Every year recruitment slows during the summer months, as employees go on annual leave, and travel to conferences. However, 2022 promises greater difficulties filling roles within the biotech sector.
For one, the American economy faces job growth slowing, rising inflation and the return to “normal” as the COVID-19 pandemic winds down. Many of these factors are a continuation of pre-pandemic trends. Increased inflation is leading to a demand for higher wages to compensate for rising consumer prices, and many startups are unable to compete.
After a period of sustained job growth in the biotech and pharma sector, the rate of layoffs at these companies is increasing, with some companies making drastic cuts to their workforce. Many of these cuts are due to disappointing clinical trial results or FDA decisions, though the pandemic also created additional hurdles for clinical trials.
How to reverse hiring in a summer slowdown
Despite the uncertain outlook, even smaller biotechs can work against the greater economic forces by implementing small changes to increase their rate of hiring.
With fewer candidates available per position, recruiters and hiring managers should lean into referrals during the slow summer months from current employers and recruiter’s connections. Former job candidates who performed well in late-stage interviews are another group to consider reaching out to again with new opportunities. These personal connections and words of recommendation are likely to carry greater weight and increase the likelihood of a successful hire.
The summer is also when new STEM graduates enter the workforce for the first time, giving hiring managers the opportunity to focus on filling entry level positions.
Companies can also use a summer slowdown to experiment with new hiring strategies and revamp their professional social media accounts and recruitment webpages. This is also the time to improve the candidate’s recruitment process experience, since the process itself plays an important role in the jobseeker’s decision to work for a particular company.
Need to fill technical roles at your startup? For many years Sci.bio has matched the best biotech candidates to the job. Contact us to learn how we can help you.
Recruiting for biotech startups, especially in the first few years after its formation, presents several challenges. The main hurdle is your young company probably lacks the name recognition or legacy that drives recruitment at large pharma. Your dream candidates may not even know your start-up exists.
Fortunately, with savvy marketing you can attract prospective job candidates and raise company visibility.
Cast an SEO-friendly net
Most biotech startups use an inbound marketing approach to attract the right candidates, using SEO content to attract a large number of potential job seekers towards your company website or LinkedIn profile, before engaging with the smaller proportion of interested, qualified parties who explore further.
Build a brand that attracts your perfect job candidates
In today’s job market, the most sought-after candidates are free to choose positions at companies most aligned with their values. To attract these candidates your company website – one of the first things curious candidates view – should articulate your company values. A well-defined company brand and culture is the strongest recruitment tool you possess. Your website should also be intuitive for interested candidates to navigate, with careers information and openings displayed in a prominent location accessible from the home page.
Jobseekers respect transparency from recruiters, and you should be open and realistic about your company values when communicating with applicants. In a dynamic start-up where every employee contributes to the company’s success, an employee who isn’t aligned with company values is often more detrimental than a vacant position.
Personalize and streamline biotech startups recruitment process
Candidates see the job search and recruitment process with biotech startups as a preview of life as an employee…and with good reason! As mentioned above, your Careers website and application process should showcase your company at its best: can job candidates submit their resume and cover letter with one click, or do they have to copy everything on their resume into an online application program?
To overcome any disadvantage of poor name recognition your company might face, attend networking events to connect with potential candidates in-person. As a recruiter, you are the first and most important face of the company to prospective employees.
When recruiting via LinkedIn, don’t just share company content. Instead, engage with potential job candidates.
If you want to attract the best, meet candidates on their phones
Today’s job hunters are on the move. With their phones as faithful companions, they want mobile versions of just about all life experiences, from making dinner reservations to buying track pants—and searching for jobs. And not just young people: baby boomers and Gen-Zers are equally liable to reach for their phones when searching for a job.1 If you don’t offer candidates a seamless and enticing mobile experience, one of your competitors surely will.
