Recently I was a part of a Dan Rather Reports special called “PhDon’t.” In this exposé, Mr. Rather and his reporting team interviewed academic and career experts who spoke about the changes that have occurred in the availability of talent. After more than a decade, it appears that the rest of the world is now discovering that just because a person has a degree in science or engineering, he doesn’t land a job any more easily than someone with a different career choice. In fact, science in particular may be a more difficult hiring environment than many others.

In my on-screen time, I focused on the large stacks of paperwork in front of me because of my job as a recruiter. There are always plenty of people looking for work, whether they are new grads or experienced vets who have been laid off.

Mr. Rather’s report makes it clear that employers are in danger of becoming spoiled and lazy. Years ago, they started adding “must have’s” to their job specifications, and because there always seem to be enough specialized talent “in the market,” they now do only minimal — if any — on-the-job training.

Today, hiring managers get their pick of the litter — and it’s a very large litter indeed.

It’s only the top people who get hired, with degrees from the best schools and work experience from the best companies, right?

The assumption that many people have after seeing “PhDon’t” (available on iTunes), or reading about those same issues here, is that only the best and brightest get job offers today. But that’s not true. There’s something else you need to get hired, something much harder to define, not some hard technical skills or a certificate that confirms your pedigree. The people who get hired are the ones who get noticed.

Noticed? That’s right. Have you heard that great Woody Allen quote, “80% of success is showing up”? Let me be the first to tell you that the biggest part of getting a job is showing up — and being noticed. Sure, it helps to have great communication skills and to do a great interview. And, it’s nice to have a well-written CV, or to be the nephew of a VP of Research for a major pharma company.

All those things help, but I’ll place my bet on the person who gets out there, the woman or man who is visible.

Visibility in a Sea of Jobseekers
Here’s some advice that a lot of readers are going to have a hard time swallowing. That is, if you want to get hired, you need to self-promote. Many scientists struggle with this. Self-promotion clashes with the culture of science. But consider two people whom I met recently at a bioprocessing trade conference, both scientists, both three to five years into their industry careers.

I walked over to chat at their poster session. (I’ve always found poster sessions to be the best networking environment, better than coffee breaks or the beer-and-wine event on the first evening of a conference. The poster provides a shared focus, a context for easy conversation.) Both of these young scientists ran me through their posters, and I learned a lot about their companies’ technology. They both gave me their business cards. But only one of them stood out.

“So, you’re a headhunter! I’d love to know what you’re working on and how I can help. You’re in a business of making new contacts, and if there’s ever a time that I can assist you with a connection or two in my field, please give me a call.” Bang—he had my attention.

I followed up with the old standby: TMAY. “Tell Me About Yourself.” It’s a line that has been used since the beginning of time and invites self-promotion. And this guy stepped in with a masterful performance, making me aware of his expertise and interests, in case I ever had a reason to call on him.

There’s a fine line between too much self-promotion and not enough. This young scientist nailed it.

How To Be Noticed
Use LinkedIn Effectively: LinkedIn has become the standard of “professional” social media. For some, it’s just a place to store their profile in hopes that a hiring manager will be searching for just their attributes when scanning the site. Yes, this can result in a cold call for a job interview. It does happen, but not often, so don’t count on it.

Others use LinkedIn in a much smarter way. They make sure their profile is as complete as possible — LinkedIn will tell you how complete your profile is and make recommendations on how to make it more complete. A regular update (through the “Activity Update” feature) when you have something of value to share — a new publication, an article of interest, a bit of industry news — keeps you out there in front of your network.

Attend Local Chapter Meetings: I’m not talking about national trade shows and scientific congresses, but about local events. I’ve attended local meetings for such organizations as the National Association of Science Writers (www.nasw.org), the Society for Quality Assurance (www.sqa.org), the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (www.raps.org), and the American Association of Indian Pharmaceutical Scientists (www.aaips.org).

Similar organizations exist for just about every niche you can think of, and in many communities they’ll have a local chapter. Meetings are generally informal and held in restaurants or over a glass of beer. They are inexpensive to attend and newcomers are given a warm welcome.

Join Committees: For local organizations and chapters — and sometimes also national professional societies — there usually are opportunities to get involved in committees and sub-groups. I love the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (www.simbhq.org) because they have such a great relevance to what I do, and the organization is still relatively approachable in comparison to giant organizations like, e.g., BIO (www. bio.org). The SIMB has 20 sub-groups that offer great networking and opportunities to head social committees, membership committees, and so on.

Connect Without Connections: Per-haps the most important skill of all is the ability to introduce yourself to people without an introduction. Most people like to network through others, where “Bill suggested I get in touch” opens the door. But really successful job-seekers don’t need Bill, or Susan, or anyone else. They just call up a person and introduce themselves. They’ve developed a thick skin and the ability to make these “cold calls.” It’s not as uncomfortable as it sounds, and if you learn to do it well now, it will benefit you for a lifetime.

Can You Be Too Visible?
Authenticity is the core of ethical self-promotion. No one likes a blowhard. This is a subtle business. Shameless self-promotion won’t get you anywhere, in academia or industry. Language matters. Your ability to select the proper phrasing, to put a bit of yourself into a technical discussion, and to focus on the needs of the person you are talking to — these are the things that will help you stand out in the job market. Yes, it’s self-promotion, but it’s about substance, not slickness.

In offering advice like this, I run the risk of encouraging people to become pushy and obnoxious. In an effort to get noticed, some people will assume that it’s OK to charge like a bull into a process that requires finesse and sensitivity. It’s not — and that’s where the skill comes in. Don’t be aggressive; what is needed is gentle persuasiveness.

A scientist who reads my columns and has attended my workshops on these topics approached me with a phone call and a long email. Too long and too demanding. I forwarded his materials on to a hiring-manager friend just to get him off my back. I figured out I had made a mistake when I heard back from my friend, who said this person was “stalking” her. This is not how you want to act.

The desire — the need — to be noticed must be addressed with common sense and courtesy. You stand a much better chance of being noticed (in a good way) when you are persistent, persuasive, and courteous than when you are the hard-charging networker who annoys everyone he meets.