As we look towards 2024, this article outlines the growth trends within the biotech sector within the last few years, particularly in response to the Covid-19 boom in hiring.
Biopharma start-ups often tout the noble aspiration of curing all that ails the world. Many of these illustrious, high-flying organizations are in fact perpetuating ‘mistruths’; their claims of a virtuous, meritorious, transparent and science based approach are often misleading or outright untrue. Careful observation reveals some serious rifts, cultural divides, and outright lies beneath the surface, all of which our founder Eric Celidonio explores in this article.
The pandemic has radically shifted the kinds of benefits employers will consider offering, as well as what is most desired by employees. This article outlines some of the most important job perks to the workforce of today, and how this has changed in recent years.
If you’re a student or recent graduate, you may be wondering what are the most in-demand majors for pharma companies right now – and, perhaps more importantly, what is driving demand? This article explores the most useful majors for college students wishing to enter the biotech industry.
Job hopping has become an increasingly common practice, but there are pros and cons. On the one hand, you probably want to upskill in your field, experiment with what you like, and ascend as quickly as possible in your career. On the other hand, you may crave a sense of stability at work, long-term office friendships with coworkers, and a track record of loyalty to flex to your next employer. A combo of personality, risk tolerance, and career goals – and this article – can help you determine your path.
You might think of a “science job” as a lab-coat-wearing, number-crunching, sitting-and-calculating kind of affair – but basic communications skills are very useful in the modern life science and biotech industries. This article debunks the myth that life scientists don’t rely on communication skills, and outlines some useful communications skills for the life scientist of 2023, and how to go about cultivating them.
Whether you’re considering becoming a recruiter, in the midst of a recruiting career, or interested in using recruiting services, this article compiles our best recruiting-related blogs and will give you the insights to optimize your recruiting strategy no matter which side of the equation you’re on.
Research shows that the average American consumes at least 100,000 words and 34 GB of data per day. Given all of the information you consume on a daily basis, your brain cannot possibly store everything in your long term memory. But remembering aspects about a person is essential, not just for creating new relationships with people, but also for strengthening existing relationships: it shows you genuinely care about them. Recalling details, and asking additional questions, will cause them to associate positive memories with you – people love to talk about themselves. Here are some tried and true techniques to help you improve your memory, and better your social and professional relationships in the process.
It’s important to consider whether those you choose to surround yourself with truly have your best interests at heart. Whether because of jealousy, insecurity, or because they are simply not a true friend, there are some for whom your successes might be unpleasant, who may relish in your failure as it comforts them about their own shortcomings. This article explores the concept of ‘Schadenfreude’, referring to the delight one might feel in another’s misfortune, and how to identify those in your life who might not truly have your back.
If you’re looking to fill a role with a highly qualified candidate, Sci.bio’s recruitment services can help. We know that no two clients are the same, so we provide customized recruiting support that adapts to a given client’s structure and needs, and have placed successful candidates with a variety of companies. We also work with a variety of candidates from new graduates to experienced executives, with myriad open roles, and we pride ourselves on connecting our highly discerning clients with candidates who fit their specific needs. Please contact us to connect with a recruiter and discuss your needs, check out our job search page to see current openings, and follow us on LinkedIn to stay up to date.
Sahana Nazeer, how did you get into recruiting, and how did you end up at Sci.bio?
After I graduated from Brown, I was searching for a full-time position that would utilize my neuroscience degree. I partnered with a recruiter who noticed that I was not keen on benchwork roles at the time. She recommended that I apply for a position with scientific recruiting. I sent in one application – to Sci.bio – and met with Eric later that week. I was drawn to learning about a new industry from an interesting angle that was still anchored to my love for science.
What do you enjoy most about being a recruiter?
I enjoy the search to find not just the right person for the job, but the right person for the team, especially for smaller companies focused on developing a specific company culture. Part of my growth as a recruiter has stemmed from focusing on building teams as opposed to filling requisitions.
What do you find most challenging about recruiting?
Balancing a process that works well for you while also incorporating new techniques to search, screen, and negotiate. For me, there is a fine line between a systematic approach and a monotonous one. And so, it really helps to work within a team as I have the chance to learn from my colleagues and share insights with them.
What are your passions and interests outside of work?
I recently graduated from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, and I will soon start my residency in Psychiatry – Child Track at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. I am an avid fan of the Boston Celtics! I also enjoy swimming (although now non-competitively) and playing tennis with my fiancé.
What do you think your greatest strength is as a recruiter?
