Harness the Power of Social Media Networking
Biotech is a rapidly growing industry that offers fascinating career opportunities to those with the right qualifications and skill sets. Yet, as with any industry, networking can get you ahead of the curve, faster. Social media can be an invaluable tool in your job search process if you know how to use it correctly. Here are some tips for leveraging social media to speed up your biotech job search:
Identify Your Goals
Before you jump into social media, decide what you want to get out of it. Are you looking for advice about a particular field or product? Do you want to make connections with industry leaders? What about networking with recruiters or employers? Once you have identified your goals, then you can focus your efforts on creating content and engaging with people who will help meet those goals.
Some free tools to help you create and track goals are:
- Trello is a project management tool that allows you to create boards, lists, and cards to organize your tasks and goals. You can set due dates, add attachments and comments, and move cards between lists as you progress towards your goal. Trello is available on desktop and mobile devices.
- Google Goals is a feature within Google Calendar that allows you to set goals for yourself and schedule time to work towards them. You can choose from a range of pre-set goals, such as “exercise,” “read more,” or “learn a new skill,” or create your own. Google will then automatically schedule time in your calendar for you to work towards your goal.
- Strides is a habit tracking app that allows you to set and track goals related to health, fitness, productivity, and more. You can set reminders, track your progress over time, and view detailed reports on your habits and goals. Strides is available on iOS devices.
Build Your Network
Start by connecting with people in the biotech industry such as professors, scientists, investors, entrepreneurs, and recruiters. Use platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter to follow key influencers in the industry and join relevant groups and conversations. Don’t forget about other professionals in related industries — they may be able to provide valuable insights or even become mentors that can help propel your career forward.
Create Quality Content
It’s important to create content that adds value rather than just promoting yourself or what you’re looking for. Share newsworthy articles related to biotech or contribute your own ideas and insights through blog posts or videos on YouTube and Vimeo. Stay active on social media by responding to comments, liking posts, joining conversations — any activity that shows you are engaged will help build your reputation as an expert in the biotech field.
Brand Yourself
Think about how potential employers perceive you when they visit your social media accounts –– do the profiles appear professional? Is there a consistent brand across all of them? You want employers to take notice of not only your qualifications but also how well-rounded and connected you are within the industry. Take time to create attractive profile pictures on each platform as well as write compelling bios that accurately represent who you are professionally so people remember who you are when they come across your name later on down the line!
Some free graphic design tools are:
- Canva is a user-friendly graphic design tool that allows you to create designs for social media, marketing materials, presentations, and more. It offers a wide range of templates, graphics, and fonts to choose from, making it easy to create professional-looking designs even if you have no design experience.
- Pixlr is a cloud-based photo editing tool that allows you to edit photos and create graphic designs. It offers a range of features, including filters, effects, and borders, as well as tools for retouching and adding text to images.
- GIMP is a free and open-source image editing tool that offers a range of advanced features for graphic designers. It can be used for photo retouching, creating illustrations, and designing user interfaces. While it has a steeper learning curve than some other graphic design tools, it offers a lot of flexibility and customization options.
Utilize Hashtags & Keywords
It’s important to use relevant keywords and popular hashtags when posting content so users can easily find it through search results on various platforms (e.g., #biotech #careeradvice). This way potential employers can find out more about who you are without having taken the time to look at all of your individual accounts separately! Plus adding hashtags helps increase visibility for other users interested in similar topics, which could potentially lead them back to your profile if they find something interesting enough from one of your posts!
Several tools you can utilize are:
- Hashtagify is a tool that allows you to search for relevant hashtags based on a keyword or phrase. It provides data on the popularity, trends, and related hashtags of each hashtag. You can use this tool to find trending hashtags and optimize your social media posts.
- Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that allows you to search for relevant keywords related to your business or topic. It provides data on the search volume and competition level of each keyword. You can use this tool to optimize your website content and improve your search engine rankings.
- SEMrush is a paid tool that provides comprehensive data on keywords, including search volume, competition level, and related keywords. It also offers insights on your competitors’ keywords and search rankings, which can help you optimize your SEO strategy.
Conclusion
Social media has become an incredibly powerful tool for networking in today’s competitive job market –– especially within the biotech sector where having strong connections is key for success!
By establishing yourself as an expert through quality content creation and building relationships with influencers within the space, not only will potential employers take notice but so too will recruiters who may have a position perfect for someone like yourself! So don’t hesitate –– start using social media today for faster progress towards attaining that biotech media job.
Oh yeah, it couldn’t hurt to remove some of those embarrassing posts, videos, and pictures! 🙂