mouse. Teenagers are able to sign up for SATs, apply for college, apply for financial aid, select their classes, find a dorm, find a roommate and join a club all before they set foot on campus. The legwork that came with making such a life transition two decades ago has been eliminated.
2. Consistent email correspondences
   It’s tragically unhip to use an email for anything other than formal correspondence. It has become an archaic form of internet communication and it has been supplanted by social networking sites. Email is rarely used to facilitate conversations by young people because it’s too slow and too impersonal. Instead, it’s used for formal messages with bosses and professors, and as a tool for signing up for websites.
3. Life without cell phones
   College freshmen now are connected to their friends every minute of every day thanks to their smartphones. They can maintain constant contact with each other by texting and Facebooking – the latter of which has made high school reunions less anticipated because graduates from the last several years already know what their classmates are doing with their lives. Many college students have never used a payphone, which was the main communication device to use when you were out and about in years past, though you couldn’t make the call if you didn’t remember the number.
4. Cameras with film
   The class of 2014 will be taking plenty of pictures in the coming years, capturing the memorable and not-so-memorable moments that occur during college. But before the advent of Facebook, when picture-taking was less of a priority to young people, a camera was only as good as the film that accompanied it. There was no immediate gratification after taking a round of photos because you couldn’t upload them onto your computer. Instead, you dropped the roll off at the drugstore and waited until the photos were developed – it was the only way you would see the photos.
5. Using a paper map
   Now, commuters are less likely to get lost with the presence of a GPS. The only time a paper map is unfolded, trial and error is used or verbal directions are requested during a trip is when the GPS hasn’t been updated in a while, and it steers you to an empty field. So when students from the class of 2014 embark on their first college roadtrips, the absence of wrong turns and unexpected detours will result in more time to have fun.
6. Driving manual transmission cars
   Although cars with manual transmissions are still manufactured, few young people bother to learn how to drive them. The phase-out began a couple of decades ago, but for a while, many parents took it upon themselves to teach their kids how to drive a stick shift because it was still considered a useful skill. Cars with manual transmissions are usually cheaper, and car enthusiasts will tell you they’re more fun to drive. But driving has become a chore, and young and old people alike prefer to keep it as easy as possible.
7. Thumbing through an encyclopedia, dictionary or thesaurus
   The time-consuming activity of thumbing through an encyclopedia, dictionary or thesaurus made research papers a dreaded part of the college experience during the pre-internet era. It was a given that you would spend hours upon hours in the library, and if you didn’t, your GPA would suffer. For home use, Encyclopedia Britannica and Webster’s Dictionary were reliable options. Now, definitions can be easily found by googling the term, and Wikipedia has become an informal source of information despite its inaccuracy. Library time is spent surfing the internet, unless a professor gives an assignment that requires for certain books to be cited.
8. Returning videotapes
   Through the ’80s and ’90s, college students would spend late nights perusing the aisles of video stores, looking for the latest and greatest hits to view during their downtime. It was imperative they returned the videotapes in a timely manner; otherwise they would face late fees, which would put a dent their nearly empty bank accounts. And, of course, the tapes had to be rewound. Students today use torrents and sites like Netflix, and they never have to leave their dorm suites.
9. Cash only
   No longer are trips to the ATM a necessary weekly occurrence. There are very few situations in which cash is needed, so few people carry bills in their wallets. Everyone with a bank account owns a debit card, so wads of cash aren’t needed by college students for activities like barhopping. Instead, they use their debit cards for everything, including bar tabs, which grow as more beer and shots are downed, causing future meals to be sacrificed due to the limited funds that remain.
10. Reliance on a wristwatch
    Cell phones have ensured that people no longer uses wristwatches for time-telling purposes. Watches are no different than any piece of jewelry – they’re aesthetically-pleasing items that are worn fashionably. But it doesn’t seem to be a trend for 18-year-olds to own one, and with their cell phones always in their palms, they always know the time.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The advent of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter  Linked-In and MySpace (does anyone still use it?) have taken the concept of "networking" to new levels. However, is sitting in front of computer thanking people for adding them to their friend's list really what networking is suppose to be about? I think not!

