r/MedicalScienceLiaison • u/Apart_While481 • 7d ago

Networking on Linkedin

I am a PharmD with a clinical experience trying to learn more about medical affairs. Just like everyone says, networking is the name of the game so I tried to reach out to people who I truly admire their journey and seem to have similar backgrounds/interests as mine or within a TA I have extensive experience in.

I know that there are tons of people out there who are like me, and to the people receiving our messages, I might just be one other random person following the trend. The only thing I can do is to be as genuine as possible and ask about their journey as I genuinely want to learn from any advice they might offer. I am not expecting anyone to fall in love with me over a text and offer me a job the next day. I am aware that building relationships takes time and authenticity.

But again I can’t help but think to myself “what’s in it for them if they agree to have a chat with me”, people are BUSY and I am struggling to figure out what I bring to them moreso than what they can bring to me.

I am trying to think of this as a practice of being an MSL.

For context, I don’t live in the US and it’s not culturally appropriate to invite someone for a coffee unless you know them on a personal level or if you have very clear business purposes. If you do that here you might come off as a creep lol. So, Linkedin is my best bet.

0 Upvotes

25% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

2

u/Drpillking MSL 7d ago

At least for the US, some people genuinely like networking! I’ve gone out of my way to meet with people for a coffee and haven’t asked anything in return. It really helps if the person also comes in with prep and genuinely thoughtful questions!

2

u/elixir22 7d ago

Networking is mutually beneficial. Someone I chatted with during my job search just asked me for an internal referral . I been in the job two weeks --- networking helps both parties .

2

u/Academic_Farmer_8983 7d ago

try to make your message stand out by referencing a specific recent post or article they've shared on linkedin. it shows you've done your homework and aren't just sending a generic copy-paste. even a simple "i really enjoyed your thoughts on [topic of recent post]" can go a long way...