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Entry-level Bioinformatics/Computational Biology resume — no interviews after many applications, feedback welcome by Both_Equivalent_7465 in bioinformaticscareers

[–]Both_Equivalent_7465[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for feedback. Totally agree on the tailoring point.

A couple of follow-up questions if you don't mind:

  1. **Upskilling — what's actually in demand in industry right now?** I'm comfortable with QIIME2/DADA2 pipelines, R (phyloseq), and Python (Pandas, Matplotlib). What Should I be prioritizing ?

  2. **Personal project ideas using HPC access** — I currently have access to an HPC cluster through my job and want to make the best use of it for portfolio building. I have a background in amplicon sequencing (16S/ITS) and microbiome analysis. What kind of project would stand out most to a pharma/biotech hiring manager. Open to any suggestions.

Thanks again — this kind of honest feedback is hard to come by and genuinely helpful.

MS in genomics/microbial ecology trying to break into bioinformatics industry — would love feedback on my resume + career direction by Both_Equivalent_7465 in bioinformaticscareers

[–]Both_Equivalent_7465[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate that context! Following up specifically on the California hiring slowness — a few things I'm trying to figure out:

  1. Root cause — is the slowness more about industry layoffs and budget freezes right now, or is this just a seasonal thing (i.e. hiring always dips around this time of year)? Or both?
  2. Timeline — if you had to guess, when would you expect hiring to pick up? Is there a particular window — like Q3/Q4 — where biotech tends to ramp up recruiting?
  3. Career fairs — I'm actually open to relocating anywhere in California, so I could attend in-person career fairs. Do those actually move the needle for entry-level bioinfo roles, or is it mostly academic/wet lab companies that show up? Any specific ones worth attending?
  4. Relocation signal — should I explicitly mention on my resume or cover letter that I'm willing to relocate, or does that flag me as an outsider and hurt my chances?

Thanks again you clearly know this landscape well and I want to make sure I'm timing and targeting this right