My passion for supporting diverse, equitable, and inclusive hiring extends into my approach to recruiting, collaborating with hiring managers and talent acquisition partners, and developing relevant educational materials for clients. By keeping the priority of diversity, equity, inclusivity, and belonging at the forefront of my interactions with candidates and clients, it has become a strength of mine to help build cohesive teams and contribute to a company’s growing culture.
What advice would you give to someone entering the world of biotech recruiting, or recruiting in general?
As part of my medical training, there was an emphasis in being not only aware of our own biases but also cultivating actionable changes from that recognition. Being cognizant of my own biases has helped me better understand candidates and serve as their informed advocate when needed (especially as recruiters facilitate a majority of the candidate communication during the hiring process).
Kay Chow is one of Sci.Bio’s wonderful Scientific Recruiting Partners. As her three year anniversary with Sci.Bio approaches, we thought she’d be perfect to kick off our upcoming Recruiter Spotlight series, which will shed light on the work and lives of Sci.bio’s recruiters.
How did you get into recruiting, and how did you end up at Sci.bio?
For my first co-op at Northeastern, I worked at a Brain & Cognitive Sciences lab that focused on studying the effect of exercise on brain health in older adults. I first started out on the clinical research side, but later found myself on the recruiting end picking up phone calls from prospective study candidates. I soon realized that I enjoyed that side of the work much more and thought I could pursue a similar career in the biotech industry given my academic background in neuroscience. A couple of interviews later with Eric and other team members, I was hired at Sci.bio and it’s been nearly three years since in May 2023!
What do you enjoy most about being a recruiter?
I enjoy being a part of someone’s life milestone when they accept a new role. When I hear an enthusiastic yes from a candidate, I get excited for them to explore a new part of their career and work with new people. I try not to become desensitized to the fact that switching jobs is an important milestone in people’s lives.
What do you find most challenging about recruiting?
I find that the most challenging part of recruiting that I’ve had to learn to manage are the ups and downs, and accepting that this is a profession where many factors can be out of your control. Recruiting can be an emotional rollercoaster – one day you can have a top candidate accept an offer and you feel on top of the world, then a few hours later, you can have your fourth offer for a role rejected. You can do your best to find a great candidate and provide a stellar offer, but at the end of the day, you can’t make a candidate say yes if they don’t want to.
What are your passions and interests outside of work?
I’ve been a part of a cornhole league in Assembly Row for the last two years and I’ve won four seasons! Prior to the cornhole league, I hadn’t played any cornhole (minus the intramural cornhole league I was participating in where we lost every game!). I’m also a powerlifter – I competed in a local meet last summer and plan to compete again this summer! On top of that, I love electronic music. You can find me dancing at a show or festival on the weekends.
What do you think your greatest strength is as a recruiter?
I believe my greatest strength as a recruiter is my ability to read the recruiting process and anticipate next moves. By understanding a candidate’s motivations, a hiring manager’s priorities, and reading into subtle nuances, I can get a sense of how a situation might pan out. This helps me to prepare for what’s to come.
What advice would you give to someone entering the world of biotech recruiting, or recruiting in general?
I would suggest finding a style of communication that is comfortable and effective for you. Candidates can tell if you’re uncomfortable or not being yourself and it doesn’t always help foster trust and rapport with them. I find that when I exude my own personality on a call (which might be a little quirky and goofy when the time is right), it helps put me and the candidate in a more comfortable state.
What are your goals that you hope to accomplish as a recruiter?
At this point, my goal is to gain as much experience in as many different environments as possible. So far, my main experience as a recruiter has been with smaller to medium sized biotech companies in an RPO setting. I think I thrive in RPO settings but hope to gain more experience in contingent recruiting and BD. After dipping my toes in more environments, then I’ll narrow down what my niche will be and work towards that.
Recruiter burnout – ways to enjoy your job and protect your health. The last few years have been hard on recruiters. The COVID-19 pandemic created a hiring whiplash and changed so much about life and work, and as a result, some recruiters have found themselves chronically stretched thin, exhausted, and unproductive: in other words, burned-out.
The World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome involving feeling depleted or exhausted, feeling distant from or negative about your job, and being less efficient or productive at work. While stress at work is unavoidable, chronic and prolonged stress can do damage to your health, happiness, and ability to be a great recruiter.
There’s some good news: if you’re feeling this way, you’re not alone, and there are ways to beat it. Here, we’ll dive into some ideas for combating and avoiding burnout as a recruiter.