It’s no longer enough to post your job opening on LinkedIn: you need to mobile-optimize the posting so it looks good on the LinkedIn app. Ditto for the application process. Your star candidate may be sitting in a coffee shop when she sees the posting, without her computer, and you want to make it easy for her to seize the moment and apply. If you pique her interest strongly enough, she may even apply when not actively seeking employment. Such scenarios are by no means rare: a survey of US employees found that 25% weren’t looking for a job when they found their current one.1
By the numbers1,2,3 > 1 billion per month: job searches from mobile devices Almost 90%: job seekers who use a mobile device when looking for a new opportunity 35%: candidates who prefer to apply for jobs on their phones 84%: companies using social media for recruiting 73%: millennials who found their jobs via social media
Getting it right for mobile hiring
A word of warning: simply tweaking your web-based application form may not provide the elegant mobile experience that high-quality candidates have come to expect. Indeed, only 22% of people who begin mobile applications complete them, attesting to the importance of getting it right.2 So what makes a job application mobile-friendly? This checklist will keep you on the right track:4
Keep it short: When it comes to converting candidates, less is more: 73% of job seekers give up on applications that take longer than 15 minutes.
In the job posting, promote the application process as mobile hiring friendly: Employers who take this simple step increase submissions by 11.6%.
Employ AI assistants to chat with job seekers—and there’s no harm in giving them friendly-sounding names like Ellie or Vinay. These “chat bots” can answer applicants’ questions and provide supplemental information.
Consider investing in mobile recruiting software, which can help you or your recruiting partner design mobile-first applications that have the single objective of attracting and converting candidates on their phones.
Put it to the test: Not sure if your mobile application form makes the grade? Try it yourself or ask a colleague to try it. If the process trips you up, it will confuse candidates, too.
The social piece
Mobile hiring friendliness will take you only so far if you ignore social media. Indeed, the two experiences often overlap: In the US, over 97% of social media users get their fix on their smart phones, at least some of the time.5 With social media use showing no signs of slowing down, today’s employers can’t afford to ignore this hiring channel, called social recruiting. In fact, 84% of companies use social media for recruiting purposes1 and often rely on it for attracting passive talent (candidates not actively looking for a job).6 The fact that 73% of millennials find jobs through social media attests to the power of this strategy.4
Just as with mobile recruiting, social recruiting requires skill and tech-savvy. Investing in social recruiting tools can help streamline and automate the process. While you’re at it, consider
including testimonials on your social media sites: 41% of candidates look for this extra vote of confidence when researching companies in their job search.6
Sci.bio recruiters understand all the bases: traditional, mobile, social, and everything in between. We also understand that no two biotech companies are the same, and adapt our support to each client’s needs. Let’s get mobile and let’s get social—together. Ω
Streamlining the job application process pays dividends on several fronts.
In the competitive life sciences market, high-quality candidates hold a lot of power. Knowing they’re in demand, they will naturally favor simple, elegant hiring processes. Indeed, 45% of job seekers view an easy application process as a top priority:
and over two-thirds would avoid reapplying to a company that didn’t offer a positive hiring experience the first time around.
To attract choice candidates, you need to remove barriers that may discourage them from applying—and pique their interest with meaningful perks.
Here’s a tip list to keep you on track:
Cut to the chase: A survey by Jobvite found that nearly 85% of Fortune 500 companies were requiring candidates to register on their website before applying for an open position, losing potential candidates as a result. Is it really necessary for a candidate to open an account with your website? Does she need to fill out that generic form? Ask yourself whether your interview process has unnecessary steps that can be cut out—and then do it.
Keep it short: There’s no reason to require a complete application form before you even consider a candidate. To remove the hassle factor, create a bare-bones form that allows candidates to populate fields with information from existing platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed, or Google Drive.3
Text it in: Communicating by text—for example, to schedule job interviews—can help increase candidate conversion. In a 2021 survey, 69% of candidates who received texts as part of the hiring process reported a preference for texting over email or phone calls2—perhaps because texts feel more personal and less bureaucratic. Once you set up a texting option, you can keep using and adapting it to other positions.
