Ask the right recruiter questions – it really matters. The right recruitment agency can help you find the superstar or diamond-in-the-rough that will help you grow your life sciences company. The wrong one can be a costly waste of time. Knowing when to partner with a recruiter, and choosing the best one for your needs, is a science in itself. You’ll want to work with an agency that understands not only the ins and outs of your industry, but how to find and attract top candidates.
You should feel free to ask a recruitment agency whatever you want. But if you’re stuck, we’ve compiled six recruiter questions to use as a starting point.
1. How do you tailor your search process to the pharma/biotech industries?
You don’t want just anyone – you want a new recruit with highly specific knowledge, expertise and experience. If you decide to work with a recruiter, be sure to select one with deep ties to the industry. Life science recruiters often boast a specialized knowledge base and network1 that more general agencies may not have developed.
2. Have you placed candidates in similar roles before, and how did you do it?
Maybe your lab needs another technician to operate smoothly, or maybe you need to replace a retiring chemical engineer. Whatever your situation, asking the recruiter how they’ve found similar candidates in the past can give you insight into their strategy.2 Better yet, ask them to
provide testimonials from customers who had similar hiring needs. A reputable agency with a strong track record will welcome this opportunity.
3. How do you handle clients with continuous but variable hiring needs?
As your business grows and changes, you may reach a stage where you have to hire continuously. At that point, a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) model may give you the best value. RPO recruiters do more than just check boxes and fill in gaps: they build relationships with you and your team, and really come to understand the evolving goals and needs of your organization.
A recruitment agency with experience in RPO for pharma/biotech will also have an established network of suitable candidates, so they’ll be ready to fill vacancies without wasting time getting up to speed.
4. How do you manage referrals from internal employees?
A full 88 percent 3 of businesses report that their best hires are referrals. This makes sense: current employees understand the complexities of your business and have a vested interest in helping your company succeed.
The recruitment agency you choose should understand the value of existing employees. They should also have a trusted method of sourcing employee referrals and presenting you the best ones.
5. How much energy do you spend finding and engaging passive candidates?
Passive candidates usually offer high value – after all, they currently work in the field and can quickly transition into related roles. They’re also the rule rather than the exception, accounting for 79 percent4 of global working professionals. The best recruiters maintain ties with all candidates, not just those who are actively searching.
Potential passive candidates are everywhere – but getting them to entertain new opportunities takes some finesse.5 Your recruiter should have a systematic approach to contacting these candidates. Don’t leave it to chance: ask them to describe their approach.
6. What is your approach to positions that are difficult to fill?
Some positions have such specific requirements that it could take months to fill them. While it’s true that every day your position stays open represents a loss for your company,6 you also don’t want to rush into hiring a bad match and end up spending even more.
If you suspect a position might be tricky to fill, consider a recruitment agency that offers a contingency model. This means you only have to pay when you’ve hired a successful candidate, typically a 20 – 30 percent commission on the new hire’s salary. For the right talent, it’s well worth it – and remember, you pay only for results.
Ask the right recruiter questions and ye shall receive
The more you chat with a potential recruitment agency, the more likely you are to find out make-or-break information about what they offer. And remember: there are no stupid recruiter questions. If a recruiter is serious about attracting new clients, they’ll be more than happy to discuss anything you’re curious about.
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. Effective communication is critical in shaping candidate perception and engagement throughout this process. 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.
What does post-pandemic talent recruiting look like? The recent years of the coronavirus pandemic have highlighted how fragile our supply chain infrastructure can be, with delayed shipments, worker shortages and resource scarcity. These logistical problems also apply to the recruitment, with many biotechs noting a shortage of talent and difficulty bringing in qualified candidates in time to meet demand.
To adjust to this new normal, biotech companies and recruiters must adapt their own post-pandemic talent pipelines and consider new recruitment models. Especially as candidate expectations continue to shift, as explored in Adapting to Changing Candidate Needs in 2024.
Building resilience into your biotech talent pipeline There are several factors that, once addressed, reduce the likelihood of your recruitment drive falling short.
Diversified sourcing of recruiters and talent pool. This is a lesson any supply chain expert will repeat, because it ensures companies are never reliant on one acquisition source for their hires.
Scalable recruitment support. To maximize efficiency, biotech companies should seek agile recruiting agencies that can adjust to changes in client workforce demands.
Lean recruitment models. There are several more cost-effective yet responsive ways to bring in talent, discussed below.
Post-COVID-19 lean recruitment models
There are different lean recruitment models companies can take advantage of, depending on their tolerance for risk and desire for efficiency.
The ‘just in case’ model has more buffers than other lean recruitment models, and involves taking the steps to build resiliency described above. While this approach is less efficient, it guarantees the supply of workers.
The ‘just in time’ model is equivalent to hiring a freelancer or independent contractor to meet demand. The talent is only trained for responsibilities they need to perform, as opposed to more comprehensive traditional onboarding, which leads to quicker onboarding and more efficient use of training time. Part time work, full-time availability. Lower risk to client
Just in time differs from ‘ASAP’ recruitment, which addresses urgent gaps in the workforce, and is more reactive than proactive.
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]
