4 Untrue Things Biotech Employers May Tell Candidates
August 21, 2014
By Angela Rose for BioSpace.com
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, more than half of all resumes contain lies. Studies have shown that the most common fibs involve candidates claiming skills and academic degrees they don’t possess or altering dates of employment, job titles, and awards. Of course, falsifications are not solely the domain of job seekers; hiring managers can be equally dishonest. Before your next biotech job interview, consider these things the employer might tell you that may not be true.
1. Business is really good.
While the biotech industry is recovering along with the rest of the economy, some companies continue to struggle. The hiring manager at a biotech or pharma company, such as Amgen, is not going to tell you if his or her organization is contemplating layoffs, planning to restructure, or soon to lose key patents. The employer needs to fill that research associate position with a professional who has a background in protein purification—and he or she doesn’t want to scare you off with anything negative.
Fortunately, you don’t have to take the hiring manager's word that the company is doing well. Search the Internet for local and national news articles, press releases, and other data related to the organization. If it’s a publicly traded biotech company, you should be able to find financial details online as well.
2. You’re going to love our culture.
It is common knowledge these days that culture is important to employees—particularly those from Generation Y. However, not all biotech employers invest in it equally. Some may do little more than organize the occasional department potluck, while others provide their staff—from biostatisticians to quality engineers—with continuing education and mentoring opportunities.
Before you accept the job offer, research the organization’s culture for yourself. Check websites like Glassdoor.com, which publishes reviews written by actual employees of more than 300,000 companies. Ask the hiring manager if you can chat with a few of your potential coworkers. Even better, you can request the opportunity to spend a day shadowing the professionals in your future department.
3. The salary for this position depends on experience.
Most biotech companies have at least a ballpark salary figure in mind before they post any position, whether for a project managers architect or a senior manufacturing engineer. If the hiring manager asks about your salary expectations, he or she is trying to determine if you’re in that ballpark. If you receive the “depends on experience” response when you ask her about salary, the company may be planning to pay their chosen candidate no more than what he or she was earning before.
Whether you’re pursing a job with greater responsibility or within a larger biotech organization, research is your best weapon in the salary game. Websites like PayScale.com aggregate salary data for positions within biotech and other industries. Glassdoor.com also collects and publishes salary information by occupation. Make sure you know what a competitive salary is for your position, the industry, and the region as well as typical gradations based on years of experience.
4. We still have a few more candidates to interview.
Sometimes this is true. Other times it means Biotech ABC wants to delay their decision for a while in case the perfect clinical research associate is still out there—one who can assist in the development of case report forms and participate in the EDC and IVRS specification process as well as bake a perfect soufflé and leap tall buildings in a single bound.
If the hiring manager says he’s still interviewing when you check in the week after your meeting, consider the statement an opportunity to prove yourself. Ask him if he has any further questions about your experience or any concerns about your ability to succeed at Biotech ABC. Address anything that comes up with statements that clearly illustrate why you’re the best candidate for the job. Check out the top 13 biotech employers in America.
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