Are you wondering what to expect at your biotech job interview? Before we get to that, congratulations on getting this far! Whether you are applying to your first STEM job after graduation, or re-entering the job market after a long time, the biotech interview process can appear intimidating. Fortunately, the recruitment process is fairly standard across the industry – with a few exceptions described below – and with a little bit of preparation you can shine every step of the way.
General Structure of Biotech Job Interview Process
The first step of the recruitment process is usually an HR screening call. The recruiter or HR representative will tell you about the company and the role in more general terms, and assess your basic suitability for the role: whether you have the right qualifications and experience. The next stage is a call with the hiring manager, followed by technical or panel interviews. Panel interviews will usually involve senior employers across a variety of functions who will interact with you in their line of work. For instance, if you’re interviewing for a bench position, you may be interviewed by your potential line manager, the head of your department, and someone from finance or operations.
These interviews will delve deeper into your experience, competencies, and what the role involves. Depending on the technical role you’re applying for you might be asked to present on a scientific topic (e.g. your thesis project), or complete a timed/take-home assessment.
A biotech job interview will often be via video conference (Microsoft Teams, WebEx or Zoom), though you may be invited for an in-person interview at the final stage if you live nearby.
If you found this job through a recruiter, expect them to follow-up with you after each stage to get your feedback. The recruiter will often do the majority of the interview scheduling, and talk to the hiring team on your behalf.
Background Research
It’s a good idea to prepare for the interview by gathering basic information about the company you wish to work for. Look at the company website, its LinkedIn pages and read through recent press releases or news articles about the company.
You want to get a general idea about the structure of the company (how many employees it has, where are its offices, etc), and if it’s expanding or changing its business focus. During the interviews you could be asked “what do you know about the company?” and you want to be able to give a brief but accurate answer. Were there any big approvals or results from clinical trials? Most interviewers are prepared to talk about the company, and answer your questions, so don’t feel shy about admitting you don’t know something.
For the later interviews (e.g. with the hiring manager, technical, panel) think about scenarios in previous jobs – or during school – when you had to deal/work with a difficult person, work in a team to solve a problem, deal with multiple challenging deadlines at once, etc. You’ll often be asked basic competency questions to see how you communicate and work with others, in addition to assessing the technical skills you bring to the role.
The best way to demonstrate interest in the role is to ask questions and maintain a dialogue with the interviewers. In the last few minutes of the call, ask a couple of questions about the state of industry, any changes in the industry or company the hiring managers are excited about; or why they enjoy working for the company. It reflects well on you if you have thoughtful questions to ask.
Different Companies Have Different Hiring Procedures
This interview process varies depending on the size of the company hiring. At a small biotech start-up there are usually fewer interview steps. You’re more likely to interview with company higher-ups such as the CEO sooner.
At larger biotechs of pharmaceutical companies the recruitment process is more formal, with more interview steps, and a greater number of people involved in each interview. It therefore might take longer to move through the interview process, since there are more people to schedule around, more candidates, and more internal bureaucracy prior to approving a new hire.
Overall, though the biotech interview process can feel exhausting and repetitive, exposure to multiple people will give you a good sense of the company culture, and allow you plenty of opportunities to get your questions answered.
Nervous about applying for a new STEM job? The friendly recruiters at Sci.Bio will be with you every step of the process to help you prepare. Connect with us to discuss your needs today.
Do you know who to hire for which role? Gone are the days of the lab-only scientist. Nowadays, positions in STEM fields can call for a variety of communications skills, whether that be writing, management, design, or something else. These science communications positions are all the rage nowadays, but because they require at least two skill sets, they can be difficult to fill.
When hiring for a science communicator role, there’s no one-size-fits-all background to look for – so screening applicants can be tricky. What keywords do you search for? Who do you rule out? Many qualified applicants won’t have had a separate career to match every skill required for a role. So, you’ll need to find other ways of assessing their potential to succeed.
Types of multi-skilled roles in the sciences
As careers in science communications become more and more well-known, interest in the field is burgeoning. Examples of positions in science communications include scientific communications specialist, medical writer, and research analyst. Some positions will skew more communications-based, and some more science-based. The trick for who to hire for which role is to discern which skillset comes first for a particular job. Then, you can comb through the applicant pool with that information top of mind.