Networking in its most meaningful and seminal form is about interacting with others " in real time" and in "face to face" situations. Yes, I know it takes time and energy to get from in front of that computer screen, but we humans are social creatures and for the most part (with few exceptions) we all crave real-live human contact. So what is the deal about networking and how is it really done?
One of the first things that a person who is interested in networking must do is to design and print about 500 business cards. Yes, it will take time and some cash to accomplish this, but without a business card nobody who you meet will remember you. Business cards ought to contain your name and all of your contact details and provide some basic information about you, i.e. PhD.D. , job title etc. Adding some graphics or design details are a plus if they are done tastefully and do not detract from you as a candidate.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

There is ample anecdotal evidence to suggest that using social media tools like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook may help to improve your chances of landing a new job. For example, a recent article that appeared in Time Magazine recounts the story of an individual who lost and subsequently found a job in 11 days using a job search strategy based exclusively on social media. While social media tools are still evolving, social media has become part of the fabric of every day modern life. Therefore, it makes sense that social media may be useful when using it to find a job. 

In previous posts on this blog, I recommended using a variety of social media strategies when conducting a job search. However, like any other technology tools, if social media is not not used or managed correctly it may backfire and give you less than anticipated results. To that end, the folks over at Online Degree send me a post entitled “The 10 Worst Social Media Mistakes that Will Prevent You from Landing a Job.” 

Although some of the tips and ideas may be obvious to some, many jobseekers have little or no understanding of what is acceptable when conducting a social media or traditional job search. I highly recommend that you heed the advice offered here--it may very well make a difference between gainful employment and living at home with your parents or relatives!

1. Don’t Be That Guy : We all have at least one social media friend who shares him or herself too much. Things like realtors putting up each new listing, every sale a business has, or constant reminders on the same event can be as off putting to an employer as it is to a friend. If using your social media account to promote your work, be thoughtful of other people’s time. Chris Brogan has an excellent rule of one promotional update for every 15 casual ones. Check out his blog for more useful moves.

2. Use it or Lose It : Twitter and other sites are essentially a blank canvas. Don’t let them go to waste by using the same backgrounds and graphics as anyone else. Use the opportunity to showcase photos, art, events, logos, and anything else that will make you stand out. Mashable has a great guide on how and why to create a custom Twitter background. For inspiration, click here to see many successful attempts at creating memorable, yet simple backgrounds.

3. You Can Have Too Many Friends : Too many friends and followers actually can be a bad thing. While real people with real accounts are a plus, the more popular an application becomes, the more likely it is to be subject to hacking. Both Facebook and Twitter have had troubles with phishing such as Zombie and Twply. Gullibility does not make you attractive to an employer. Better to have 100 actual friends/followers, than 200 phony ones, both in social media and IRL.

4. Don’t Down the Updates : So you just got a new gadget and it rocks? Or was the sushi overpriced and stale? Did your kid just do the cutest thing? Now think about if a potential employer wants to read every detail about the above. While short, incisive updates are appreciated and even admired, they can also do the opposite. Have a look at this list to see the worst status updates and delete them before they prevent you from landing a job.

5. Sir Mix-A-Little : With social media becoming more and more popular, you likely have more than one account. While there is nothing wrong with having a Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn account all at once, mixing them can be a problem. In an amazingly well thought out article, Nicky Jameson discusses the pitfalls of mixing social media business and pleasure. If still unsure, check out #10 on this list.

6. Too Little of a Good Thing : Now that you have social media account and know how not to update too much, don’t go the other route. Too few updates can show lack of commitment and general spazziness. Updates that come once a month, or even once a week, can be too few. However, with loads to do and little time to do it in, updates can be challenging. Visit this link to get a guide to FeedMyTwitter. It can auto post pre-written updates on the date, category, and more of your choosing.

