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How can I find a biological engineering job in a small startup company?
I am a Biological Engineering major graduating this August from Purdue University and am having a hard time finding a full time job since I do not have any internship/ work experience. #engineer #jobs #first-job #work #human-resources #internships #biology #biotech
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Catherine’s Answer
My first job for engineering was with a small medical device company. I started as an intern during the spring semester of my senior year so it is still definitely possible to find that opportunity for yourself while approaching graduation. A small company is a great way to get exposed to multiple different tasks within the industry. I currently work for a large global company and can say that my 6 years at small companies (less than 50 people on staff) were very valuable to my foundation for my career.
As far as finding these opportunities, this could be a bit trickier. I found the internship through a posting on my university's career site. If your university's career site doesn't show postings that are a fit to you, the next step would be to do some statewide searches for companies and check out their websites, as they most likely would post their openings on their site. You could also try Monster or Indeed, as I've seen a few small companies on there as well.
If you happen to find a company where you feel you are passionate about the work they do but they currently do not have any postings, it also doesn't hurt to send a brief message to their contact email on their website. State why you're interested in their company and what type of skills and work ethic you can bring to their team. Perhaps they are in the process of beginning to consider bringing on new talent and you can create your own luck by taking the initiative to reach out first.
As far as finding these opportunities, this could be a bit trickier. I found the internship through a posting on my university's career site. If your university's career site doesn't show postings that are a fit to you, the next step would be to do some statewide searches for companies and check out their websites, as they most likely would post their openings on their site. You could also try Monster or Indeed, as I've seen a few small companies on there as well.
If you happen to find a company where you feel you are passionate about the work they do but they currently do not have any postings, it also doesn't hurt to send a brief message to their contact email on their website. State why you're interested in their company and what type of skills and work ethic you can bring to their team. Perhaps they are in the process of beginning to consider bringing on new talent and you can create your own luck by taking the initiative to reach out first.
Updated
Miranda N.’s Answer
Not sure if you've already checked this out, but AngelList is a great site for startup-specific jobs. They also provide some helpful information about the startup itself, such as amount of funding, key investors, etc.
It's also worth looking for bioengineering startups on Crunchbase and sending in your resume, even if they're not actively hiring. Something I found while working at a startup was that if the right person came along, we would keep them on file for when we were ready to hire for their role. Startups with lots of funding will often hire a great candidate even if they don't need their skills at that exact moment.
One final tip, do informational interviews with folks at your dream startups! They'll give you their personal "how I got the job" stories, which will help you see where else you can look, and will be future contacts for you to check in with.
I hope those help. Best of luck to you, Estefania!
It's also worth looking for bioengineering startups on Crunchbase and sending in your resume, even if they're not actively hiring. Something I found while working at a startup was that if the right person came along, we would keep them on file for when we were ready to hire for their role. Startups with lots of funding will often hire a great candidate even if they don't need their skills at that exact moment.
One final tip, do informational interviews with folks at your dream startups! They'll give you their personal "how I got the job" stories, which will help you see where else you can look, and will be future contacts for you to check in with.
I hope those help. Best of luck to you, Estefania!
Updated
Christine’s Answer
I w not sure why you are looking for a start-up.
For your first position especially without any experience it is better to look for a post-war grad internship or training program in a large established company. After you have some experience you will have e better idea of what you might want to pursue as area of special zation. You an then research companies that do work in those areas.
For your first position especially without any experience it is better to look for a post-war grad internship or training program in a large established company. After you have some experience you will have e better idea of what you might want to pursue as area of special zation. You an then research companies that do work in those areas.
Hi Christne, I think the student mentioned above that she is looking for a startup because of having trouble finding jobs elsewhere. Do you have any advice about making the job search more successful that you could share? Anything that would help her find a job in the types of companies you recommend?
Alexandra Carpenter, Admin
Updated
Brayden’s Answer
Hello!
As a engineering student myself I know the feeling of job hunting. Knowing that you are looking for a smaller company I would simply start asking around your university to see if the facility knows of any. Because of budget constraints, many small company's dont do much advertising for jobs or even post job openings becuase they simply don't have the funds/resources to do so. Your best bet is to ask around and or do your own research into company's. Again becuase its a startup they most likely wont have some grad website that you can visit so looking on LinkedIn is another good place to start. You can begin posting your resume and post about what you are looking for and that might help you find something.
I understand your desire to work somewhere small but it also doesn't hurt to apply to larger companies in the mean time. At least there you will being gaining experience in your field that will be useful when going somewhere smaller. It will also help you begin making connections with people who also work in the field as they can help facilitate you want to find something small.
Hope this helps. Good luck on the rest of the year!
As a engineering student myself I know the feeling of job hunting. Knowing that you are looking for a smaller company I would simply start asking around your university to see if the facility knows of any. Because of budget constraints, many small company's dont do much advertising for jobs or even post job openings becuase they simply don't have the funds/resources to do so. Your best bet is to ask around and or do your own research into company's. Again becuase its a startup they most likely wont have some grad website that you can visit so looking on LinkedIn is another good place to start. You can begin posting your resume and post about what you are looking for and that might help you find something.
I understand your desire to work somewhere small but it also doesn't hurt to apply to larger companies in the mean time. At least there you will being gaining experience in your field that will be useful when going somewhere smaller. It will also help you begin making connections with people who also work in the field as they can help facilitate you want to find something small.
Hope this helps. Good luck on the rest of the year!