Devices & Diagnostics, Patient Engagement, Pharma

Healthcare job seekers using social networks need to be specific to get results

Healthcare job seekers would benefit by paying attention to a recent survey that found that one in […]

Healthcare job seekers would benefit by paying attention to a recent survey that found that one in four medical sales job hunters found leads through social networks.

Now the person who designed the survey advises people looking for jobs to be as specific as possible when using healthcare social networks professionally.

Sometimes announcing to your network that “Hey, I am looking for a job. Please keep me in mind” is not enough, said Robyn Melhuish, editor of MedReps.com, which polled more than 350 of its members — medical and pharma sales reps — to see how they use social networks. In fact, it’s very vague. She said some survey respondents did report finding a job by simply making such an announcement, but that this is unusual.

“Be specific in how you want your network to help you,” Melhuish said. “Reach out to individuals in your network and say, ‘Hey can you review my resume?’ or ‘Can you think of five people you know that might be able to help me in this industry?’ ”

Melhuish added that aside from using LinkedIn, Facebook and other large social networks, using smaller networks — such as an online alumni association — may greatly help in job hunting.

There’s also a note of advice to those 15 percent of survey respondents who reported never leveraging social networks professionally and even to those among them who feel that doing so would hurt their chances of getting a job.

The report exhorted users to change privacy settings so that prospective employers can see appropriate material. Melhuish noted the Google Circles feature within the Google Plus might help people to keep their professional and personal connections apart.

 

 

 

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