7. Drive a Manual : Automatic DM’s may be useful to some people when used correctly, but a misstep can hurt those looking to avoid mistakes. If a prospective employer has the courtesy to follow or friend you, thank them properly. A generic “thank you" is just as insulting as it sounds. Write one yourself, make it personal, and stand out just a little more. This site shows you how to disable Auto DM on Twitter.

8. Spelling Isn’t Just for Bees : Yes, its social media and, yes, there is a certain sense of informality. However, especially if going for a writing or editing job, any spelling or grammar mistake can prevent you from landing it. If your browser has a spell check, use it. Even if it does, don’t turn the spell check in your noggin off even if you’re writing about your favorite restaurant. This article from Scrawlbug lists eight stupid spelling mistakes that happen more often than you think.

9. Spam is for Canned Meat : If someone does check your account, an overload of spam cannot only be off-putting; it can also show that you have little technical knowledge. A potential boss can only assume that you will behave the same and subject the whole office to lottery scams and the like. To prevent from making this social media mistake that will prevent you from landing a job, learn the in’s and out’s of your account. This site is entirely devoted to stopping spam on Twitter.

10. You Got to Keep ‘Em Separated : Love your Facebook, Twitter, etc. accounts and will censor them for no one? Go for it. That’s one of the reasons why the internet invented multiple accounts. Simply use one for all of the professional stuff with your proper name, pictures, messages, and such. All the intimate stuff can appear on another account under the nickname of your choice. Visit this link to see a quick and easy way to set up two accounts on the same computer with no problem.

Hat tip to Onlinedegree.net.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting on Twitter and Facebook

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

 It's official; BioCrowd was one year old on Monday. During the past year,Vincent and I have been surveying the bioscience social media space to come up with ideas to keep BioCrowd fresh and relevant. To that end, we redesigned the BioCrunch section of our home page to include a bulletin board feature, a weekly video pick and RSS-driven news, video and podcast feeds. Also, we created a feature called the Career Corner that will showcase the interests, careers and lives of featured BioCrowd members. The inaugural career vignette is about me. So, those of you who want to learn more or can’t get enough of me, check it out!

Next week, we hope to launch a new user-generated, multimedia file upload capability. The new functionality will allow members to up load any type of multimedia file (videos, podcasts, PowerPoint presentations, poster etc) to website. Uploaded files can be read, viewed or listened to at the website and members can rate the content (like vs. dislike). Finally, multimedia files will be aggregated according to type and linked to the profiles of members who generated and uploaded the content.

We hope that BioCrowd members enjoy the new features and continue to visit the site. Also, please tell your friends, colleagues, mentors or other bioprofessionals about the site.  

Both Vincent and I look forward to seeing and chatting with you at the BioCrowd.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Networking!!!!!!!!!!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

I want to let my readers know that a beta-version of BioCrowd is ready for review. For those of you who may not know about BioCrowd, it is a social network for life sciences students and professionals that was created by Vincent Racaniello a Professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and me. 

The reason we started BioCrowd was that Vincent and I both perceived a need for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to more effectively network with established scientists and life sciences professionals to further advance their careers or find jobs. The social interactivity of Facebook and the business connectivity of LinkedIn are what led to the creation of BioCrowd.

