Recruiters can play a significant role in biopharma professionals getting hired, especially in an employer-driven job market. However, when working with them, candidates need to avoid making six key mistakes, from waiting too long to ask for help to prematurely contacting hiring companies.
Recruiters can play a key role in helping biopharma professionals land jobs, as they offer insider insight into openings and advocate for candidates with hiring managers, to name just two benefits of working with them. However, to make the most of this partnership, job seekers must steer clear of several pitfalls.
Below, three recruiting experts—two who work at firms and one employed at a pharma—discuss six common mistakes biotech and pharma professionals make and how to best work together to ensure success.
1. Waiting Too Long To Contact Recruiters
Biopharma professionals who don’t start job searches until they’re unemployed might take positions that aren’t ideal just to get a paycheck, noted Steve Raz, founder and owner of Cornerstone Search Group, an executive search firm. He told BioSpace the better approach is for them to stay in touch with recruiters and reach out if they’re uncertain about their jobs, as placement professionals may share employment opportunities that are of interest.
“You might not even be thinking of leaving the company, but a position that’s far superior than what you have now is available that meets and tracks with your career goals,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you at least take a look at it? And if it’s not right, it’s fine, because you do have a full-time job. So, it just gives you the most flexibility when we’re able to approach it not when you have to but when you’d like to explore the opportunities.”
2. Undervaluing Recruiter Interactions
Biopharma professionals sometimes treat recruiters—especially during initial calls—as formalities, according to Theo Rowley, associate director and talent sourcing business partner at Novartis. He told BioSpace he’ll send candidates information about a company to review, as he wants to set them up for success. However, they often don’t take the time to read it. So, when Rowley asks them specific questions, they provide limited answers.
Candidates who do their homework can offer more impressive responses, according to Rowley. For example, he said, they can identify which assets are in progress, reflect their passion for the company’s work or reference what the CEO recently said about a topic.
“So, as I say, just use those recruiter conversations to articulate a narrative, but also prepare and make sure that you’re positioning yourself fully too,” Rowley said.
3. Not Being Transparent Enough
Some biopharma professionals aren’t as forthcoming as they should be with recruiters, Raz noted. He advised that because recruiters can make or break their candidacy, job seekers need to really talk to them and not hide anything. For example, Raz said, they should be honest about compensation needs, starting date availability and why previous employers let them go.
Rowley recommended that job seekers treat recruiters as informed partners.
“Share details about your motivations, constraints, your ambitions, what you’re trying to achieve,” he said. “I think that the more context we have, generally, the better that we can position them and advocate for them internally.”
4. Being Vague About Career Goals
When asked about the next step in their career or where their career is going, biopharma professionals often say they’re open to anything, Rowley noted. While they might feel that such a response is safer than committing to a specific direction or that it avoids limiting their options, he said, it makes it harder to match them to positions.
Lisa Madden, chief operating officer at The Steely Group, a national life sciences staffing firm, agreed.
“There are many times where I have to stop a conversation and say, ‘Where do you want to end up? Where do you want to go with your career? What is important to you along the way that you need to pick up?,’ because then we look at a totally different set of opportunities and a totally different set of companies,” she told BioSpace.
5. Obsessing About the Salary
When they ask recruiters “How much can you get me?” and lock in on a number, biopharma professionals can miss out on everything a job has to offer, according to Madden.
“You have to be very careful with that question, because it’s not always about a salary,” she said. “It’s about the total opportunity. It’s the culture, it’s who you’re going to work for, it’s what experience you’re going to get. It is your salary, your bonus, your restricted stock options. It is their entire benefits portfolio. It’s where it’s going to take you next in your career.”
6. Contacting Hiring Companies Too Soon
More senior biopharma professionals who are well networked sometimes reach out to contacts at potential employers without touching base with recruiters first, Raz noted.
“What we’ve seen a lot of times is even before we’ve had a chance to talk to the client about their background, an executive may make some calls into a company of people they know, and sometimes that could backfire,” he said. “Sometimes, the company feels like they’re trying to circumvent the process and come in through sort of a back door.”
Raz said he’s not saying candidates shouldn’t contact people they know but that they should work with recruiters to identify the best time for outreach.
Making the Most of Working With Recruiters
To help ensure a successful partnership with recruiters, Raz advised that biopharma professionals choose firms they or someone they know has experience with. He said they should be reputable businesses that treat the job seeker’s candidacy with respect, provide guidance throughout the process and don’t inadvertently hurt the candidate.
Madden agreed that biopharma professionals should carefully select recruiting firms, noting that they should pick the ones that focus on the type of roles they’re seeking. She also advised that they treat every open position like they’re going to get it.
“You have to put everything into it, and you have to make sure that your resume is reflective of the job,” Madden said. “You have to make sure that you are prepped and ready to go when you do get that interview, because they’re going to be interviewing a lot of other candidates as well. You have to shine, and you need to have someone who’ll help you know how to shine.”
