Experiment 9: Getting aggressive, asking about jobs

By this point in the experimentation process, it's become clear to me that behavior I previously thought was outlandishly presumptive or aggressive is at worst barely approaching standard practice. Remember how I used to feel about calling HR? Or finding people on LinkedIn? Who knows what makes us scientists so shy, but I am here to push the bounds of acceptable job hunting behavior all the way to "expected levels of interaction." Call me a rebel.

I've started committing (via Twitter) what I used to think was a major faux-paus: asking about jobs. I'm not asking for jobs yet (that's still tacky), but I've found some recruiters who ought to have the types of jobs I am looking for, but only seem to post jobs that aren't right for me (QC Chemist). In prinicple, they know I am watching, because they can tell that I follow them, but I don't pay any attention to who my actual followers are. The only way to get noticed on Twitter is to speak up directly. When I asked Vala Sciences (publicly) for more info about openings, I heard back from them (they will be opening a new department, but they want to get a director in place first. It's almost time for a follow-up with them). So why not just ask the biotech recruiter? Why not just ask Amgen, do you have positions for people with my background?

The obvious reason not to is that the very thought of it makes me feel ill. But both Steve Levy and Adrienne Graham were comically appalled by my lack of aggressiveness in this whole thing. How are these people/entities going to know you want a job otherwise? Continuing to apply for the wrong positions isn't helping. I would really like to work for Amgen- they paid my summer stipend the summer I decided to go to graduate school, so I've always had a soft spot for them. But their careers pages is confounding and so my resume is likely filled under "people who can't read job descriptions." Hopefully I can get someone there to at least point me towards the correct job title or department to look for, since that would be a huge advantage to me. As bashful as I am feeling about this, I still don't think I'm crossing the bounds of appropriate job seeker behavior. In fact, I am finally just beginning to broach the whole reason groups like Amgen and Merck are on Twitter in the first place- to connect with candidates before the hiring process begins.

Experiment 8:Using Google Maps to find target companies

Here comes a disclaimer on what may be a very boring blog post: One of the reasons I am keeping this blog is to record for myself my progress in the career/job search. I'm recording both the big breakthroughs and the inane updates for myself and anyone else who might be curious about how you are supposed to find a job. That's right, I'm 28 years old, and the last job I applied for I got when I was 17. And it required rainpants. So presenting oneself professionally, aggressively and effectively for the purpose of employment seems very foreign. I'm writing it down so I can look back later and figure out what works and what doesn't.

There are many parts of job hunting that don't feel like job hunting but are really important- polishing my resume, pinging my network, preparing for interviews, un-wrinkling professional clothes, etc. But the part of job hunting that is a bit harder is finding jobs to apply for that I have some chance to get.

Job boards are a good place to start, but I find that really draining (I don't have clinical experience or a PharmD,... or 20+ yrs of management experience...ugh. Where are the jobs for new PhDs?). Several people have recently asked me "what my target companies are?" and I have no idea. So under the guise of finding target companies, I went to Google Maps of Seattle, and searched "biotech." Then I went to each company's website to figure out what they do, and then see if there were jobs open. If there were jobs that seemed close (I am using AvidCareerist's cutoff of 75% of job requirements), I went to LinkedIn to see if I knew anyone there. I've asked for a few introductions, and sent a couple emails to hear more about these companies. So far the only people I've heard back from said I really wouldn't be a great fit (we were actually looking for a crystallographer, not just someone who isn't afraid of structural data).

I liked this because it revealed some new companies/positions I have not already seen on the jobs boards- smaller places that the Merck, Amgen and St. Jude's posts that dominate a lot of jobs boards. Job hunting is boring, so I am happy to have ways to change it up. But, I'm still not really sure what I will say to any of these potential LinkedIn connections should I ever hear back from them. I'm also not sure if I job that is only posted on a company's "Careers" page is more or less likely to be an urgently open position or not. I'll report back later.

And I also still don't have "target companies." What does that even mean?

Caution: More ways to Spam yourself

Getting up to date information is really important in a job hunt. You want to know who is hiring and you want to have relevant news to share with your network. But, I am starting to think all these email updates may be getting out of control.

I get updates from job boards, so I know when jobs I might be interested in come up so I can apply for them (BioCareers, USAJobs, Washington Biotech Business Association etc.). I get "daily/weekly digests" from my LinkedIn groups (19 and counting) to tell me who is discussing what, and if jobs were posted. I'm now signing up for updates from Lead411.com and Google Alerts for biotech news- which I am hesitant to do. This morning, I cleared out 184 unread messages from my inbox.

