Candidates looking to enter biotech should focus on cultivating key skills, thoughtfully crafting their resumes and putting their best, most authentic foot forward in interviews. An internship, co-op or fellowship won’t hurt, either.
Despite significant challenges including funding issues, biotech is still a robust industry, with many companies BioSpace recently surveyed in hiring mode, shared Chantal Dresner, BioSpace vice president of marketing, during the “Breaking Into Biotech” webinar. That’s good news for college students, recent grads and those looking to enter industry, especially given there’s interest in what they can offer.
“There is definitely an appetite for early-career talent, particularly as many of those organizations are looking to diversify,” Dresner said. “They’re looking to build long-term talent pipelines and establish partnerships.”
During the webinar presented by Johns Hopkins University and BioSpace, four panelists joined Dresner to provide tips for breaking into the biotech industry, with an emphasis on helping college students and recent graduates.
Entryway Into Industry: Internships, Co-ops and Fellowships
For those attending college, there’s nothing better they can do as a student than have an internship, a co-op or a fellowship, according to Kevin Snyder, associate director of early career talent acquisition at Bristol Myers Squibb.
“It’s really the best way for you to try out an industry, try out an area that you might not have a lot of experience in, and it allows you to see a company for what they have to offer as well,” he said. “It goes both ways. It’s not just them seeing how your skills are, but it’s you testing them out to see if they’re going to be a good fit for you at the end of the day.”
Internships, co-ops and fellowships are the perfect entryway into an organization, Snyder shared, noting that many companies try to convert those populations into full-time roles.
From AI to Collaboration: Skills in Demand
For anyone looking to enter biotech, both hard and soft skills are in demand, according to the panelists. For hard skills, there’s a significant demand for artificial intelligence and bioinformatics knowledge, noted Eric Gaffen, director of talent acquisition and new employee experience at Visterra. He also noted a need for lab skills in areas like cell culture, flow cytometry, polymerase chain reaction and protein purification.
That said, Gaffen shared it’s most important that job seekers show a desire to learn and develop new skills.
“We’re looking at you as you as a long-term investment, as a long-term addition to our team, and we want to know that you’re going to learn, grow, develop and be excited by any new techniques that we have to offer you,” he said.
For soft skills, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and adaptability are important, noted Anisha Patel, senior director of talent acquisition at Eli Lilly. She also highlighted interpersonal and people skills.
“How do you work as a team? Can you collaborate? Can you build professional relationships?” Patel said. “Because, to be frank, to get any work done in any industry, you have to interact with others.”
Getting Resumes Past Screening Tools
Once it’s time to apply for a position, job candidates sometimes worry about getting their resumes past screening tools like applicant tracking systems. The panelists shared several tips for creating attention-getting resumes.
Share achievements, not job descriptions
When sharing their job experience, candidates should share what they’ve achieved as opposed to providing job descriptions, advised Gaffen. He added that if applicants highlight specific skills at the top of their resumes, they should reflect those skills in their accomplishments.
“The resume should be bragging,” Gaffen said. “It should be talking about data and what you’ve accomplished.”
Avoid common resume mistakes
It’s also important to avoid making common resume mistakes, said Carina Clingman, founder of The Collaboratory Career Hub, an online community for people interested in working in biotech, and founder and CEO of Recruitomics Consulting. Clingman recently highlighted those mistakes, which include using fancy formatting and overusing keywords, in her BioSpace column “Career Coach: 10 Resume Mistakes That Might Cost You Your Dream Job.”
Given not every company will review every resume, it’s important to avoid errors, Clingman said.
“You need to make a marketing document that, within a second, I can look at and I can understand why you applied for this job,” she advised.
Have multiple people review the resume
Multiple people should review a candidate’s resume, according to Snyder. Those reviewers can include people in a university’s career services department, friends and mentors. The more eyes candidates get on their resume to make sure it’s buttoned up, the better, Snyder said.
“If there’s spelling errors on your resume or if there’s formatting issues, it’s not going to make it past,” he said. “And those are simple things that you can fix.”
Acing the Interview
Once job seekers secure interviews, it’s time to further market themselves. Each panelist shared recommendations for how to ace the interview.
Be authentic
Patel and Gaffen recommended being authentic. Gaffen noted the No. 1 mistake people make when interviewing for their first industry position is presenting themselves as a version of what they think the company wants instead of who they are.
“If you are your authentic self in the interview, and then you feel accepted, you feel the culture is the right fit for you, you feel connected to the people that you interview with, you’re going to last a long time at that organization, and you’re going to have a great experience there,” he said.
Be energetic
Clingman advised bringing energy to the interview, especially if it’s over video.
“It really is so hard to be high energy on Zoom,” she said. “But if you’re excited about the job, if you’re passionate about the company, bring it and show it because how much more fun is it to have a really high-energy conversation with somebody?”
Use the STAR method
It’s important to use storytelling skills that showcase accomplishments, Snyder said. He recommended the STAR method—describing a situation, task, action and result—as a way job candidates can brag about themselves without being too boastful.
“As recruiters, we love to be able to see a complete story,” Snyder said. “It helps us envision and picture what you’re trying to say at the end of the day.”
Ask for the job
At the end of an interview, candidates should ask for the job, according to Snyder.
“If students are coming in with the same skill sets and maybe some of the same experiences—they’re on even ground—the candidate that has the passion, that wants the job, that asks about next steps, that says, ‘Hey, this is exactly what I want,’ those are the people that we’re probably going to consider and pass through the next rounds,” he said. “So, don’t forget to ask for the job.”
Send a thank-you email
After an interview, job candidates should send a thank-you email, advised Gaffen. He noted that the practice is no longer the norm. This gives candidates an opportunity to make an impression.
“Separate yourself,” Gaffen said. “Write a thank-you note and be specific. Say ‘Thank you for sharing information on blank. I had a great interview. Hope to hear from you soon.’”
Don’t Stress About Getting That First Job
When it comes to breaking into biotech, Patel had a simple piece of advice for college students, recent grads and others looking to enter industry: Don’t stress about those job applications.
“If you didn’t get that first job, you didn’t get that second job, it’s OK,” she said. “You will have the right job. Trust me, you will. Just be patient.”
Interested in more career insights? Subscribe to Career Insider to receive our quarterly life sciences job market reports, career advice and more.
