How to Build Relationships with Recruiters

How to Build Relationships with Recruiters

Author:  Claire Jarvis

If you’re new to the biotech job market you may hold the following common misconceptions about recruiters (put your hand up if you’ve believed either of these things): recruiters are indiscriminate in who they reach out to, and they only care about meeting hiring quota.

In reality, biotech recruiters are often very familiar with the industry, because they have long standing relationships with pharma clients, and are trained as scientists themselves. Many recruiters are STEM graduates like yourself, and love talking about science with jobseekers and clients.

If you’re overwhelmed by the post-graduation hunt for a job, working with a boutique biotech recruiter will make your life easier. But if you’ve not worked with specialized recruiters before, you might not know how to build a relationship with one, or let them know you’re job-hunting.

If a biotech recruiter hasn’t reached out to you, here are proactive ways to reach out:

  • Find them on LinkedIn
  • Upload your resume to the agency website
  • Attend mixers or networking events at events in your field (e.g. a Working in Biotech career panel, a young professionals mixer) – it’s likely you’ll find one or two recruiters among the attendees

After introducing yourself: your current role, when you expect to graduate or begin job-hunting, and the job positions you’re interested in – the recruiter will likely ask for an opportunity to chat with you on the phone to learn more.

What to expect in initial phone conversations with recruiters:

  • Don’t be shy – recruiters speak to a lot of people like yourself, and are familiar with conducting these types of conversations and putting you at ease.
  • Practice a brief couple of sentences’ introduction. E.g. I’m an Immunology PhD candidate at X university. Give the other person space to ask follow-up questions.
  • Think about when you are looking for a job and what skills you have. What analytical instruments do you work with? What laboratory techniques do you regularly perform (e.g. PCR, western blot)? Decide what you are looking for in a role, and if you don’t know, think broadly: do you want to work with people, are you interested in being a bench scientist? Would you like to work in a fast-paced start-up, or a more traditional large pharmaceutical company? These answers will help the recruiter decide which roles to put your name towards.

After your initial phone call and emails, don’t be afraid to follow up if you haven’t heard back within an agreed upon timeframe. Recruiters are busy, and clients can experience delays in their hiring process, so recruiters are unlikely to be ignoring you! Checking in regularly demonstrates your continued interest in the roles discussed, as well as your good organization skills.

At Sci.Bio, we’ve helped hundreds of STEM graduates get into their first biotech job. Get in touch to schedule a chat with one of our friendly, knowledgeable recruiters today.

“It’s Not You; It’s Me” – How To Avoid Candidate Ghosting

“It’s Not You; It’s Me” – How To Avoid Candidate Ghosting

Author:  Claire Jarvis

How can you avoid candidate ghosting?  First we need to define ghosting.  The term “ghosting” – when one person drops all contact without warning and no longer replies to your messages – is something you may have heard about in the context of romantic relationships or friendships, but it is becoming a professional phenomenon too.

A recent survey of jobseekers found that 84% of candidates admit to ghosting an employer or potential employer during the past 18 months. As a recruiter, it is frustrating when a candidate stops responding to your calls and does not tell you why. Aside from accepting it’s not a personal reflection on you, here are some ways to reduce the likelihood of candidate ghosting.

Why Candidates Ghost

Unfortunately, the reality of the current workforce and hiring trends means that ghosting is easier – and more tempting than ever.

With the biotech sector still growing fast and struggling to fill their positions – and the rising cost of living prompting many STEM workers to seek better opportunities – recruiters need job candidates slightly more than candidates need them. As a result, jobseekers often move faster than recruiters when applying for jobs and accepting or rejecting offers. They are also frequently working with multiple recruiters or applying to jobs directly. This leads to a situation where candidates are more likely to ghost one recruiter because they’ve accepted another job offer, or they are balancing too many job applications and decide to let some opportunities go.

In the survey mentioned above, 29% of job candidates said the reason they ghosted an employer was because the salary offered was too low. The second most common reason given was the candidate received a better job offer (28%).

How Recruiters Can Avoid Candidate Ghosting

The best way to avoid jobseeker ghosting is to remain approachable and proactive. Keep candidates apprised of delays with their applications (e.g. if the hiring manager is away on vacation until next week), and check in with the candidates regularly. These check-ins should continue even after a job offer is made: if the candidate isn’t receiving updates from their new employer, it may make them nervous and more likely to continue their job search. It is uncommon for a candidate to ghost the company after making a job offer…but it’s not unheard of.

When filling biotech roles, make sure you know what the candidate’s preferred salary range is early in the process, and whether the position you’re trying to fill meets their expectations.

Assume that the candidate is pursuing multiple opportunities simultaneously, and act accordingly. Try to accommodate the candidate’s other applications – if they expect to attend a final stage interview next week, make sure they do not have to wait long to find out the status of the interviews you’ve facilitated.

Lastly, emphasize that you’re supportive of the candidate pursuing other opportunities and accepting competing offers. Some candidates ghost recruiters because they fear an awkward conversation when they admit they’ve accepted another offer. If you want your candidates to tell you when they’ve stopped their job search, it’s best to be understanding.

Looking to fill biotech positions? Sci.bio’s flexible recruiting and sourcing solutions are designed to meet your company’s needs. Get in touch with us today!

Recruiter Spotlight: Kay Chow

Recruiter Spotlight: Kay Chow

Author: Kay Chow/Natalie Zimmerman

Meet Recruiter Kay Chow

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.

How to Beat Recruiter Burnout

How to Beat Recruiter Burnout

Author:  Tess Joosse

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.

References:

  1. 5 Ways to Avoid Recruiter Burnout
  2. Beating Burnout
  3. Many Recruiters Are on a Path to Burnout
  4. How Talent Leaders Can Address Recruiter Burnout
  5. Brief and rare mental “breaks” keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements
  6. Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases
Biotech Recruiting into the Dark: Hiring in Uncertain Economic Times

Biotech Recruiting into the Dark: Hiring in Uncertain Economic Times

Author:  Claire Jarvis

Is there a Biotech Recruiting Slowdown?

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.