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.

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