Positions that are often more science-based can include roles in technical editing, data management, and curriculum development. Such roles absolutely still require communications skills – just perhaps not the same kind of verbal acuity that might be required of a presenter or writer. There are no hard and fast rules, though! Always use your judgment about the skill set that would work best for a particular position.
Who to Hire for Which Role
A role that primarily involves research or leadership, but seldom calls for in-depth or on-the-spot scientific knowledge, is often well-suited to a communications professional. If you’re on the lookout for a Director of Communications for a life science business, for example, don’t hesitate to choose someone who’s well-versed in leadership and project management, and less experienced (but highly trainable) in research analysis.
For roles that hinge on a deeper STEM knowledge base, consider hiring scientists – albeit that they boast some natural writing acumen. For instance, you may be on the hunt for a data science consultant who can not only solve problems, but effectively communicate their solutions. Because data science is not usually a skill that people pick up “on the fly”, you’ll probably want to first gather a pool of candidates with experience in the field. Then, to form your “top tier” of potential hires, you can identify the strongest communicators within that pool.
Some positions get especially tricky, though. Let’s say, for example, that you’re on a mission to find the perfect technical editor to fill an opening. In this case, you might actually be better off hiring a trained scientist. That’s because editing, while communications-based, is very detail-oriented and factual. Of course, any editor should have a good handle on grammar and paragraph structure, too – but in this case, finding someone who knows the ins and outs of the subject matter may prove to be the most important factor.
What to screen for
For science positions that involve preparing presentations, articles, or other written materials, ask your shortlist of candidates to show you a couple of relevant samples. A candidate’s portfolio may include brochures, slide decks, even emails – as long as it gives you a sense of their writing style, it should offer valuable insights into their suitability for a communications role.
Ultimately, when you’re hiring for a multi-skilled position, the most important thing to screen for is ability to learn. If a candidate sounds terrified, or perhaps just bored, by the thought of becoming well-versed in a subject that’s new to them – this may not be a recruitment match made in heaven. But if their eyes light up when you tell them more, and they can describe times they’ve used a similar skillset somewhere else – you may just have a winner on your hands.
The most important skill – who to hire for which role
Figuring out which candidate is likely to make the best hire can be a tricky balancing act – especially when it comes to science communications roles. As you search for suitable candidates, keep an eye out for those who are sharp, enthusiastic, and above all ready to learn – even if they don’t have the perfect resume.
And remember: people can always surprise you. Just because a writer hasn’t researched scientific topics before doesn’t mean they aren’t cut out to learn some new ropes. If your new science news editor has advanced technical degrees in their subject matter but little to no writing experience, you can assess their language skills another way. Keep a critical but open mind, and you’ll find a candidate who brings to the table an impressive skillset – and a willingness to keep learning more.
There are plenty of good reasons for Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical companies hiring contractors (Independent Contractors) versus hiring employees to meet company objectives. Here are just a few: lack of funding, clinical failure, and scarce talent in niche areas. These factors create a fertile and lucrative landscape for qualified independent contractors. Clinical Development, Regulatory, and CMC business segments face some of the stiffest competition for talent. So it’s no surprise that they turn to ICs to fill expertise and workforce gaps. In 2022, there were over 70 million ICs in the US and a mind-boggling 1.4 billion worldwide. But many companies have learned the hard way that there are hidden risks in engaging “1099 workers.” Misclassification and other payroll pitfalls can lead to stiff penalties, fines, and even legal action. In the first part of this article, we’ll consider the basic choices employers face when engaging talents, and the pros and cons of each alternative.
Part One: Pros and Cons of Engaging 1099 Contractors vs. Hiring W2 Employees
In the view of the US government, labor, and tax authorities, ICs are more like external vendors than internal employees. They are expected to work independently, providing their own tools and resources. They are responsible for their own paperwork and taxes. The IRS tax form that companies use for engaging ICs is what gives “1099 workers” their name. But the government makes clear that ICs must meet strict criteria, highlighted in the table below, guiding employers to take care not to misclassify a worker e as an independent contractor when they should be an employee.
