Job Search Tip: Too Much Information on your Social Networks
I get a lot of great comments from my readers, which I love. One of these was a response to MySpace Killed the Candidate…critical job interview tip, in which I told the cautionary tale of one of my candidates leaving too much information on her MySpace page and losing a job opportunity: avoid such issues by ”setting your social networks to private.” I agree that it is best to set your social network sites to private, and be careful who you accept as a friend.
Still, there are things to keep in mind: like, how much of your stuff automatically gets shared when you interact with a new application? And…even if you are vigilant about keeping up with your privacy settings, your friends can inadvertently share your private information with third parties very easily. Mary Madden has a great discussion of issues like these in Securing Private Data from Internet ‘Zombies.’ There’s also a great stream of comments to go with it. I highly suggest you read it.
Online social networks can be great for boosting your career and job search, so I’m not saying “don’t use them,” I’m just saying “use them wisely”. Aside from the biggies like FaceBook and MySpace, LinkedIn is tailored for career networks and job-searching applications. Tech Crunch’s article Nine Ways to Build Your Own Social Network offers a list of nine up-and-coming “white label” social networking platforms and explains what each of them does. They could prove very useful.
Critical advice: you should Google yourself (with all the possible versions of your name) once in a while to see what’s out there about you. Is your online identity sabotaging your executive job search? explains that employers and executive recruiters will Google you, and you need to know what they will find. What kind of online presence do you have? Ideally, you should have a positive one, with the number of search results correlating with your years of experience. (It’s a personal branding issue.)
(This information applies to everyone in medical sales, laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics sales, pathology sales, imaging sales, medical device sales, medical supplies sales, pharmaceutical sales, DNA products sales, molecular products sales, cellular products sales, biotechnology products sales, or any area of healthcare sales, marketing, and management.)
Getting into medical sales? Here’s how to get hired.
What should you do to break into medical sales, laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics sales, surgical products sales, pathology sales, imaging sales, medical device sales, pharmaceutical sales, biotech sales, or sales of cellular or molecular products? One of the most important tips I can give you: go for a ride-along with someone in the field to ask questions and see what a typical day is like.
Job shadowing is something we usually associate with high-school or college students, but it can be tremendously beneficial for anyone changing careers. It’s valuable hands-on experience before you make the commitment to switch. (Here’s a link to a virtual ride-along…not as good, but a good place to start.)
How do you find someone to ride with? Ask your doctor for names of medical sales reps. When you contact them, reassure them that you’re not after their job, but are looking for information about the field….pros and cons, typical day, and so on. When you go, have 10-15 questions prepared (you’ll think of more throughout the day) and take notes. This will help you narrow down which healthcare sales field you want to get into, and when you land the interview, your prep work will show and give you an edge over other candidates.
I’ve put together what I hope is a very helpful video that explains all this for you: Medical Sales Preceptorship–Get Hired.
Job Interviewing Skills: More Phone Interview Tips
Advice for phone interviews for jobs in medical sales, laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics sales, DNA products sales, molecular products sales, cellular products sales, medical supplies sales, biotechnology products sales, imaging sales, pathology sales, pharmaceutical sales, or any healthcare sales, marketing, or management position:
More and more first interviews are conducted by phone (they’re efficient), so make sure you know how to do them. According to The Phone Interview, you should have a quiet room, keep your resume in front of you so you don’t forget anything, and be as professional as if you were sitting in front of the interviewer. How to have a successful interview says, don’t get too comfortable just because they can’t see you…be mindful of how you sound. (No slang.) Another article says that you should have practice phone interviews with your friends and family to catch any problems with mumbling or speech that’s too fast.
One thing I want you to remember: if you have optimal conditions for a phone interview when you’re called, great. If you’re called at a bad time…take control and ask if you can call back. Nail down a better time, and be sure to call back then. It won’t hurt you. The most important thing is to ensure that you can have a quality interview.
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