Nearly 1/4 dealing with long-term unemployment call it quits on biopharma job searches

It’s not unusual for biotech and pharma professionals who have been unemployed for several months to step away from job searches, based on a BioSpace LinkedIn poll. Nearly 1 in 4 respondents out of work for at least half a year stopped looking for biopharma employment this year, and almost as many are thinking about stopping.

Many biotech and pharma professionals are among the long-term unemployed, according to a May BioSpace LinkedIn poll. Of the 686 respondents to that poll, 26% had been looking for work for six to 11 months, and 27% for one year or longer.

Those in the biopharma industry aren’t the only ones facing long-term unemployment and rethinking job searches. In the United States, about 1.8 million people had been jobless for 27 weeks or more in July, according to a recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report. That number was down from around 1.9 million in June. A CNBC article noted that the decline seems driven by an exodus of workers from the labor force.

There are multiple reasons biopharma professionals who are among the long-term unemployed halt their job searches, including health issues, limited employment opportunities and burnout. In an interview with BioSpace, Porschia Parker-Griffin, founder and CEO of Fly High Coaching, whose services include career and business coaching, highlighted the mental toll searches take. Even though many times rejection has nothing to do with the candidates, she noted, people can take that rejection very personally.

“There’s a certain amount of resilience that you’ve got to have to continue over the months or years, and it can be difficult to do because we believe in ourselves, we believe in our talents and a lot of times wonder why it’s not happening,” Parker-Griffin said.

Location-related issues were among the reasons BioSpace poll respondents stopped looking for biopharma work this year, according to an online survey. One participant who’s now starting a consulting company noted that due to their spouse’s job, their search area was limited, open positions became few and far between and they weren’t even getting screening calls. Another respondent wanted to stay in the Boston area but didn’t find many job openings and is now working in the medical device field.

Yet another survey participant highlighted the difficult U.K. job market as driving their decision to stop looking for biopharma positions, noting that they received very few replies from the people they contacted. They initially turned to short-term consulting but have taken early retirement at age 50.

A respondent at the earlier stage of their career, having recently graduated from college and with little professional experience, shared that they’ve found it difficult to get hired, even for entry-level positions or internships. That, they added, was despite being willing to start with a low salary or a temporary training role.

“The problem is not necessarily the lack of opportunities, but rather how difficult it is for a recent graduate to get that first opportunity and gain the experience that employers are looking for,” the respondent wrote.

They’re now trying to broaden and diversify their job search rather than focus exclusively on entry-level roles in biology or biotechnology. They’re also considering opportunities outside the traditional laboratory environment in scientific and related fields.

Larry Miller, founder and principal of Larry Miller PhD Career Partners, a life sciences career coaching firm, told BioSpace he’s never recommended that a client dealing with long-term unemployment quit looking for jobs. He said he sees no upside unless there’s a strategic reason behind the decision, such as getting specific training that makes someone more marketable or starting a consulting company.

“The downsides, in my opinion, are the longer the gap that you have, the harder it’s going to be to explain that gap to an employer,” Miller said. “Secondly, you’re losing momentum. Whatever you’ve been doing, you’re losing momentum.”

Parker-Griffin said she doesn’t usually recommend that people among the long-term unemployed stop looking for work because the job market is so competitive that even if candidates do everything right, it can take months or sometimes years to get hired.

“If you take yourself out of the market and just think, ‘Oh, when I’m ready, and when I show up and submit my resume, it’s going to be the perfect time,’ I don’t think that’s super realistic,” she said.

The only time Parker-Griffin recommends people stop looking for work is if they have health issues that mean they physically can’t interview or do a job well.

As to how clients dealing with long-term unemployment who stepped away from job hunting fared, Parker-Griffin noted that they didn’t ultimately attain the results they had said would indicate success. Usually, when people stop looking for work, she said, they either end up unemployed for a very, very long time or take positions they normally wouldn’t just to pay the bills.

Instead of not looking for work, Miller and Parker-Griffin recommended biopharma professionals adjust their job search strategy. One issue Miller noted is that biopharma professionals tend to send applications all over the place.

“They get nothing. Not a bite, right?” he said. “And so, I try to train them: Find our target, focus, build your professional positioning so that you match exactly what these companies are looking for, because people tend to scatter shot, and that just doesn’t work anymore.”

Parker-Griffin noted that many follow job search advice they see on the internet, but it doesn’t get the results they’re looking for. Instead, she said, they need to take a more specific approach. For example, are they using job sites that focus on the industry or mass job boards, and are they customizing their resume? Parker-Griffin also recommended people work their networks online and offline, optimize their LinkedIn profiles, have compelling interview skills and align what they say across those touchpoints.

In addition, Parker-Griffin advised working directly with recruiters, as they have contacts at hiring companies and know what those employers are looking for and how they structure interviews.

“So, they can give you all of this intel that it would be impossible for you to know or even a career coach to know without that insight and intel,” she said.

If biotech and pharma professionals do stop looking for biopharma jobs, Miller advised they take strategic action so they can communicate to prospective employers the forward motion they made during their employment gap. For example, he said, they can develop a new capability, stay current on what’s happening in the field, write LinkedIn or blog posts related to the industry and network selectively.

“So then, your objective is to turn that gap into a demonstrated period of professional development,” Miller said.

Parker-Griffin also recommended working on professional development. For example, she said, biopharma professionals can learn new skills or software technology or attain certifications. If they’re thinking about changing careers, Parker-Griffin advised they be even more strategic with professional development so they can show a recruiter or interviewer how they’re ready for such a change.

“They can’t just look at what you used to do and be able to envision you in this new role,” she said. “You have to make that connection for people, especially in this market.”