Tooling Up: Guerrilla Marketing Yourself

April 21, 2006 | By David G. Jensen.

"Here are three ways to go about getting your name and capabilities in front of others:

1) Anyone can have a business card, not just those who have "real" jobs. In industry, exchanging cards is much more common than handing over a CV or résumé. Your card should have the logo of your university or institution and possibly even a few comments about your area of expertise on the reverse side. Have you ever seen business cards from employees of Apple Computer? Some of them read "Software Wizard," or "Business Development Guru" in place of a stuffy title. With a little humor, you can sometimes get across a short "who am I" statement with more punch than a 3-minute verbal introduction.

2) Participate in local meetings of associations and trade groups in your field of interest. Get on their committees and volunteer for jobs that no one else wants to do. You'll gain a reputation as a person to count on, and it will benefit you with increased visibility. It always surprises me how a savvy postdoc can find a spot on a committee filled with "insiders," those few people every association must have to succeed. Even desirable committees such as the "social committee" have jobs that no one readily volunteers for (clean up after events, keep the e-mail database, etc.). No matter what your role is, you will have gotten your foot in the door and a chance to work with these insiders.

3) Write (and publish) an article on a topic that has nothing to do with your project. Get your name out there by writing about career issues for a site like this one, or write for your local paper on what it is like to be a scientist in today's job market. You would be surprised what can come back to you in the form of job leads from just getting exposure-- any exposure. (Although for movie stars it's sometimes said that even bad publicity is good, in the case of a job seeker, your creative guerilla marketing approaches have to be credible and reflect well on the real you.)

A Company Called "Me Inc."

According to the authors of Guerrilla Marketing for Job-Hunters, many technical professionals, scientists, and engineers have difficulty seeing themselves as anything more than a commodity. If you think of yourself as "a" Ph.D. biochemist with a background in enzyme kinetics, say, you are a commodity for sale in a crowded market. Getting paid top dollar is very difficult when you are something that the employer can find anywhere. "

For complete article, visit: http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2006_04_21/tooling_up_guerrilla_marketing_yourself