Medzilla.com discusses making
the transition to biotech recruiting
By: Lisette Hilton
May 22, 2002
Source: MedZilla.com
Biotechnology recruiting is hot. It's more active
than IT and telecommunications and it isn't suffering the shortages
in other areas of healthcare, says Frank Heasley, PhD, President and
CEO, of MedZilla.com, a leading Internet recruitment and professional
community that targets jobseekers and HR Professionals in biotechnology,
pharmaceuticals, healthcare and science.
Still, according to Dr. Heasley and other biotech
recruiting professionals, it may not be the time to jump onto the
biotech bandwagon. There are things that recruiters who are thinking
about making the leap should know.
"A lot of recruiters have been thinking
about biotech recruiting as a safe haven until their own sectors come
back to life. But what most people don't know, is that it's among
the toughest recruiting areas to break into," Dr. Heasley says.
"We have seen a lot of people from IT and other industries having
problems moving into biotech before they were properly prepared."
Learn the language of biotechnology
Veteran biotech recruiter Tina Hunter Stewart,
President of Tampa, FL.-based BioPharmMed, an executive search firm
specializing in medical device, biotech and pharmaceutical, warns
that biotech recruiting is different than other recruiting areas because
many hiring officials are at the PhD level. "Most do not have
tolerance for recruiters who do not clearly understand the language
of biotech. So it requires recruiters who have either come out of
a biotech background, or have a very clear understanding of the regulatory
requirements, clinical and scientific requirements and are able to
speak the language of biotech at least on a conversational level,"
Stewart says.
Understanding the vocabulary is not only necessary
when dealing with clients, Stewart says, but also with job candidates.
"Recruiters have to be able to identify candidates and determine
if they have the technical expertise necessary. Biotech is probably
the most stringent area to get into. I think medical device and pharmaceutical
is a little easier to pick up," she says.
Dr. Heasley, who holds a doctorate in bacteriology
and was a biotech recruiter for five years before launching Medzilla.com
in 1994, recommends that recruiters get to know the field and have
a life sciences or healthcare background. "Some sort of background
in the life sciences or healthcare is almost a prerequisite so that
the language isn't foreign to you," Dr. Heasley says. "I
would hate to be the person who doesn't understand this field calling
up someone at the NIH, for example, and asking them to refer people.
Communication is essential to the recruiting discipline. If you can't
ask the right questions, then you can't expect reasonable answers."
While Susan L. Metayer, principal staffing
consultant at Rockville, MD.-based Biotech Resources, a permanent
staffing agency specializing in the bio-pharmaceutical industry, thinks
biotech recruiters need to be knowledgeable, she doesn't think that
the field is quite so daunting. "I have a colleague that I worked
with at a telecommunications staffing agency and he had gotten into
the biotech side. Basically, he did it because the telecommunications
industry is dead in the water right now. He's doing well in biotech,"
Metayer says. "He has done a lot of research on the Internet,
and I've been helping him out as much as I can. I think that if you
have the background of recruiting it takes some studying and knowing
the right people. Use contacts that you already have in the industry
as a resource to increase your knowledge base."
Find the right candidate for the right job
According to Metayer, client companies are
very specific on the type of background that they are seeking. For
example, she says, recruiters should not try to fill an MD opening
in an oncology trial with an MD who has a background in allergic diseases.
Even for mid-level clinical research positions, clients want people
whose backgrounds match the focus of the trials.
The option of doing what you know in biotech
Stewart says that she has seen recruiters going
through a difficult transition period while moving into biotech, which
requires the same high level of knowledge and professionalism as the
fields they already know. "I have a lot of IT recruiters calling
me constantly because I'm on a couple of boards. Many of them want
to get into this business but they don't know how to do it or they're
nervous," she says. "What I try to tell them is
that every pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device company has
an IT department and those departments will need your expertise. Why
should you learn the biotech scientific area and try to transition
from placing IT people to placing scientists and researchers and the
like? Instead, stick with what you know."
Understand the industry
The shortages troubling other areas of healthcare
are not so prominent in biotechnology, says Stewart. Still, there
are some areas of shortage. "In biotech, we're finding that in
the areas of clinical research and regulatory affairs there are shortages
of available candidates. So, biotech companies are resorting to a
lot more contracting and consulting
arrangements in those positions to offer flexibility and be able to
staff up when they're in the middle of different phases of clinical
trials," Stewart explains.
Stewart remarks, "We see somewhat of a
turnover in the executive ranks at the VP, president and CEO levels.
Companies are continually trying to attract new and different talent
to their senior ranks to help them reposition their companies or to
try to attract someone who has a presence in the industry who can
lend them credence."
For those who are qualified, biotech offers
rewards
To be successful in any business, one has to
enjoy the industry, Metayer says. "I find biotech very exciting.
The advances in medicine are fascinating," she says.
Dr. Heasley commented, "While they were
challenging, the years I spent as a biotech recruiter and executive
were rewarding. The industry makes a difference in people's lives,
and, as a result, those who work in it need to be knowledgeable. They,
in turn, expect the best from the recruiters they entrust with finding
some of their most valuable professionals. At MedZilla, we work closely
with pharmaceutical and biotech decision-makers, recruiters and job
candidates on a daily basis. We are enthusiastic about the near and
long term prospects for growth, discovery and contribution to the
greater good in these fields."
