The Global Marketplace

Your career - Decisions are not always rational

IN VIVO's recent Deals of the Week posting described the trend in biotech deals, showing the increase throughout the course of the year.  The reason may be (as noted by IN VIVO) the willingness of treasurers to spend more as the budgets become clearer during the year.  Regardless of the reason, I found a key point worth noting for your careers.

Opportunity knocks at strange times.  Industry deals increasing as we get closer to Christmas may not make sense when analyzed rationally; many hiring decisions are similar.  Many of our searches have been to replace incumbents who were fired.  When this happens the client's biggest unstated goal may be finding the polar opposite of the incumbent.  As a recruiter in this situation one of my jobs is to gradually sooth the client's fears, to make the search more even-handed which benefits the client's needs.  That said I have seen the decision between candidates come down to a key difference between the selected individual and his predecessor who was fired.  This is human nature in action, pure and simple.

How can you benefit from this?  Be aware of the human factors at play in hiring decisions without turning bitter.  While the above situations can turn against you at times (if you are not the opposite of the fired incumbent) they can also work in your favor.  Network constantly (heard me say that before?) to find these unusual situations.  When one does not work out in your favor, step back and generate some good will by moving on to other opportunities.  This will, over time, help you.

Know your recruiter: technical smarts

During a recent business development meeting with a potential client I was asked to describe my level of technical literacy.  This client is very experienced, and the conversation underscored a few points you should keep in mind when dealing with recruiters.

1.  Not the Geek Squad.  Good recruiters are paid to find the right person for the position in question; we are not technical consultants.  What a good recruiter should know are the fundamentals of the industry learned from networking with people; what he should not be is a substantive expert on the technology at hand.  What this means for you, the candidate who may not have much experience with recruiters, is this:  Be suspicious of recruiters who try and sell you on their technical skills in the biotech (or any other space).  They should be highlighting other qualities, which you have seen me discuss in the past.

2.  Not the Dumb Squad.  While the above is true, a good recruiter will still understand the fundamental technical issues at play in a given space.  Let me use a search we are working on to illustrate this point.  We are looking for a specific skill set requiring leading technology knowledge in this area.  This industry presents two challenges; the major firms have stagnated on the leading technology while most new employees are hired from competing companies with the same stagnation.  It was therefore important for us to quickly understand the need to look outside the industry, and to successfully convey this point to our client.  Our ability to discuss the technology helped us convince the client of the need to expand the search pool.  You the candidate should have similar discussions with recruiters; if not be cautious and move on.

Know your recruiter: Switching gears

We recently finished a search for a tax director in a medium sized firm in the biotech space that required a substantial adjustment of the job during the process.  Some of the candidates were surprised (and disappointed) at this turn of events, and I thought I would shed some insight on the twists and turns of the search process.

1.  Clarifying need.  In an earlier post I described thoroughness with candidates as one of the hallmarks of a good recruiter.  The same applies when working with clients.  Good recruiters will discuss the position in some detail with the client, and at times this will change the job description enough to eliminate some potential candidates.  A good recruiter will be honest with candidates about these changes; do not take this personally as the switch was not a reflection of your skills or experiences.

2.  Use the information.  When you learn of the switch file the information away in your mental rolodex of information regarding the industry; you are now aware of a trend, or need, that could open doors for you later in other areas.  If you really want to score points recommend a potential candidate to the recruiter; the good ones will remember this and repay the favor.

Strategic Direction and finding your next job

Reading IN VIVO's take on the Takeda/Nycomed deal brought to mind a good way to look at your career goals.  Takeda bought Nycomed to accomplish several strategic goals, as reported by IN VIVO.  If you are aware of a company's strategic direction you can make yourself an attractive hire.  For example, if the company wants to expand into emerging markets and you have that experience, you would find yourself very attractive.  Two points:

1.  Networking.  You have heard me mention the importance of networking many times.  In these situations networking will both tell you about the strategic changes underway at companies and get you in front of the hiring authorities who can bring you on board.

2.  Know yourself.  I am not just paraphrasing the Oracle at Delphi; you need to be honest with the skills and experiences you have to truly add value to the strategic direction at the firm you approach.  You are solving a problem for them, remember that.

 

Thoroughness - the mark of a good recruiter

When interviewing for a new position, much excitement surrounds the process.  You are thrilled at the chance for a new opportunity, perhaps in a new city, and are excited that a company you admire is looking at you for an important position.  A good recruiter, managing this process, will share in this excitement because we all want to see others succeed.  That said it is important for us to be calm and thorough.  A couple of candidates expressed frustrations about this during recent searches, so I thought I would provide some explanations.

1.  The process.  Finding the right person for the position is not easy.  Good recruiters have processes developed (in our case) over decades of experience.  You need to trust what we are doing; this is the reason we are retained by our clients.