There may be other criteria depending on the jurisdiction and/or the agency or law at issue. In some states, the standard is particularly difficult to satisfy. Employers are responsible for classifying correctly the work relationship. Relationships may morph over time, so even a classification which was correct at first may not be so later on. Subsequent audits or lawsuits can punish heavily any errors, evasions, or misrepresentations.
At First Glance, Engaging 1099 Contractors is Easier and Costs Less
It may be tempting for employers to engage independent contractors as a quick, low hassle means of filling skill or labor gaps. Many online apps, marketplaces, and platforms have arisen to expedite the process. Clearly there are compelling reasons for a company to engage ICs:
Lower Insurance obligations and liabilities
Ineligibility of ICs for costly company benefits
Easier termination and offboarding process
Simpler tax reporting
Less HR hassle: reduced onboarding, training, and evaluation burdens
The attractiveness and ease of taking the 1099 route has led to widespread use and, sometimes, abuse. It has also attracted more scrutiny and audits, with the IRS focusing on misclassification or, more harshly, “payroll fraud.” The growing volume of IC engagement, and the rising price of getting it wrong, has made efficient and cost-effective management of many such contractors more difficult, and at the same time absolutely essential.
Hidden Risks and Costs When Engaging 1099 Workers
Despite the cost savings and conveniences of engaging ICs, there are strict limitations on when and how employers can exercise this option legally. There are disadvantages and risks in taking this route, which may be unforeseen. Improper usage, whether inadvertently or intentionally, can lead to stiff fines, penalties and/or legal action.
Limited control over independent contractors
Companies have less control over independent contractors.1099 workers are not obliged to work according to company practices and policies. They act as they see fit, at least within their contractual terms. In practice, this can result in breaches and behavior inconsistent with employer norms potentially leading to reputational damage and even lawsuits. In general, the company has less leverage to elicit behavior or work product beyond the strict confines of the contract.
Complicated ownership of work and intellectual property
Companies also have less control over the contract worker’s output and inventions. When an employee creates, writes, or invents something while employed by the business, the company generally owns all rights to that product or idea. But if the 1099 worker makes a product or discovers a better method, they own the rights, unless the hiring company explicitly clarifies ownership and intellectual property issues contractually. This can add complications, costs, and hassle. This is a nuanced area that may require consultation from experts in this specialty.
Competition and potential exposure of company or trade secrets
Employees may be legally bound in their employment contracts and/or applicable law to protect company secrets. The company can require employees not to moonlight or work for a competitor. With 1099 workers, however, there is less loyalty, less control over secrets, and less ability to restrict concurrent or subsequent work for a competitor. While non-disclosure and non-compete agreements (if they do not undermine the IC classification) can reduce the risk, control over independent contractors is far less than over employees. Even unintentional classification mistakes can result in liabilities, penalties, and unforeseen costs. Worse: the intellectual property, competitive and reputational risks of 1099 workers can dwarf savings of time and money, especially for firms in tech, life sciences, biomedical and pharma. In Part Two, we’ll look at steps companies can take to reduce risks and costs, increasing recruitment efficiency and improving management of their independent contractors. Consider Sci.bio as a reliable and cost-effective resource for finding and managing Independent Contractors for your organization. We can efficiently find and deliver high caliber expert consultants for virtually any biopharma segment so you can focus on your business and avoid compliance and payroll headaches associated with hiring ICs. Want to learn more? Contact us today.
Part 2: Optimizing the Engagement and Management of 1099 Workers
For most organizations, small and large, recruitment and ongoing management of human resources is not an either/or choice between employees hired with a W-2 form and engagement of independent contractors (ICs) with a 1099. Similar choices face business in other jurisdictions. In Part One, we looked at the pros and cons of engaging ICs in place of full-time employees. However, in practice, there is a spectrum of nuanced alternatives which strike a balance between hiring employees as opposed to engaging 1099 workers. Here, in Part Two, we’ll consider options for achieving “the best of both worlds.”
Is Hiring Direct Fixed-term Employees Truly a “Middle Ground”?