I'm hoping a clean slate and adjusting some of my settings will help. I am already going to the LinkedIn Groups, so I don't need to hear from them, and I should probably just admit that daily digests of anything are too much for me. I'll let you know how Google Alerts pans out, unless I just decide I've got too much email to read anymore.

Networking advice from a true master

Remember the recruiter that I follow on twitter whose radioshow I love? Her name is Adrienne Graham, she tweets as @talentdiva and she is the CEO of empowerme.org - she is awesome. Well, she wanted to host a G+ hangout to talk about networking (also, she's an early adopter). She was on a twitter riff the night before with loads of great networking advice (like get business cards and don't go into it thinking you'll get something right away) so knew I wanted to try this hangout. (Don't know what a Hangout is? Still need a G+ Invite? email me)

Uh... and I was the only one who showed up. What? Uninterrupted quality time with one of the leaders in the recruiting field? I must be doing something right! I should add, I was prepared for this hangout. I had some questions, I had some stuff I thought I would share- I was ready for both giving and taking. But really, she just fed me vastly superior gems of advice. Some of it easy stuff- social networking tools don't make up for actually quality time, and you need real relationships with people. Get face to face. And stay in touch over the long run. So yes, coworkers, I'll be coming back by the lab soon.

And some really savvy advice- when I mentioned I was trying to build a network to help me move across the country, she suggested I get a Google phone number in that area code and take my address off my resume. That way geography won't get in the way of my application. She also said I should ask to meet via Skype or Googlechat with people I might otherwise call- it's more personal.

She suggested I get Google alerts for biotech news, and then told me about a cool site called lead411.com that can provide inside info about target companies like upcoming hiring and firing decisions. I'm excited to explore that!

And can we go on about the books she wrote? She didn't even bring this up until I mentioned what a novice I am at really getting value out of networking, but yeah, she's written 4 books on it.

Net result? My goals for tomorrow include:

• get free business cards printed
• set up Google alerts
• check out lead411.com
• get a California phone number
  
• start reading "Go Ahead, Talk to Strangers" which is downloading as I type

I'll break it up by continuing to look for target companies in Seattle and San Diego via LinkedIn, and maybe pinging my network a bit. Today I got a couple new contacts I need to check in with, so tomorrow will be a busy day.

Interacting with Recruiters

I'm awkward on the phone. I can't seem to pick up the few remaining social cues on the phone, so I tend to be very literal in phone conversations. "I am calling about X job. Can I commence with my qualifications? Oh, X job is full. Abort. Goodbye." What can I say? I am working on it. This is one reason I am really excited about social networking tools that don't require immediate telephone conversations. Which is probably why I tweeted a question to a talk radio show, but I digress. I want to share some resources for job hunters who may be interacting with recruiters.

One of the recruiters I follow on twitter (because she is approachable and gives good advice) is @talentdiva. She is a recruiter, not in biotech, who is good at sharing how HR/recruiter types think. It's hard to target a resume for the first eyes that will see it, so I've found her perspective helpful. She has a weekly talk radio show called Views from the Top where she covers a variety career related topics. The last two shows were specifically on candidate recruitment. I downloaded the first one, and happened to be listening live to the second one. Talk radio? For job hunters? There is no end to the resources out there.

On the show, they were discussing why it is important/valuable/useful for HR people to notify unsuccessful candidates. I tweeted in a question about how the candidate should respond to such a phone call (see above re: awkward phone talker). All the panelists suggested using this as an opportunity to get feedback about your application. Yes, it is hard to stomach it, but the feedback system in the job hunt is pretty binary- you present poorly= no job offers, you present well = job offer. This is one time when you can actually ask someone how close you were and how you can improve for next time. Just stay professional.

While this wasn't precisely the conversation that was discussed on Views from the Top last week, I've been trying to stay in touch with the recruiters who will talk to me. Simply Biotech of San Diego is a great group- they have job postings on line and they actually get back in touch with you when you call or email. So I searched the job postings for something I thought I could do, mostly as an excuse to stay in touch, and called. We talked briefly about this position before I realized my guy was trying to talk me out of it gently. But rather than resume the above protocol, I tried to get some feedback. I told him I am looking for a job I can enter in as a PhD, and that is more important to me than the title or the pay scale. "Oh," he says, "well, actually... here is a job you might be interested in..." Sweet. I'm glad I didn't get off the phone at the first hint of rejection. Having spent the other part of the morning trying to track down another HR person with another company that is "hiring" it made me realize how valuable good recruiters can be for the overall strength of a community or organization.