We are looking for a few brave women and men who want to help to beta-test BioCrowd before we launch.  If you are interested, please visit us at www.biocrowd.com and drop us a line.   For those of you who don't want to participate at the moment, but want to learn about our progress, you can follow us on Twitter and FriendFeed ,

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Online career sites like Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com and Yahoo Hot Jobs have gotten so big and over subscribed that they are no longer useful to most jobseekers. Many career development experts have discovered that the large career sites tend to overwhelm jobseekers because of the enormity of job possibilities that appear on them.  Unfortunately, this seemingly endless supply of job opportunities frequently induces jobseekers to spend too much time applying for online jobs and not enough time exploring non-internet based job possibilities. While applying for online jobs is facile and may be emotionally-gratifying, it usually doesn’t culminate in many face-to-face interviews or job offers for that matter. This is because most online job applications are screened by software programs looking for key words or phrases and, if your resume doesn’t contain them it will not be reviewed by a human. Further, many of the openings posted on job boards are actually placed there by recruiters and contract employment agencies—not actual companies seeking to fill positions. Often times, recruiters post expired or fictitious job descriptions on the boards to “pad” their candidate databases with qualified applicants who can be used for future job orders. Finally, sometimes unscrupulous people/companies place false or misleading ads on the big job boards. Unfortunately, these people have no qualms about taking financial advantage of job seekers who may be desperate or “down on their luck

The declining usefulness of the big online job boards has given rise to smaller career sites like Indeed.com and Simply Hired.com which are driven by powerful search engines and permit jobseekers to customize job searches based on industry, geography, salary and job availability. Other companies like BioInsights.com and OneScience.com have built niche job boards that specialize in industry-specific job listings (in this case pharma and biotech). While these new careers site are more focused, easier to navigate and frequently yield better results than the large job boards, they too can be exploited by recruiters and unscrupulous would-be employers. 

The growing popularity of social networking sites represents an important paradigm shift for jobseekers and employers. Belonging to popular social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Plaxo allows job seekers to cast a wider net by taking advantage of the contacts or connections that their “friends” may have at various companies and organizations. Further, it is not uncommon for people within a network to pass on resumes or put in a good word to hiring managers on behalf of friends or contacts from their network who are seeking employment.  However, it is important to also point out that recruiters and contract employment agencies have also recognized the potential and power of social networks. Recruiters and HR specialists now routinely troll social networks (particularly Linked In and Facebook) for qualified candidates and don’t hesitate to contact “qualified candidates” whether or not they are actively looking for a job. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, hiring managers and recruiters are becoming increasingly reliant on social networks to screen and gather personal information about job candidates to assess their suitability for certain jobs. According to a 2006 study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, recruiters use social networking sites 23 per cent more than they did in 2006 to verify resumes, screen applicants and fill vacancies. Also, the study found that possible negative information posted on social network profiles—personal views, alcohol or drug use, sexually-oriented pictures or social commentaries— have a greater impact on hiring decisions than any positive information that may also appear on job seeker profiles.

The growing use of social networks by job seekers to find employment and employers and recruiters to screen job applicants has profound implications for people who belong to these networks. With this in mind, if you currently have profiles associated with your legal name on social networks like Face Book, MySpace or Linked In, I strongly recommend that are completely devoid of the following: 1) sexually suggestive or explicit photographs, 2) posts or photos depicting excessive alcohol or drug use, 3) any rants that you may have posted about your boss or a current place of employment and 4) personal information about your age, marital status, children or sexual orientation. Also, if you are actively involved in a job search, it is a good idea to upload a short bio or resume to your profile and to post any bonafide recommendations or career award and honors that you may have received. However, if you find the prospect of having to sanitize your MySpace and Facebook profiles unpalatable, then I suggest that you remove your name from your current profile(s) and replace it with an alias (your friends will still  know who you are) and build another profile with your real name for professional use only.   

We live in a highly competitive, constantly-changing world where even slightly negative perceptions about a person may mean the different between employment or not. Ironically, while the Internet allows greater freedom of expression, it also permits people with decision-making powers to more easily scrutinize our daily activities and gain greater insights into our personal lives. Consequently, the onus is on jobseekers to regulate or control what prospective employers may learn about them online. Put simply, the success or failure of your career may literally be in your own hands. That said, the next time that you update your Facebook or MySpace profiles take a moment (before you hit the “send button”) and ask yourself whether or not the new information “is going to help or hurt my career?”

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link