One “middle ground” alternative used by some companies to mitigate risks and costs of long-term commitments to W-2 employees is to hire such workers on a fixed-term rather than open-ended basis. This is often done when filling temporary personnel gaps due to pregnancy, parental leave, employee sickness/injury, or for staffing up a project with a predictable duration. But more and more companies are taking this route without these circumstances. Fixed-term W-2 employment can be a tempting and less risky alternative to engaging ICs, allowing an employer to exercise more control over workers without incurring long-term obligations. As is well known, the costs to a company of open-ended, long-term employment involves a variety of risks and costs. Defining the period of employment to shorter, clearly-defined periods can ameliorate at least some of these drawbacks and cumulative expenses. However, fixed-termers are eligible for the same benefits as non-fixed-term employees. Employers must recruit these employees and then provide onboarding, internal resources, equipment, and treatment equivalent to all other W2 employees. This may amount to 35% or more of a compensation package. Fixed-term employees are often eligible to collect unemployment benefits which also costs the employer. With this in mind, fixed term employment is not a clear solution to temporary or unpredictable staffing needs.
Outsourcing 1099 Worker Management to External Agencies: The Basics
Due to the complexities of recruiting and managing ICs themselves, many firms have sought to mitigate risks, potential complications, and legal entanglements by outsourcing recruitment, contracting, and HR-related management of 1099 workers to external agencies. Such firms can provide a one-stop shop for identifying, recruiting, negotiating and closing employment contracts with specialized workers in their target industries. They offer a streamlined hiring process, including all the documentation needed to get a new IC onboarded. They have the knowledge and expertise to find “best of both worlds” balance in the workforce and relieve their clients of the many hassles and reduce the risks of engaging 1099 workers. Such agencies multiply the benefits of working with independent contractors, providing a management layer of recruitment and HR expertise to reduce risks, cut costs, relieve hassles, and deliver top-flight talent. Of course, there is an added cost for these value-added benefits, usually in the form of a salary markup by the agency. This can be as low as 25-35% for “payrolled individuals” found by the client company and formally hired via the agency. On the high end, markups can be 200% of salary for agencies that have highly technical, ready-to-work experts on call, or who can recruit these specialists fit-for-purpose.
Benefits of Partnering with an Agency to Manage 1099 Workers
The general benefits of working with a 3rd party agency for engaging and managing ICs include:
Choose a 3rd party firm familiar with your industry segment
After making the decision to partner with an external agency to source and manage 1099 contractors, the next steps is to find the one that’s well-suited for you and your industry. This last point is key: working with industry-specialized HR agencies can relieve paperwork burdens and deliver cost-saving benefits, but so can generalist staffing firms. However, the latter are unlikely to have the ready access to the top talent and industry know-how that you require. If they don’t know your niche, they will be hard-pressed to deliver the highest caliber contractors. Far better to seek out a firm which focuses on your industry, with broad and in-depth knowledge of your business and skills ecosystem. This is especially true in biopharma, with its complex niches and business slants. Additionally, biotech and pharmaceutical segments often have unique worker compensation insurance codes that less specialized firms may not know about. Some advantages of partnering with specialized firms:
Cutting Time to Hire
Pharma, medical, and life sciences industries are notorious for their difficulties in sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding suitably qualified employees. Agencies which specialize in these industries know the territory, have the databases and contacts, and know where to look for which skills. They can make it much easier to fill positions and get qualified talent up to speed. So there’s less likelihood of a new contract hire stumbling out of the gate.
Gaining the Perspective and Insight of a Specialized Staffing Agency
By partnering with a staffing agency experienced in your industry, with deep insights about where and how to find talent, you will gain an active ally with specialized know-how about filling a role with a higher quality candidate than you’re likely to find with a generalist firm. Your agency ally should prove to be a go-to partner providing ongoing recruiting and market insights.
Attracting the Highest Quality Consulting Talent: Recruiting Experience Matters
Top-caliber candidates are picky and they can be fickle. Some may not even respond to recruiting from generalist agencies with limited knowledge of “what they do.” Candidates are far more likely to respond to recruiters who possess in-depth domain knowledge and a high reputation for recruitment within their field. Experienced consultants prefer to be represented by a recruitment firm that knows their niche inside and out, who can “walk the talk” with credibility.
