US hiring in pharma picks up speed and intensity
Candidate-driven CDMOs attract best talent
Daniel Ferzoco, Michael Page, Boston
What are the top success factors when it comes to hiring in the pharma and CMO/CDMO market?
The pharmaceutical industry in the US is growing into an extremely competitive market because of skyrocketing demand for drugs and therapies. There is a huge demand for CROs and CDMOs as pharma companies in Boston, Cambridge, need to outsource certain components of their processes. Investors are pumping money into early-stage drug discovery companies, which typically have a handful of scientists, but lack the resources to manufacture, develop and guide the molecule through the initial phases and through to commercialization.
At PageGroup, we have seen many such early-stage pharma companies come up in Boston, Cambridge, and also in the Bay Area in the United States. The only way for them to survive and thrive is to outsource to CROs (clinical and contract research organizations), CDMOs, and to manufacturing organizations as well. There is huge and growing demand for the services of CROs, CMOs and CDMOs, who are increasingly having to hire to fill their own talent needs. I don't see the demand for talent in this sector reducing anytime soon.
One of the biggest challenges faced by CROs, CMOs and CDMOs is their need for business representatives with a strong background in science education and also the commercial experience and skills to sell these types of services. Among CROs, there is huge demand for scientists, business development directors, managers, senior directors, and candidates with manufacturing skills. But these roles are hard to fill - for example, it is extremely rare to find a business development director with a PhD in chemistry or biology as well as the commercial experience to sell CRO or CDMO services. They also need a network of small and large molecule innovator companies in their market. The companies are seeking scientists in the discovery space that want to step into commercial roles – but these candidates are rare and in high demand.
How to win in a candidate-short market
I typically go to the most traditional pathway to finding quality talent through referrals. Referrals are our friends - and the referrals have friends, right? One of my recent placements was a referral from a referral. The CRO and CDMO industry is an intertwined, tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone else. So, whether a company is looking for talent in gene therapy, small molecule, or large molecule space, there is bound to be someone who knows someone else that can help. Those within the industry attend the same trade shows and industry events. In that sense, referrals trump every type of source for talent search.
From a hiring perspective, the market has been moving at breakneck speed. In the life sciences sector in the past, the recruitment cycle would take anywhere between four and six weeks. Now it's a fraction of that time. The shift to online interviewing is partly the reason for this. Only the candidates that interview for roles requiring onsite presence, like technical, production, or lab roles, meet recruiters in-person. Sometimes, I have seen clients make an offer to a candidate after the first meeting, and we have to step in to slow down the hiring team so as not to overwhelm the candidate. Since there are fewer candidates for the same role, there is a lot of pressure on the clients to fill roles as soon as possible.
It's a really good time to be a candidate. The market is even more candidate-driven than in the past, especially in biotech and pharma. There is more venture capital investment in this space than ever before and there are many more options for candidates to choose from.
The pandemic has significantly accelerated the speed of the recruitment cycle, and led to widespread acceptance of new ways of working. Candidates have become comfortable accepting an offer from a company whose office they haven’t even set foot in.
I think that the intensity of hiring has picked up, too, - there is a sincere need to hire manufacturing science and technology engineers to aid in vaccine production. This work directly saves lives, meaning that hiring is now linked to a larger mission.
My advice to CDMOs would be to advertise to your candidates. Tell them who you are. From my experience in the Boston market, it is equally important to build trust and to cultivate a relationship from the very first conversation that you have with a candidate. Make the effort to truly understand your candidate, their needs, what makes them tick, and their challenges. Relationship building goes a really long way, especially in the tightknit market like the Boston life sciences market and the life sciences community in general.
If you are interested in reading more trends in Healthcare and Life Sciences, download our eBook HERE Talent Trends & Strategic Partnerships in Pharma
What do you think are the top challenges facing pharma and contract organizations? And how can industry professionals start to confront them? Drop me a message below.