Developmental psychologist and career consultant Ashley Ruba credits the networking platform with transforming her career

How I put LinkedIn to work for my career as a scientist and entrepreneur

Developmental psychologist and career consultant Ashley Ruba credits the networking platform with transforming her career

For most of my career, I avoided Linkedin. I preferred online networking on Twitter (now X), where I joined other academics in sharing publications, debating research findings and, most of all, posting memes. But that all changed in 2022, when I decided to leave my postdoctoral fellowship in early-childhood emotional development, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, for a career in industry. One of my first steps was to create a LinkedIn profile; I’d never used the platform before.

At first, I didn’t see much value to LinkedIn. I thought it was a fake, self-congratulatory job board — stuffed with endless self-promotion, idiotic ‘grind mindset’ memes and inspirational clichés about hard work (as documented in the subreddit LinkedInLunatics). I filled in my profile, turned on alerts for research positions and chatted to a few PhD holders who worked in industry. In August 2022, I received an offer for a post as a user-experience researcher focused on improving the usability of products at Meta, Facebook’s parent company, based in Menlo Park, California. At that point, I abandoned LinkedIn and returned to Twitter, where I had started to gain a small following. My network grew as I tweeted career advice and met scientists to give informational interviews and provide free CV edits for industry positions.

The power of posting

Following changes to Twitter after its purchase by billionaire Elon Musk, scientists began leaving the platform. I became worried about losing my network of 20,000 followers. I had helped hundreds of scientists with their careers and, in return, I had been invited to give talks at universities and for professional organizations. I enjoyed having a platform. So, in December 2022, I reluctantly returned to LinkedIn, deciding to paste the tweet threads I was already creating into LinkedIn posts. The response was astonishing. I gained 18,000 followers in 30 days; it had taken me nearly a year to hit that number on Twitter.

I spent hours on LinkedIn, writing posts, responding to comments and building a community of industry scientists. Several of my posts appeared in people’s feeds more than one million times — I never had that kind of readership for my scientific papers. I was having a positive impact on other people’s lives, which was the reason I pursued a PhD in the first place.

One new follower was an engineering manager at Arthrex, a medical-device company based in Naples, Florida. He sent me a connection request after reading a post about my work at Meta, in which I compared my industry research on new augmented reality (AR) glasses with my academic research on infant emotional development. The engineering manager was building similar AR solutions for surgeons. A few months later, after surviving a third round of lay-offs at Meta, I wrote a LinkedIn post about the dismal state of big tech and my desire for a change.

The engineering manager commented with a suggestion that I work at a smaller company. “I’m hiring,” he hinted. After a few messages and several rounds of interviews, I was offered a position on his team. If it weren’t for posting about my work on LinkedIn, that opportunity would have never materialized.

Building a business

But LinkedIn didn’t just help me land a job — it opened up a new career path entirely. Inspired by the response to my posts, I hypothesized that scientists would be interested in paid career services. In October 2023, I posted about my plans to create After Academia, a career-development programme. More than 200 people asked if they could join the first cohort, which launched the following month.

I never expected to enjoy running a business, but entrepreneurship gave me everything that I loved about academic research — the opportunity to learn new things, solve complex problems and think creatively. My ‘side hustle’ grew quickly. Within a year, I left my 9-to-5 job at Arthrex to focus solely on my business.

Most scientists will not work in academia forever. They will need a professional network. And those who stay in academia would benefit from industry connections to enhance their research, disseminate findings to the public and support the diverse career trajectories of the people they mentor. Without more academic scientists on LinkedIn, the divide between industry and academia will persist. Plus, lay-offs happen in academia, too. That’s the power of a network: to help you when you need it most.

Tips for success

To build an effective profile on LinkedIn, I have some quick-fire advice:

• Optimize your profile to attract the professionals you want in your network. Every part of your profile should clearly communicate why someone should connect with you. This includes your headline and your ‘featured’ and ‘about’ sections. In my case, I “Transplant PhDs into non-academic careers”.

• Add value to your network. Regularly share articles, insights and updates related to your field. Write posts about how you’ve overcome problems in your own work. You can also start discussions and ask your network questions. My network, which today includes more than 60,000 professionals from around the world, has taught me so much about possible career paths for scientists.

• If you don’t feel ready to post, comment instead. Commenting on others’ posts is a great way to make professional friends and join conversations in your field.

• Be authentic. Let your personality show in your posts and comments. LinkedIn has become less formal over the past few years, in my experience. People connect to personal stories, especially ones in which you overcome a challenge.

• But remember: LinkedIn is still social media. You can waste hours on the platform, doom-scrolling through job ads and everyone’s work highlights, instead of enjoying your life. Set boundaries and don’t be afraid to sign out for a few days (or weeks).

My journey from academia to industry to entrepreneurship has challenged every part of me, personally and professionally. Unlike some people who have a linear career trajectory, I’ve needed to learn different skills, adapt to new work environments and reinvent myself, over and over again. But it was LinkedIn that gave me the support I needed every step of the way. It’s more than just a place to exchange corporate business cards — it’s a platform for sharing your expertise, making professional friends and enhancing your career, wherever it takes you. My only regret is not using LinkedIn sooner.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03865-6

This is an article from the Nature Careers Community, a place for Nature readers to share their professional experiences and advice. Guest posts are encouraged.

This story originally appeared on: Nature - Author:Ashley Ruba