WIB-Seattle: Successfully Driving Your Next Career Advancement, February 21, 2024

Fifty WIB-Seattle members and guests gathered at the Alexandria Center for Science and Technology Building for an engaging professional development event. We had a photographer taking headshots for our attendees, then Margaret Kenrick (Programs Chair) introduced the event. Elizabeth Cross Nichol of Life Science WA spoke about the purpose of Life Science WA and its charitable branch, Life Science WA Institute. Margaret continued to introduce the event's moderator, Heidi LeBlanc, and the three speakers: Lauren Stavig, Erin Kuusela, and Cheryl Ferguson.

The speakers gave their thoughts on topics such as the current hiring climate, inbound versus outbound recruiting strategies, and how to network effectively. Lauren had an excellent piece of advice to keep up with the news and see which companies have just received funding. "Because they're very likely to list new job opportunities soon after they get funding, set an alert for their job board," she said. Erin also provided a tip to take the top 3 bullet points from a job listing and "reverse engineer" your resume from there to make those skills stand out in your resume. Cheryl reassured attendees that she's ridden the wave of layoffs several times in her career, and that she expects the Seattle biotech hiring scene to be back on an upswing soon. "You are going to be the people who build the next market," she said.

We had several engaging questions from attendees:

• Trayana Rogers asked, "How should I use AI tools like ChatGPT to review my cover letter?" Our speakers said using AI tools is great, and so is having a peer look it over with fresh eyes. Cheryl specifically recommended that candidates don't regurgitate the job description in their cover letter, but instead pull out the most interesting bits or skills and highlight those.
• Farida Nguyen asked, "How long should my resume be? Because I've gotten conflicting advice over 1 page or 2 pages." Our speakers said it's dependent on the stage of your career and if you're including your publications, but all of them said they'd want to see everything that's relevant to the job, even if it means going onto a second page.
• Anna Manchenko asked, "How do I approach the job hunt as an international candidate?" Our own WIB-Seattle board members, Sarah Chan (Chapter Chair), from Singapore, and Hristina Kostic (Programs Vice Chair), from Serbia, stepped in to answer, providing their stories of how they found jobs once they moved to the US. Cheryl also said that she is currently recruiting international candidates for a client of hers who is based in Vancouver, BC, and that the Seattle market is welcoming to international candidates.

The purpose of the event was to provide insight on the Seattle biotech job market. Our speakers were all recruiters who had valuable advice about being efficient with your job search, tailoring your resume and cover letter, and utilizing your network. We also had a photographer who took new headshots for anyone who wanted one.

The key takeaways included information like key job board sites, like Life Science WA Institute's board and biopharmaguide.com. In addition, our speakers shared their experiences working as hiring managers, and explained that the best thing you can do as a candidate to stand out is have a deep understanding of the role. Lauren gave concrete advice about how to maintain a network, and how to connect two people that you know to strengthen your reliability as a connection. Erin spoke about LinkedIn as an invaluable resource. "Do it, maintain it, care about it," she said.

One of the biggest takeaways for an attendee, Joyce Jiang, was how to get her LinkedIn profile to reflect that she's multifaceted enough to work in a range of roles. "The speakers provided really good, actionable items for my resume and LinkedIn," she said. "Very practical advice, which is what I need right now." What resonated the most with the attendees is that they aren't alone: they were in a room full of people who are searching for a job, just like them. So many of the attendees had great advice for each other, and some who have been in the position of hiring managers added to the discussion. It was great to hear from people who have weathered the ups and downs of the Seattle biotech market, and having those examples of non-linear career paths reassured our attendees that they will find success in their job searches soon.