Protect Your Brand Reputation with a Staffing Agency That Makes You Look Good
Clients should consider third-party staffing and recruitment firms as an extension of their brands. Partnering with an agency that fails to appreciate or fill their role as your brand steward can have negative consequences in the short-term and the long run. When interviewing candidate agencies, consider the professionalism, integrity and quality of their interactions with you. If their professional self-presentation is anything less than superb. seek out a firm that can represent you in a manner commensurate with your brand values. That will pay big dividends over time.
Conclusion: Seek out a Specialized Agency to Recruit Top Talent
The bottom line is clear. When you’re operating in fiercely competitive industries like biopharma and life sciences, the quality of the people working with you and for you is the key differentiator. While 1099 contractors can provide many advantages over W-2 employees, it is advantageous to seek specialized guidance in recruiting them, hiring them, and managing their contracts. Working with a recruitment and staffing agency specializing in your industry gives you a clear edge in bringing in top talent, increasing contractor quality while reducing your risks and costs. Consider Sci.bio as a reliable and cost-effective resource for finding and managing contractors for your organization. We can efficiently find and deliver high caliber consultants on a contractual basis for virtually any biopharma segment, letting you focus on your business and avoid the compliance and payroll headaches associated with hiring 1099s directly. We are domain life-science domain experts and we’re here to help. Want to learn more? Contact us today.
In the last couple of months, you’ve probably heard about ChatGPT. Launched in November 2022 by an artificial intelligence company called OpenAI, ChatGPT is a chatbot that answers questions, responds to prompts, and gives suggestions. Its backbone is a natural language processing model that was trained using text from across the internet, and upon its release it quickly drew attention for its conversational skill, creative abilities, and the depth and detail of its responses.
AI isn’t a novelty to recruiters – many have been using AI recruiting software to source or screen candidates for years. But ChatGPT is a different beast, and you might be wondering if it could be used in recruiting. The answer, as with most AI-based tools, is yes – with caveats. As a chatbot, it can’t do everything on a recruiter’s to-do list (and as such, it isn’t equipped to replace recruiters outright). But if you know how to harness it, ChatGPT can help a recruiter brainstorm and generate ideas, fill in gaps in their knowledge, and generally speed up certain processes in recruiting. Read on for some ideas on how to use this chatbot to your advantage, and for some limitations you should keep in mind.
Use ChatGPT to create job descriptions
When creating eye-catching, informative job descriptions, ChatGPT can provide a starting point to build from. For example, I asked ChatGPT to “write a job description for a bioinformatics scientist at a proteomics company.” It gave me a description that was, overall, pretty nondescript and basic. But the description included some important and relevant qualifications like “Strong experience in proteomic data analysis, including the use of mass spectrometry data” and “Experience with bioinformatics software and databases, such as R, Python, and ProteomeXchange,” and it hit all the necessary points of a job description.
These results can provide a great framework for you to edit and add to depending on the specifics of the position at hand. But you don’t have to stop there. When I asked ChatGPT to “rewrite that job description requiring 5 years of postdoctoral experience and experience with Matlab,” it added those qualifications seamlessly into the description. When I asked ChatGPT to “rewrite that job description to be more exciting and compelling,” the chatbot threw in some adjectives like “dynamic” and “innovative” and verbs like “revolutionize” and “harness.”
Use ChatGPT to develop interview questions
Just as the chatbot can provide the framework of a job description to work from, it can do the same for interview questions. For the example position above, I asked ChatGPT to “create a list of interview questions for a bioinformatician at a proteomics company. Be sure to ask about leadership, problem solving, and past industry experience.” The response gave me ten questions. Some were way too vague and awkward, like “How do you approach problem solving and troubleshooting in bioinformatics?” But others seemed like they could provide fruitful insight into a candidate, like “Can you give an example of a time when you had to present complex bioinformatics data to non-experts and how you effectively communicated the findings?” and “Can you describe a project you have worked on in industry and how it differed from your academic experience?”