I turned down a job offer

In this economy, it seems like a crime not to accept any reasonable job offer. The nation's unemployment is at 9.1%, so consider yourself lucky to be employed or haveing that olive branch extended to you. Right? We used to be counseled not to jump right on the first job offer that comes our way, but now, who knows when the next one is coming?

Well, I'll argue that with the unemployment rates for PhDs being closer to 2%, you have a lot more leverage than the general population. In fact, I'm willing to put out this argument strongly enough to turn down two offers for the wrong job. I mean, jumping through the hoops of the job hunt isn't fun, but I am doing it so I can get a job that helps me move ahead and advance my career. I'm willing to settle for positions that aren't my dream job, but they've gotta provide me more opportunity, new skills, or a step into a direction I am interested in going.

My reasons for turning down jobs?
1) They won't add anything new or helpful to my resume. It's fairly easy to pick up a semester of teaching if you are in the right place at the right time. But I have enough teaching experience to know that I'm not interested in being a professor, and probably enough teaching experience to make the case for being able to teach in other contexts (like training, or giving seminars or something). So what would teaching another semester do for me? Give me a job (a plus), but keep me on a semester long contract where I might be too busy to pursue opportunities outside the classroom (big minus). I opted to use my time to find a better match for my interests.

2) There's no way forward. I also turned down a job with poor pay, not just because of the poor pay, but because it wasn't clear that I could be promoted out of that position, or would be in a good geographical location to network my way into better positions. Like I said, I am willing to make compromises to reach my long term goals, but I still want to reach my long term goals.

I am looking for a career that I can be passionate about, no matter what direction it takes me. That's why I've committed so much time to it so far, so I really don't want to sell myself short or give up on the opportunity to get engaged in some meaningful work. I'm really hoping this gamble will pay off.

Reflections and instructions

While I was waiting at the auto-shop this morning, I had some time to reflect on my job hunt so far. I've had a couple insights- for one, job hunting is not like having a job, it requires different skills and a different perspective. I don't think these must be mutually exclusive, but I'm creating a completely different professional persona as a job hunter than the mousey science grad student that just defended that dissertation. Results can speak for themselves, my resume needs more help advertising.

Something about this advertising and self promotion makes me deeply uncomfortable. I'm not well versed in professional social interactions (or social interactions) so I worry I am going to really stuff this up somehow. But my second reflection was that I haven't yet. I haven't done anything really regrettable yet. Sure, I don't have a job yet, but I keep thinking I am trying more and more outrageous things, but so far none have backfired. I called an HR person! I posted my LinkedIn Profile on Twitter- I'm tweeting, for crying out loud! People return my calls and are happy to help me out. Maybe my sense of what is outrageous in a job hunt is finally approaching normal.

This does seem to affirm though that I have no natural sense for this. I still feel like I am fumbling in the dark, making phone calls, submitting resumes, rewriting cover letters and tweeting. I hope this activity will result in a job, but I mostly feel like I am inefficient and naive. Which is why I am always looking for advice- and is also why I will continue to do absolutely everything Steve Levy tells me do. It was his idea to put up the twitter feed. He told me to start sending tweets to my target companies- it worked on a little guy, why not Pfizer? He told me to join more groups and add people to my linked in network religiously.

My excitement to follow instructions in the job hunt is an indication of how unfocused I'm been, so here is my new plan. I'm going to start everyday with a plan. Next week, I'll be joining a couple other professional networks so I get get into some big LinkedIn groups, I'll be following up on one resume and with one recruiter and I am going to start looking for target companies using LinkedIn. I'm going to finish every day by achieving something- I always want to have an answer for "What are you doing now?" I've got two other balls up in the air right now, I am doing contract work editing chinese manuscripts, and I am volunteering at the Carnegie Science Center. I have goals for both of those, as well- dollar amounts for the editing work and to actually learn customer service at the science center. I like having goals.

But my other goal: I'm taking a break- a proper vacation. I've defended, I've entered the job market, I've learned tons, and just this week, I officially left my bench. When I was a girl scout, one of the survivalists we talked to told us if you are ever lost in the woods, make time to play. If you only worry about how you are going to survive, you'll wear down too quick to make it. Didn't your brownie troop get visited by survivalists? Next week, I'm a full-time job hunter, but this weekend I am going to celebrate graduating 22nd grade and the end of summer.