By Megan Strand
In 2019, young professionals at MD Publishing (YP at MD) came together to work on building a networking group in the HTM industry. The goal was to build a community of individuals who were up-and-comers in the biomedical world. We started by building out a Facebook and LinkedIn group where we could have conversations, share important industry news along with the occasional meme or fun Friday gif. YP at MD also has a monthly e-newsletter to keep group members informed regarding important and useful information that will not only help their HTM career, but hopefully their life in the outside world, as well.
When our digital presence started to take off, we decided to host our first YP at MD event. It took place at the fall 2019 MD Expo in Baltimore, Maryland. At our first event, we had over 50 young professionals join us. Since the first event, we have hosted four more networking opportunities for attendees and exhibitors who are 40 and under at MD Expos. We have built a strong networking group of young people who want to thrive in their place of work, help each other grow and who now have multiple people in the industry that they can call a friend.
For those who may not know, we have a leadership summit (TN20) that takes place at our MD Expo. The leadership summit is an event where high-level professionals in the HTM industry come together to discuss successes, problems and share perspective on a multitude of topics that pertain to their careers. I’ve personally been able to sit and listen in at multiple leadership summit talks, and the amount of information I am able to learn is worth more than you can imagine. At our most recent MD Expo in Las Vegas, I learned from our leadership summit participants about how important it is to invest in young people within the biomedical industry. I found it refreshing (being someone in my 20s) to hear people I respect state how important it is to hire young people and help them acquire the skills and tools needed to keep the HTM industry going strong for years to come.
I know how intimidating it can be to start your career in a new industry. My top three suggestions, after the four short years I have been in this industry, are below. They have helped me tremendously. They are:
- Listen more than you give your opinion: The amount of knowledge I have gathered by taking in conversations over dinners, during educational sessions and by asking questions has been a wealth of information.
- Say “Hi” to that person you don’t know: Some of the best advice I have received from leadership at MD Publishing is network, network, network. The number of people who have taken me under their wing or have invited me to their table just because I introduced myself is astounding.
- Join the group, go to the event, put yourself out there: Go to that state association meeting, attend that conference, come join us at YP at MD. You will not regret the connections you will make.
I hope you will hang out with us on social media or come to one of our events in the near future. The connections and friends you will make are valuable to your career. I promise you will already have one friend in me if you join us.
Follow us on our social media channels and sign up for our monthly e-newsletter below to stay up to date on all things YP at MD!
Facebook – YP at MD
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/ypatmd)
LinkedIn – YP at MD
(https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8959473/)
E-news – Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter (https://1technation.com/yp/)
Megan Strand is a senior account executive at MD Publishing and coordinates YP at MD events.