Use ChatGPT to create emails, social media posts, and other text communications
Other tasks that require writing text, like creating emails and social media posts, could benefit from ChatGPT. For the hypothetical “bioinformatics scientist at a proteomics company,” I asked ChatGPT to “write a compelling summary of that job description to post on LinkedIn.” It gave me a paragraph that started with “Are you a Proteomics Bioinformatics Expert looking to take your career to the next level? Join our cutting-edge team at XYZ Proteomics and be a key player in revolutionizing the field of mass spectrometry-based proteomics,” then gave some details about the requirements and responsibilities. The response was a little wooden – it definitely read like a fill-in-the-blank imitation of what a post like this “should” look like – but it hit all the important points and could be good to go with a little tweaking.
Use ChatGPT to learn about roles
As a recruiter working in the biotech industry, you might find yourself dealing with roles that are highly specific or require certain obscure skills. Recruiters in this situation might typically turn to Google to ask “what are bioconjugated nanoparticles?” or “what skills does a surface chemistry scientist need?” But since ChatGPT combs the internet to create its response, it can sometimes provide a more direct and specific answer than Google.
Drawbacks and takeaways
Models like ChatGPT are only as good as the information they run on and the patterns they are trained to recognize. For this reason, it’s important to closely pay attention to what content you’re using from ChatGPT to make sure no discriminatory language or inaccuracies sneak into your responses. I’ve seen some recruiters say that you should treat ChatGPT like a “spunky intern” whose work you check over closely. I think of it more as a springboard tool that can save you time, help you brainstorm ideas, and fill in some gaps in your knowledge. Though ChatGPT and other chatbots have their limitations (and can’t approximate everything the human mind can do), most experts agree that this technology is here to stay — and is only going to improve with time.
Where can you access top talent other than LinkedIn, a site where candidates are inundated with recruiter messages and your own email risks getting lost in their inbox? There are a few underexplored avenues to find biotech jobseekers, and with a bit of creativity you can expand your candidate pool.
Leverage Existing Connections
The most efficient way to find fresh job candidates is to ask your existing clients for referrals. Your clients will know who in their network is looking for new opportunities, or who is dissatisfied with their current job and could be persuaded to change companies.
Another source of talent is through auditing former candidates you worked with in the past: check in on those previously considered for roles to see if they’re looking for new opportunities. After all, just because they weren’t a suitable match for your previous vacancies, it doesn’t mean they won’t be a good fit for your current openings.
Broadening your recruitment sphere
After you’ve tapped your current network, you can broaden your reach through local opportunities. Get involved with regional biotech organizations: attend their networking or professional development events to meet other attendees who may be considering a career change. Reach out to conference presenters or hosts at these types of events – the people who participate in panels, conferences and high-profile volunteer roles are often looking to strengthen their resumes with an eye to new roles. Even if that’s not the case, conference presenters are usually well-connected and may be willing to refer candidates to you.
Make sure you’re not limiting your search to graduates of the local biggest universities, and recruit from historically black universities and colleges (HBCUs), small liberal arts colleges (SLACs) and local community colleges. At these smaller colleges you may find candidates with less conventional resumes, but who have acquired a valuable set of skills through different routes into the job market.
College faculty like having recruiters come to speak to their students about career paths, which allows you to connect with STEM graduates in-person before they start applying to entry level positions.
Other places to find hidden jobseekers
In addition to using LinkedIn, check expat forums and Facebook groups for professionals. Members of those groups may be receptive to new opportunities that are tailored to them, rather than being cold-called on LinkedIn about jobs that don’t match their skillsets.
The final way to expand your talent pool on LinkedIn is to note who is interacting with your job posts through likes, comments or shares. This kind of online engagement is often a sign of someone considering a career move or preparing to apply to new roles, even if they aren’t advertising the fact on their profiles. Reach out to those posters and offer to chat with them about their career goals.
As a recruiter you often go to the candidates, but it’s also possible to encourage candidates to come to you. Hold a recruitment agency Open House – make the event worthwhile for local job seekers to visit your recruitment agency, meet the recruiters, and learn about the companies you partner with.