Create a user-friendly mobile experience: a recent Glassdoor survey found that 58% of candidates use their phones to search for jobs, and 35% prefer applying for jobs from their phones.4 Be sure to pilot-test the mobile application interface and iron out any bumpy seams.
“Get rid of your [career site] log-in. You don’t need it. The platform SAIC uses doesn’t require a log-in to make an application. Therefore, it takes three to five minutes on average for people to get through, and we complete a huge amount of our applications.” Amy Butchco, director of talent acquisition, SAIC
Make it optional: Don’t require candidates to sign up for your newsletter or receive company updates as a condition of applying. Such extra steps can leave them frustrated. If you have a talent network, by all means give candidates the option to join it, but don’t force it on them: a mandatory registration process typically reduces the number of completed applications.2
Get them on camera: A quick video chat can give you more information about a candidate’s communication style and job fit than a pile of forms.5 Depending on the number of applicants and suitable candidates, you can schedule video interviews earlier or later in the hiring sequence.
Tag it as urgent: An “urgent” flag in a job description will attract candidates looking for fast action—and could motivate your organization to keep the wheels moving on the hiring process.4
Show your working style: In your job solicitation, call immediate attention to high-demand benefits such as remote work options and flexible hours. (In today’s market, you’d be unwise not to offer some type of flexibility: according to recruiters surveyed in 2021, inflexible work options led 54% of candidates to turn down a job offer or even an interview.6)
Bottom line to hire better and faster: make it easy, make it enticing, and top-tier candidates will find you.
At Sci.bio, we understand the value of keeping it simple—and the biotech superstars we talk to don’t let us forget it. Bringing in a recruiter can be the first step in simplifying your hiring process, resulting in the quantity and quality of applicants you need for a great hire. Here’s a simple way to contact us today: [email protected]
It’s a common refrain among biotech recruiters and clients that right now we’re in a candidate-driven job market, which has made it harder for some companies hiring to fill technical roles. Attracting and retaining the best talent in these conditions requires clients to rethink established recruitment strategies.
A candidate-driven market is one where demand for candidates outstrips supply, and qualified candidates receive multiple job offers during their search. It also means employees are regularly approached by recruiters with opportunities, even when they are not actively looking for work, and that an employee dissatisfied with their current company will find it easy moving into another position.
The onus therefore shifts to the client and recruiters to convince candidates to accept their offer, and to make sure their valued employees remain satisfied at the company.
There’s no ignoring the reality that candidates can afford to pick and choose between companies. Biotechs cannot afford to lose out on top scientific talent. For instance, while the majority of STEM jobseekers have the basic laboratory skills necessary to succeed in an R&D environment, a smaller proportion has the knowledge of industry standards necessary to bring a company’s product to market.
Bringing In The Best
How clients should make job offers appealing to candidates:
Compelling company brand and vision. Not just an enticing offer package and company perks, but an attractive company culture and working environment.
Match of values and aspirations between client and candidate. In a candidate-driven market, jobseekers care about matching their personal values with those of a company. Clients must pay attention to candidates’ values, emphasize their own values and identify alignment.
Listen to what the candidate is asking for and tailor your offer. What will make your company stand out from the crowd – in addition to values and offer packages – is the attention you pay to your candidate’s priorities and career goals. Make sure you ask the candidate about their desired career path and demonstrate in the interview and offer stage that your company is able to align on.
Fast and user-friendly job application process. With the rise of ‘one-click’ online applications, candidates are coming to expect a streamlined job application process. They also aren’t willing to wait weeks to hear back about another job offer if they’ve already received one. Clients therefore need to create a positive application experience for all candidates, and to make hiring decisions quickly.
Looking to recruit top STEM talent to your company? The recruiting and sourcing experts at Sci.bio are here to help. Reach out to us today and start the conversation.