2.  Instincts.  The same decades of experience that designed our processes also developed our instincts on finding the right fit.  As an experienced recruiter you just know when something does not feel right, and when you need to dig deeper on an issue.

3.  Provoking thought.  These instincts will at times tell us to make you think about aspects of the job that you may have ignored (being excited about the job).   Why do you and your spouse want to move to a new city?  Are you both truly comfortable with serious travel demands?  Why?  Trust us when we ask these questions.

The HR perspective

We just finished a search that involved several last-minute and dramatic changes, triggered by the HR department of our client.  As an experienced recruiter I am used to this dynamic but several of the candidates were new to the game and expressed some frustration.  A few points which are key to understanding what happens in HR departments, for those of you who lack this experience.

1.  Many hats.  HR does not just hire new employees.  These good folks spend most of their time addressing internal issues from compensation to promotion and structural changes to the work force.  This constant juggling of many tasks can delay hiring decisions more than you would like.  Remember this, and you will understand that you are not being slighted.

2.  Firemen.  Many HR activities involve putting out fires that require immediate attention.  These include separating employees for cause, legal issues, etc.  It is natural that these problems can take precedence over hiring decisions--think about it.

3.  Stress.  The combination of the above two factors creates a high stress level in HR departments.  Juggling many tasks is hard, doing so when many of the tasks require immediate attention would test all of us.  Remember that during your discussions with them.

Modeling and biotech

Recently I was lucky enough to discuss, with a good friend, modeling and the potential it has to solve many of our medical problems.  This discussion was unrelated to an existing search but was instead an intellectual discussion of the kind I truly enjoy in the life sciences.

As a non-scientist working in this space I am constantly struck by how little we understand the human body and how it works.  Can you imagine what we could do with phase III trials in oncology, with a greater knowledge of the body and how it works?  I am confident we can solve this problem at some point, for the following reasons.

The Affordable Care Act contains much to dislike, but that said it appears to have created some momentum to solve some of our health care issues.  This should lead to some creative solutions to the modeling issue, whether we are dealing with environmental factors or stochastic noise, to cite two examples.  Human creativity and the marketplace will find answers.

For careers, I believe modeling is an issue worth looking at from time to time.  When we solve this problem (by which I mean predicting actions in the human body) many life sciences areas will be turned upside down.  Can you imagine the impact on trials?  Careers with CRO's?

Career opportunities in unusual places

We recently completed a search for a diagnostics company, requiring an extensive bioinformatics background.  The successful candidate never thought he would work in life sciences, having previously worked in traditional technology companies.  A couple of points worth noting, now that the search was completed.

1.  Set yourself apart, I:  This individual is now working in a high demand area that will present him with more opportunities than he would have enjoyed had he stayed in traditional technology.  These opportunities are both financial and professional--keep this in mind when looking at your career.

2.  Set yourself apart, II:  This person, if he decides to leave health sciences at some point to return to traditional technology, will have a more well-rounded resume that will open doors for him.  His long-term prospects will also be enhanced by this new opportunity, another point worth remembering.

medical sales changes - lessons learned

I recently spoke with a friend in industry who has a great deal of traditional sales experience with big pharma.  She discussed the changes that have hit the sales forces in recent years, as the payer side of the business switches from providers to reimbursement.  None of this is really news.  What are the career implications?

1.  Sales will not go away.  An important definition--I am speaking of the real sales skills, not order taking.  The art of sales will continue to exist in the life sciences, and I believe it will be even more important as the industry continues to experience turmoil.

2.  Keep refreshing your sales skills.  This sounds trite but keep reading sales books when you have the time.  The benefit is not necessarily the sharpening of your skills, but is this:  By thinking about sales principles, e.g. hot button issues, you will force yourself to examine your space in life sciences.  Who are the qualified buyers?  Who has the money and what do they need?  So doing will help you weather the power shifts in the space.

One step back and two steps forward

We are conducting a search for a demanding client that is extremely picky regarding the candidates they accept for interviewing.  No surprise there; why else would they be using a retained search firm?  What is interesting is the client's demanding nature also extends to employees, who frequently burn out and move on after a few years with the firm.  Some lessons for your career, from my having dealt with this client:

1.  Company reputation:  Former employees from this firm are highly regarded elsewhere in industry, throughout their careers.  I have seen people get interviews based on their experience with this company early on in their career.  Everyone knows this firm hires good people.

2.  Know your industry:  Your industry will have similar companies; if you are starting out in your career, and you have an opportunity to work for one of them, you should jump at it.  The positive consequences for your career over the long term will be amazing.

3.  Sacrifice in the short-term:  Delayed gratification is the message, one step back and two steps forward.  Think of other choices you can make that will also help your career in the long term.