Pharmaceutical Jobs

Biotech Manager, Scott Peacock from Seltek consultants, took some time out recently to talk to us about the company and their views on the market for 2010.

Seltek have been in the recruitment business for an impressive 25 yrs and specialise in the biotech and clinical diagnostic sectors. They offer and fill commercial roles in the life sciences arena, incorporating molecular diagnostics, core research products, instrumentation and service engineers. In the past 9 yrs, Seltek have also been moving into the medical device market and clinical research.

As such they have in depth market knowledge, and ongoing relationships with their clients. Seltek protect this by hiring only the best consultants, all of whom are professionally trained to REC standards.

In terms of the candidates they represent, Seltek take on people ranging from graduates with a degree in a life science subject up to CEO level. They deal with multilingual roles in areas such as France, Germany, and the Nordics, though focusing mainly in UK positions. Many entry level candidates Seltek seek to place are educated to at least PHD and even PHD plus MBA standard, and they find themselves dealing with the academically super-qualified on a regular basis.

This does not guarantee jobs however, as Scott explains,

“They need to be committed to making the change from a research laboratory or post doctoral research role to being commercially orientated whether in a sales or technical support role. These are customer facing positions and the applicant needs to be convinced in their own mind that it is a route they want to follow.”

Furthermore, Scott believes it is highly transparent to a potential employer if a candidate is not entirely sure about the role they are interviewing for,

“Many recruitment managers will ask the stock question, ‘have you made any other applications’ and a surprisingly large number of candidates with academic backgrounds will respond about the research roles they have applied for. Immediately begging the question – well why are you here talking about a commercial role?”

It is important to remember that an unsure new employee who decides they don’t like the job and leaves, costs organisations far more than their recruitment cost and salary.

Cost implications include the wasted cost of training, the HR expense, the time lost interviewing and then re-interviewing. Hence, any suggestion that a candidate is not entirely focused on the sector they are applying for is likely to ensure they don’t progress further.

So how do Seltek suggest academic applicants can be sure and convincing in their pursuit of a role in commercial positions? Scott thinks talking to the sales people who come into the lab, finding out how they got into their job, what they like about it, what they dislike and what they find difficult gives invaluable insight.

Applicants should also look to their extra curricular activities – have they created something from nothing, convinced others of a particular course of action or basically, done anything where they have had to strive and push themselves. Many employers will look to this aspect of the CV as a good indicator of character.

This desire to succeed is a key attribute to have and demonstrate for success in a commercial role. Whilst in a research laboratory everyone is basically paid the same, a commercial role requires a desire to be rewarded for ones own efforts- if an employee does well sales increase, they get bigger bonuses and get promoted more quickly. Employers want employees who are excited and motivated by this prospect rather than scared by it. Candidates need to be honest with themselves about whether such a role is right for them.

Seltek recruit for roles right up to CEO level and see many experienced professionals looking to move into the sectors they specialise in. Their advice for experienced candidates is to:

• identify key transferable skills which will be attractive to the employer
• thoroughly research the industry you are looking to move into
• ensure good knowledge of the potential customer base you could be selling to
• make the most of any overlaps in knowledge/ contacts from your existing position
• choose a recruitment firm specialised in the sector you are keen to move into
• work with one recruiter rather than registering with many- this ensures dedicated attention and one on one service from the recruitment firm

More generally, Seltek see themselves as advisors and want placements to be successful for both the candidate and the companies. As such they aim for long term relationships and actively work with their candidates in areas such as improving CVs and interview techniques. Peacock explains that around 75% of CVS received have spelling, typos and grammatical errors in them, an incredible stat given the seniority of position they recruit up to, but something they are keen to help with.

Seltek have ridden the economic difficulties of the past 12 months with aplomb, helped by their focus in expanding biotech rather than the pharma industry, where sales forces continue to be under threat. They have seen confidence growing exponentially in recent months as companies start to release recruitment budget on the basis of solid results for the year.

Looking to the future Seltek see a continued regaining of the confidence held by the market back in 2007. As happened this year, they are anticipating more mergers and acquisitions in the biotech space, but feel it will be a period of consolidation rather than rapid growth.

There are still challenges to be faced however. Scott admits whilst it seems unlikely in the current climate, the biggest issue is always finding the right people. “The jobs are actually out there, yet sourcing the high quality people required with experience is tough”.

So, for potential candidates out there, following Seltek’s advice about getting into biotech and clinical diagnostics areas would seem a worthwhile exercise. For academics it is essential to demonstrate aptitude for the commercial roles and for the experienced, demonstrating key skills and achievements well are important.

The right pharmaceutical jobs are out there and are looking for the right candidate.

In a recent interview we conducted, Steve Twinley, Head of Pharmaceuticals at SLS recruitment, gives his view on how candidates can stand out in a saturated market.

SLS have built a small, highly specialised pharma team – and operate somewhat differently to the standard pharma recruitment firm. Firstly, they segment the market geographically, focusing on London down to the South Coast, representing the majority of pharma and pharma related organisations in the area. Secondly, they have established a specific niche in the field of clinical trial supplies. As such SLS can find candidates from graduates to directors, positions in areas that perhaps they had never considered, but which lead to enriching roles with great security.

Interestingly, despite the economic slowdown, Twinley sees the sector as becoming more labour intensive. Where typically SLS would receive 30 CVs in the past, they are now receiving 200, and not necessarily the best CVs as some companies use recession as an excuse to offload lesser employees.

There is also increased candidate indecision, and frustrating situations where candidates are offered a job and turn it down. SLS have witnessed this increasingly as some applicants are ‘keeping an eye out’, feeling their role might be under threat of redundancy, but when it comes down to a real job offer decide to stay with what they know.

