How do you stand out from the crowd?

Prior to setting up my own business, I said to myself;

“I am going to work on innovative marketing strategies, put together great content for blogs and take time out of my day, not just to do the day job but go above and beyond helping others…”

We have swiftly moved into month 3, and while sat semi-watching the latest edition of the gift that will one day (here’s hoping) stop giving Star Wars, thought this is as good a time as any to share a recent experience.

I have read some great blogs, many from seasoned writers, often those that make it their sole profession, so I hope I haven't lost you just yet. Working with many Medical Writers and Editors down the years myself, I had better watch out for typos and grammatical errors, I am sure they will point out any I make (if there is, I am saying it’s deliberate, too test you!!!).

Today I took an afternoon out of my day to go and meet with two motivated individuals looking for their first step into the industry. The first a post-doc with an incredible amount of knowledge within the Oncology space. He had been at many leading institutes both in the UK and the US but wanted to have a shift away from research, to the world of Medical Writing. The other a recent Pharmacy graduate looking to move into a MSL (Medical Science Liaison) position, he had a great exposure within the Cardiovascular space and had invested in many training courses, spent time shadowing existing MSLs.

Both great guys, really nice, personable and incredibly motivated to achieve great things but both finding it hard to stand out in what is a highly competitive market.

To set the scene; the sun was out, and yes we may have even have pushed the boat out, grabbing a couple of iced lemonades (devils I know).

What really struck me from both, was the genuine appreciation for sharing insight and giving direction, let’s face it, us recruiters, headhunters or whatever other names we’re referred to as (please keep them PG) don’t have great reputations… My conversations with them showed me why; broken promises, missed calls, lack of empathy, no consulting, just a purely transactional relationship that beyond that initial call was frankly going nowhere. Essentially recruiters were not interested in them as neither were deemed “attractive to their clients”.

I took the time to explain to them how I try to work, but also the fact that many companies traditionally utilize my expertise for mid-senior hires (managing expectations around what I have available for them). Both were looking for very different roles, Medical Writing positions within a Healthcare Agency, and MSL positions within the Biotech or Pharma world. Very different clients, but I explained to them the thing that does change from industry to industry is it’s still run by people, meaning it's a persons judgement or first impression of them which is going to be key!

Why don’t they take apply directly???? (I hear you ask). Well, probably a separate subject, but one of my clients posted a entry level MSL position and received 264 applications in 3 weeks. Try to stand out if you can!!!

As a recruiter who has been in the Life Sciences space since 2011, what do I do differently to stand out?

Well neither of them had ever had a meeting with a recruiter… that’s a start. Neither has had a consultation around the format of their CV. The importance of writing a covering letter. Neither had been given interview advice for upcoming conversations they were having (one was blown away by the STAR format for answering interview question). Hopefully, you get where I am going with this...

They walked away with a number of contacts to approach, a new found confidence in how to apply and stand out. They got what I believe was great advice, and I am sure whether it’s in 12, 18 or 24 months they will be in touch again and work with me again.

Sometimes it's not all about the here and now... sometimes it is.

If you would like to arrange an informal conversation, or a meeting to discuss the next steps in your career, or advice on how to stand out in your search for new opportunities, please feel free to get in touch.

Jake Byrne

Albion Rye Associates Ltd

#recruitment #advice #hiring #interviews #graduates #recruiting