3 Tricks and 3 Treats for Your MSL Career

Treat: Being vocal about a promotion

Just like a kid asking for candy on Halloween, sometimes you have to ask for what you want. There may be such a thing as career tunnel vision by setting your sights on moving up the career ladder a little too early and therefore missing out on other key stepping stones along the way. But just making it clear to your boss that you’re interested in moving up could at least get you on the radar the next time promotion opportunities arise.

Trick: Not taking your resume seriously enough

We see a lot of resumes; some good and some bad. You might think that the aesthetics of a resume don’t matter, it’s all about your experience. But having a resume that is disorganized or difficult to follow along with will only prevent someone from even wanting to look through all of your experience in the first place.

Treat: Taking some risks

We hear objections about joining smaller pharma and biotech companies all the time, most of which revolve around the risk associated with working at a small company. But it’s worth remembering that there is risk associated with pharma and biotech companies of all sizes. Working for a small company could lead to getting to take on a more comprehensive role, allowing you to add to your experience and your resume. And let’s not forget that drug failures and the subsequent downsizings that can happen as a result occur at companies both big and small.

Trick: Keeping yourself comfortable

It’s easy to go with the flow and not make any major changes in your career. You may think “my company is stable, there’s no point in looking to see what’s out there.” But you’re stunting your own growth that way. You may never realize how green the grass is within another opportunity if you don’t keep an open mind and think about making some changes that rock the boat every now and then.

Treat: Prepping for your interviews

It seems obvious, right? But not everyone preps for their interviews that thoroughly. It’s easy to feel like you’ve done enough interviews to know the drill and feel like you’ve got it down. But you’ve got to always remember that you have competition in these interviews and being less prepared than your competition and treating each interview like just another interview will show to your interviewers and could make you slide in their rankings.

Trick: Forgetting to enjoy yourself

Yes, there are a lot of days where your job very firmly reminds you that it is indeed a *job*. But this mortal life is too short to have it waste it feeling stressed all the time. Celebrate the small victories and keep track of the things we are fortunate for.

Questions or comments? Email me at lawrence@sembiogroup.com.