As a result, SLS are increasingly selective in exactly which candidates they choose to take on, to ensure their clients have the best chance of meeting their resource need and that their candidates receive the best service possible.

So how can a candidate stand out in this more fastidious market? From a graduate perspective, Twinley expresses frustration that candidates don’t elaborate on their CVs about what they have done.

“Most CVs show a 2:1 or 2:2 in pharmaceutical sciences, a couple of lines about the degree, and then focus on their employment history which for many graduates is bar/shop work. When you have 100s of CVs you want to know what this candidate can offer which no-one else can. It is far more compelling to give more information about relevant experience, i.e. marks acheived in each module, what projects they did, what their dissertation was about.”

And for people with experience, it seems obvious, but SLS stress CVs need to be relevant to the role applied for. Amazingly, many candidates don’t include a cover letter with their CV, and as this is the first introduction of the person to the company, such applicants will rarely get a call back. Also, cover letters are often not specific and relevant to why the applicant wants the job. In a market where people are applying for anything and everything, if a role applied for appears to be a sidestep, it is essential that the applicant explains why they want to sidestep and shows an understanding of the transferable skills needed. Clients want people who show an active interest in the role they are applying for.

The message would seem clear, job hunters need to put real effort in if they expect to get a good recruitment company representing them and interviews from that representation.

Twinley was also keen to discuss the impact of increased competition amongst recruitment firms currently:

“You see 100s (of recruitment firms) advertising in Pharma Focus. It is very saturated and for a candidate in sectors such as sales & marketing, if you post your CV on a site you will be jumped on by 20 recruitment companies within 48 hrs.”

Even though the SLS niche approach protects them from such aggressive competitors, they are increasingly noticing large recruitment firms attempting to access the 3rd party sector.

“We have come across situations where other agencies will mailshot CVs without candidate approval and also some agencies who are dropping recruitment fees.” says Twinley.

Whilst SLS are nothing if not competitive, they point out this strategy might be appropriate for short term gain, but drives down margin in the long term. The costs of providing a professional service do not change, so value will undoubtedly be compromised somewhere if fees are reduced, a factor which could jeopardise important client relationships.

Such strategies can be tough for small firms like SLS to weather and Twinley admits that 2009 has been a steadier year than high growth years such as 07/08, although putting it down to fewer roles being available rather than clients leaving.

It would seem a tough market indeed with fees being driven down, candidate overload and client expectations, however, looking to next year, Twinley is optimistic about the future for SLS:

“SLS deals with many companies offering 3rd party services and these 3rd parties are doing well as big pharma outsources more and more. The industry is obviously not going to die, but it is changing so it makes sense for people to move from big pharma and join specialist start ups, biotechs, 3rd parties providing outsource services.”

Given the SLS client base, this change in industry emphasis is likely to have a positive impact for the business going forward.

Talking recently with Vicky Botes, a marketing executive from recruitment firm Zenopa, it was reassuring to hear that their company mantra is “recruitment with integrity.” or, put another way, “we put client and candidate needs before our own.” Not perhaps the norm in the cut throat world of recruitment! It would seem this strategy has proven successful for Zenopa as they deal mainly with candidates and clients who have been with them for years, and with whom they have fostered a long term association.

In business since 1991, Zenopa have national UK coverage with offices in Buckinghamshire, Leeds and Scotland. The company focus on commercial roles in marketing and sales within the pharmaceutical and medical devices sector, plus the veterinary, dental and healthcare communication industry. They specialise in positions ranging from director level to marketing management, sales representatives to graduates. And it would seem a great position to be in, as over the last 12 months, Zenopa have felt largely unaffected by the economic slowdown.

Botes puts this down to the continued growth of the ageing population, meaning greater numbers of people are now reliant on healthcare to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle. The pharmaceutical industry is obviously on hand to produce and supply these medicines, and hence still needs professionals to market and sell them. Therefore, the pharmaceutical division remains a lucrative sector to operate in. The only fly in the ointment are headcount freezes imposed at some organisations, which have slowed the recruitment process, but not enough to have a significant impact on the fortunes of Zenopa.

And further good news looking to the future- there are plenty of opportunities for candidates out there. There has been a shift in focus with the pharmaceutical industry moving from broad brush solutions to niche medication for specific ailments. As a result, recruitment of candidates to sell to these niche markets is growing. Zenopa believe this is going to continue for the foreseeable future.

Not only are there ample opportunities for candidates, but candidates are actually able to be choosy about roles. Whilst confidence at Zenopa is high, candidates who have experienced redundancy are understandably keen to ensure the liquidity of the companies they have interviews with. Furthermore, as pharma tends to look after its high flying employees well, many candidates are keen to only have conversations about jobs where they gain a new skill i.e. selling medical devices instead of products, or working on a product that they have a strong belief in. Where clients with such roles exist, competition amongst candidates is strong.

Botes advises that graduates coming into the industry should spend time shadowing sales representatives before going for interviews, to gain a real understanding of how the industry works at grass roots level and gain a competitive edge. For experienced applicants, nothing can be more attractive to a prospective employee than a proven track record, whether that be impressive sales figures, or relationships built with clients.

Looking to the next few months, whilst many organisations wind down in the run up to Christmas, Zenopa normally see a cyclical recruitment increase in last quarter of the year.

“Companies are looking to fill their key positions now, so that once the new year begins new employees can start fresh.” says Botes so now is a great time to be applying, and who knows, it could be the start of a beautiful, ‘long term’ relationship…