The first question is: “I want a job, but they tell me that I need experience. And they won’t give me a job, because they want experience. So, how am I supposed to get experience if they won’t give me a job?”

The second question is: “If I take a Medical Writing Training.com course, how long will it take me to get a job? Can I get a job right away?”

Allow me to share the answers I share with such inquiries.

First, there’s no simple formula of “Do this, and you’ll get a job.” Getting a start as a medical writer, even if you are an MD PhD with years of work experience, takes consistent and never-ending work.

But there are three efforts you can put forward which do work consistently over time. They are easy to remember, and take some work to do.

First: Get Trained. Pick your writing specialty and get trained in that specialty. You need to know the basics, the formats, the protocols, to be able to compete with other candidates.

Second: Get Experience. Write articles for your own portfolio, so you can offer writing samples when asked. Work for free or reduced cost to get started. Take a low level position to get into a company, and then move up. You CAN build your own experience. I’ve heard such great stories from people just like you who don’t wait for a job, but start building their experience and creating their own opportunities.

Third: Get Known. You have to get your profile out there. Build a complete profile with work and education history and photo on the Medical Writing Network. You really need a photo… the photo helps create connection. Participate in social media discussions anywhere. Develop an email list and send emails. Become familiar to people so that you are top of mind when they have a need. Make an impression online. So many recruiters and employers search online first, so be there when they search.

Remember these three imperatives for starting out in medical writing:

Get trained.
Get experience.
Get known.

They take some work on your part. With time, these efforts pay off!!

Jonathan Marx is Senior Vice President of InQuill Medical Communications, LLC. He is expert in multi-media
education, medical writing, and CME.

www.inquill.com

Medical Writing Network

Medical Writing Training

Your first best step is to do homework and research on what magazines, periodicals, societies already publish in your area of interest or specialty.

Second, identify those who are most likely to take content from you based on what they already publish. Go WITH the flow of these publications.

Third, read the last 4-5 issues and see what the magazines are focusing on.

 
Fourth, get the contact information and editorial guidelines for the relevant publications. Make a list for yourself, so that you can get in touch with them.

Fifth, after doing your research, make contact with the publication to discuss what you have to offer in the way of writing based on what THEY want or what direction THEY are going in. Forget what you are researching. You have to go in THEIR direction.

With careful research, you will hopefully choose publications that are a good match for you and are interested in what YOU are already researching and writing. If there is no match, you have to find another publication, or you have to change what you are doing to make a good match.

With all the social media available these days, it’s my thought that if you’re not present in some way with a profile, comments, and content, displaying who you are and what you think, that you are at significant disadvantage in getting found online for business and career prospects.

Have a full profile on our Medical Writing Network, with a picture, is a good thing. Doing the same on Linked In is also important.

I know many medical writers tend to be on the introverted side. That introvert gift is what makes you a great medical writer… the ability to think, research, organize, and write.

The good news is that being social in social media plays on your given and developed talents. It’s almost ALL writing.

How well can people find YOU on the Internet?

Thoughts?

Jonathan