Hello Bioinformatics lovers,

Tommy here. Welcome, all the new subscribers!

Christmas is right around the corner. And I know many of you are in the job market.

Here is how to win in a brutal market.

A single bioinformatics position now gets over 1,000 applications. I’m not exaggerating.

Your CV probably looks like everyone else’s: Python, R, RNA-seq, pipelines. The hiring manager sees this 999 more times. Why would they call you?

Here’s the truth: they don’t care about skills on paper. They care about proof.

The difference between invisible and interview-worthy

Compare these two bullets:

❌ “Processed NGS data using Python & R”

✅ “Built a Python pipeline that cut ChIP-seq runtime by 50%, speeding research decisions by weeks”

The first could describe anyone. The second shows what you actually accomplished.

Tasks vs. outcomes

Don’t write: “Processed 1,000 RNA-seq samples.”

That’s just a task. What happened because you did it? Did you save money? Save time? Rescue a failing study?

Try this instead: “Built an R QC pipeline for RNA-seq that flagged low-quality runs early, saving $30,000 in wasted sequencing costs.”

Now you’re speaking the language hiring managers understand.

Numbers stick. “Cut runtime by 50%” gets remembered. “Saved $30,000” gets you an interview.

Your secret weapon: public proof

Want to truly stand out? Show your work publicly:

• GitHub repo with a real, documented pipeline
• Blog post breaking down your analytical approach
• Contribution to an open-source tool

Instead of writing “skilled in single-cell RNA-seq,” publish a tutorial on batch correction with Harmony or Seurat integration. That’s not just claiming expertise—that’s demonstrating it.

And here’s the bonus: sharing knowledge signals you’re a leader, not just a consumer. You solve problems and help others solve them too.

Your action items

1. Today: Rewrite one CV bullet to show impact, not just tasks. Add a number if possible.
2. This week: Share one project publicly. A GitHub repo, a blog post explaining your method, or a detailed code walkthrough.

Your CV should read like a story of contribution, not a grocery list of tools. That’s what cuts through the noise of 1,000 identical applications.
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If you do not know where to start, I have a tutorial here on reproducing a figure in a genomics paper https://crazyhottommy.github.io/reproduce_genomics_paper_figures/​

and you have more papers that you can try to reproduce here https://github.com/crazyhottommy/papers_to_replicate_figures​

What impact have you made in your current work? Hit reply and tell me—I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Happy Learning!

Tommy aka crazyhottommy

You can always read my LinkedIn posts from last week here https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%8E%AF-ming-tommy-tang-40650014/recent-activity/all/​

PS:

If you want to learn Bioinformatics, there are other ways that I can help:

1. My free YouTube Chatomics channel, make sure you subscribe to it.
2. I have many resources collected on my github here.
3. I have been writing blog posts for over 10 years https://divingintogeneticsandgenomics.com/​

Stay awesome!