Top Ways to Beat Recruiter Burnout
1. Evaluate your situation and set realistic goals and to-dos.
Think about what’s working about your situation, what isn’t, and what you can change. Do you feel like you can’t leave work at work? Does every day feel the same? Is your physical health suffering? Do you have too much to do each day? By taking stock and taking charge of what you can control, the stresses at work that are truly unavoidable and immovable will pack less of a punch on your wellbeing.
Set a daily work schedule and stick to it. Be candid with yourself and the companies and hiring managers you work with about what is a priority about how much you can fit into the day. Set goals that are specific, time-bound, and measurable. Communicate with your team about your situation and about what roles and projects are a priority.
2. Reduce exposure to stressors and set work boundaries.
Again, some stresses at work are unavoidable. But there are ways to mitigate, manage, and reduce your exposure to them. Consider setting brief breaks throughout the day to get up, walk around, drink a glass of water, and look away from screens for a few minutes at a time (cognitive studies have found that quick breaks like this actually boost focus). If you’re battling Zoom fatigue from endless days of interviews, consider setting a weekly “no meetings” block (for example, not scheduling Zoom calls on Wednesday afternoons).
Outside of the workday, can you set boundaries that help you disconnect? For example, commit to only answering emails between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Set notifications on your devices to not ping you when you’re off the clock. And if you have to work late one day, can you block out an extra hour the next morning for yourself?
Finally, consider taking time off. This might be hard due to the fast-moving demands of recruiting, but even a day or two spent away from work and with friends, family, or just with yourself can help you feel reenergized and refreshed.
3. Prioritize self-care.
Depending on who’s talking, the phrase “self-care” can mean anything from training for a marathon to binge-watching hours of TV. But truly taking care of yourself – getting good sleep, eating nutritious and filling meals, making time for activities and hobbies, and enjoying healthy social connections – is the key to staying well and maintaining resilience and energy.
What areas of your non-work life have you been neglecting, and what can you do to address them? It might help to start small and commit to incremental habitual actions, like being in bed at the same time every night, cooking a healthy meal every Sunday, or picking one day a week to go on a bike ride with a friend. Building yourself up on your off hours will help you regain energy for your work.
4. Focus on professional development and building your network.
Does your career feel stagnant, or does it feel like every workday is the same? Fresh new challenges and opportunities for professional growth can help you get back into the groove. Subscribe to industry publications, read blogs, listen to podcasts, watch videos, or take courses to build your skills.
Focus on expanding your network — it will get you in touch with new and interesting people and will make your job easier down the line. And if you have room on your plate, ask your manager for a short “stretch project” that gives you something new to do.
Workforce statistics from the past two years paint a concerning picture of the biotech recruiting sector in 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a boom in hiring and growth, but now that the initial biotech demand is leveling off, many companies are ‘right-sizing’ to pre-COVID-19 levels. Statistics predict the growth of the biotech sector slowing in 2023, in part to rising inflation.
The overall trend means biotech companies are slowing down their hiring. It’s not clear how much growth will slow in 2023, and hiring managers might wonder whether it’s worth adding more workers to the payroll if layoffs are coming. Due to its ability to consolidate and diversify their portfolio, Big Pharma is in a stronger position than agile biotech start-ups, but industry experts still urge caution.
Attracting Biotech Talent in 2023
Despite an economic slowdown, the biotech sector is continuing to grow, and companies are still looking to hire top talent. Here are a few ways biotech recruiting is filling positions and attract candidates.
First, it’s important to understand candidates’ motivation for switching roles, because there are many professionals considering a job switch, even if they’re currently employed. A lot of candidates are seeking appropriate salary increases to combat inflation. Or, perhaps instability at their current company has created a threat of layoffs.
As a recruiter, there are several ways to appeal to these candidates and fill your client’s vacancies.
Highlight remote, hybrid and flexible working options. Thanks to rising gas prices, commuting is expensive, and many employees don’t like feeling pressured to come into the office. Flexible working remains a high priority for jobseekers as they explore new roles.
Emphasize supportive work culture for new hires. Work culture is not just about throwing money at employees, but thoughtful initiatives to support new hires and integrate hybrid teams. The COVID-19 pandemic has left many workers feeling adrift from their colleagues, and they want to better integrate into their teams, virtual or not.
List opportunities for career growth and developmental opportunities within the company. The new hire is more likely to make long-term commitment to the role if they think they can progress in their career without needing to switch companies again.
With over ten years’ experience serving biotech companies in the Boston area, Sci.Bio knows how to guide your company through economic changes. Schedule an appointment with us today to learn more.
