7 Best Articles About Using LinkedIn For A Successful Job Search

After my postdoc at Northwestern in Chicago, I had a job all lined up.

I was excited and had already planned to live in downtown, Chicago.

However, a small but important detail was yet to be resolved.

My work visa needed to go through before I could start my new job, and my worst fears were realized when my visa did not go through.

I was stuck in India.

For better or for worse, I was in my home country, jobless, and completely lost about how to restart my job search.

What are the top pharma/biotech companies in India?

Do they hire PhDs?

Do I have the skills required for any industry position?

Do industries also have departments, like academia?

If yes, which department would suit my profile?

Will I get paid enough?

I didn’t know anybody in the Indian corporate world.

These and many such questions haunted me every day and took away my sleep at night.

I had lived in the US for 9 years and was lost in my own country!

Through Google searches, I came across some job postings and uploaded my academic resume.

I also desperately started emailing and calling biotech and biopharma companies that I found online.

This strategy didn’t work.

I didn’t secure any interviews and I didn’t learn anything useful during my desperate searches.

I realized I needed help, and found this help in the Cheeky Scientist resources.

It was there that I learned the value of Linkedin.

I updated my dormant Linkedin profile and started reconnecting with the people I had added on Linkedin years ago.

Many of those people I reconnected with were really happy to hear from me.

Turns out, I had a much larger industry network than I had previously realized.

This online networking helped me regain my confidence about landing a job.

Due to the significant improvements I had made to my LinkedIn profile and my LinkedIn networking strategy, I started getting connection requests from industry professionals all over the world.

Networking on LinkedIn eventually landed me my industry position and I have never been happier in my professional career!

I was able to find a job I enjoy that also recognises my value as a PhD.

Why Networking On LinkedIn Is Key For Job Search Success

A recent survey of 15,509 people, conducted by LinkedIn, found that 35% of people reported that a casual LinkedIn conversation led to a new opportunity.

Just a simple short message was enough for more than a third of the survey respondents to have a new opportunity.

Networking is powerful.

The same survey found that 70% of people were hired at a company where they had a connection.

According to the Society of Human Resource Management, employee referrals account for 72% of all interviews.

And, Undercover Recruiter reported that 1 out of every 5 candidates with a job referral gets hired.

If you are not on LinkedIn building up your network and investing in your connections, you are missing out on a huge resource that will boost your job search.

Not only that, networking often leads to referrals which will benefit you after you get hired, as well.

A study in The Review Of Economic Studies journal found that a referral raises wages of workers in their first year at a firm by 6.7 ± 3.4%.

A 6.7% increase is substantial.

It’s an increase in starting salary from $75,000 to $80,000 per year.

Companies place a lot of value on referrals because ultimately, job candidates who come from referrals make better employees.

As a PhD, you already have many advantages over other job candidates, and with a referral you will immediately become a top candidate.

But, you have to put in the work.

You have to be the one on LinkedIn reaching out to your connections and building up your professional relationships.

Cheeky Scientist Top 7 Online Networking Articles

Networking is hard.

It takes energy.

But, as someone who is committed to transitioning from academia to industry, you have to network.

And, there are strategies that you should follow to make the most of your online networking.

Here are the top 7 Cheeky Scientist articles to help PhDs understand how to use LinkedIn to network with industry professionals and get hired…

7 Tips To Writing LinkedIn Messages For Rewarding Job Referrals

Networking is the foundation of your job search.

Although a company may ultimately be your employer, it’s a person who is going to hire you.

Making real and valuable connections with people is what will propel your job search forward.

And, to make that happen, you need to know how to send a proper networking message.

What should you say in a message to a brand new connection?

How long should your message be?

What if they don’t respond to you?

You need a strategy for how to successfully use LinkedIn to connect with industry professionals.

Learn what best practices you should be using in your LinkedIn messages so that you can build up a solid professional network, and make the transition from academia to industry.

Top 3 Strategies For PhDs To Network Internationally

Trying to get hired abroad can seem daunting and impossible.

You face the problems of distance, cultural clashes, and visas.

However, living in a different country can be extremely rewarding.

It will broaden your perspective in a way no other experience can.

The key to obtaining an industry position abroad is to start networking with people from abroad online.

You don’t have the opportunity to attend local networking events, so you must leverage online networking to your advantage.

Learn how to best leverage online networking to get hired abroad.

How To Use Your Current Network To Get Job Referrals

What is the best way to get a job referral… fast?

By investing in your professional network.

And, LinkedIn is a great resource to make that happen.

Your current network is bigger and more powerful than you think — you just need to leverage it in the right way to get job referrals fast.

Add value to those people in your network, and create genuine connections with people.

PhDs are great candidates for top industry positions, and job referrals will make sure your resume gets noticed.

Learn the best way to reconnect with people in your current network, with the goal of getting a referral.

The #1 Way To Network With Industry Professionals When You Have Nothing To Offer

Reaching out to industry professionals you don’t know, and asking for help, is foolish and a waste of your time.

They have no reason to connect with you, help you connect with others, or help you get a job.

They don’t even know you.

Intelligent PhDs know that they need to add value before asking for anything.

The best way to get hiring managers, recruiters, and industry professionals to start helping you is to start helping them first.

Learn the best strategy for networking with industry professionals.

How To Build Relationships With Biotech And Biopharmaceutical Recruiters (With Email Templates)

Networking is a buzzword — but do you know what it really means?

In reality, networking is relationship-building.

It’s putting yourself out there with a genuine interest in meeting new people and developing a
professional relationship with them.

But, sometimes people won’t respond.

You must get out of your comfort zone and continue to put yourself out there again and again.

The more you do it, the better you will get at networking and building professional relationships.

Learn the best way to network with biotech and biopharma recruiters, including email templates.

3 Ways To Connect With Job Recruiters Using LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great platform to find and connect with industry professionals.

It allows you to reach out to people, who work at the companies you are interested in, that you would not have had access to otherwise.

But, how do you find recruiters?

What do you say to a recruiter when you do connect with one?

If you don’t know how to interact with industry professionals on LinkedIn, your job search will suffer.

You must give your new connection a reason to want to talk to you.

And, if you can do that, then you are on the right track to building a solid, professional connection.

Learn the top ways to find and interact with industry professionals on LinkedIn.

5 Ways To Annoy Recruiters And Destroy Your Job Search

Recruiters are a great resource to use during your job search.

Recruiters will have many job openings that they are recruiting candidates for, so by talking to one person, you gain access to multiple job opportunities.

As a PhD, you are valuable and recruiters can connect you with opportunities that you may not have been aware of otherwise.

But, you must make a good impression on the recruiter by approaching them in an appropriate way.

Learn what common mistakes you must avoid when reaching out to recruiters.

Once you have a top notch profile, you can leverage the LinkedIn platform to connect with a range of industry professionals.

As you grow your network and invest in the relationships that you build, the success of your job search will increase.

People and relationships are what matter.

Companies know that, as a PhD, you have technical skills, but they don’t know you. This is where networking and getting referrals will make you a top candidate.

Learning the proper way to network with industry professionals on LinkedIn will lead to more referrals, and ultimately to landing you the industry position of your dreams.

You deserve a job where you can do meaningful work and be well paid for it. But, to make that a reality, you have to network.

If you’re ready to start your transition into industry, you can apply to book a free Transition Call with our founder Isaiah Hankel, PhD or one of our Transition Specialists. Apply to book a Transition Call here.