Networking

One of the biggest things I've seen in my 8 years since I've started working in the industry is Networking. Nowadays you can't just apply for a job and hope for the best. You have to know someone, who knows someone. You have to reach out and interact and get to know folks in your industry in areas other than an interview in order to appeal to them and prove what you can offer. Now this isn't to say that this isn't how things always worked. I'm quite certain that people have been leveraging their friends and their friends of friends to get jobs for decades if not longer. It just feels like things are different now. You need an in, someone who can hold the door ajar so you can barrel your way through and try to make the best impression possible.

I'm only saying this because the past few weeks I've been networking like crazy to try and establish a presence in the Life Sciences sector. So far I've attended Hera Hub's Mid-Year Reset, OutBio San Diego's Summer BBQ, and Athena's Summer Wine Social to mention a few. Not to mention a handful of smaller events that branched off of those initial events. I've been handing out cards, and exchanging LinkedIn, and talking as much as possible to try and keep people's attention. Still it needs to be done. It's been interesting because I meet so many amazing people and connect with them on different levels. I've met CEOs and Analysts and Scientists and on and on and on. They have so many important perspectives and insights into not just how the market is, but how their careers have been shaped and the decisions they made to get them where they are.

What's more, the network that I've been building has also created a sense of community. The Life Sciences field specifically have been are very tight knit, everyone seems to know everyone, and if you can get an introduction the doors are wide open. Now that still means you have to walk through, and you still have to explore what's on the other side, but as long as you get started then the road is easier. I will never say that it's smooth sailing, and if I do inadvertently it's not in regards to this, but it is easier.

I am extremely grateful for the network I've built and continue to build, and I hope that it will lead me places that could use my expertise. I know I have to work to make that happen, but I've never shied away from hard work. Neither have the people I've surrounded myself with. So keep building, and lets make this web ever more interconnected.