Career Advice

As they navigate a competitive job market, biopharma professionals are making four key interview mistakes, according to two talent acquisition experts. They discuss those errors and offer tips for how to get those critical conversations right.
Leadership
One of the lowest paid CEOs in pharma—and one of the only woman leading a top-tier giant—is set to receive up to $27.2 million in 2025.
Career Pathing
It’s important to quit your job the right way so you can exit on a positive note, which could benefit you in the future.
Academic and industry jobs are distinguished by their approaches to collaboration and exploratory research, among other factors.
In a tough labor market where layoffs continue, some are considering—or even moving—from industry to academia, according to a BioSpace poll. A career coach, scientist and general practitioner turned research coordinator share their thoughts.
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Top career advice and job trends to manage your life sciences career
From Our Career Coach
Carina Clingman is the founder of The Collaboratory Career Hub, an online community for people interested in working in biotech. She’s also the founder and CEO of Recruitomics Consulting, which specializes in talent acquisition and talent strategy for startup biotechs.
Turn your career aspirations into reality with this step-by-step guide to creating and implementing a strategic professional development plan for 2025.
JOB SEARCH STRATEGY
Over 80% of those living outside of biopharma’s biggest hubs, like San Diego or Boston, have a tough time finding work, according to a BioSpace LinkedIn poll. Biopharma professionals in Oregon and Connecticut and a BioSpace recruitment manager share their insights on this issue.
A BioSpace LinkedIn poll found that job ghosting and ghost jobs are the biggest pet peeves for applicants now. Recruitment Manager Greg Clouse offers advice on dealing with them.
M&As are stressful for multiple reasons, including role changes and getting laid off when staffs combine. Two talent experts share tips for navigating the transition period of your company’s merger or acquisition.
RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS
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.
This webinar will help you discover effective strategies for launching your career in biotechnology. You will gain valuable insights from industry experts and leave with the essential tools you need to thrive in this dynamic field.
During the job application and interview process, candidates who lie to prospective employers and those who don’t properly highlight their accomplishments can find it difficult to land—or keep—their next role. We asked experts how to sell yourself positively and honestly.
INTERVIEWS
When hiring job candidates to work on cell and gene therapies, companies look for more than just technical skills. Talent acquisition executives from Bristol Myers Squibb and Intellia Therapeutics offer an inside look at what they want in an employee.
In our comprehensive guide to salary negotiation, we’ll teach you what a market salary is, how to research a market value salary and, ultimately, how to negotiate your salary according to market value.
Learn five ways to answer difficult interview questions so you can leave the best impression possible on your potential employer.
BioSpace has updated our Job Search Toolkit, including recent resources to help you succeed with your next job search.
Year-over-year BioSpace data show there were fewer job postings live on the website in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the decrease was higher than the third quarter’s drop.
Being laid off is bad enough. When companies mishandle the layoff process, it can make the situation even worse. Four biopharma professionals share how some employers are getting it wrong.
As market values increase for computational biology and data science, biopharma companies are looking to hire R&D professionals in those areas. A biotech talent acquisition expert shares his insights on these in-demand roles.
Gratitude, a key part of stoicism, can benefit those working in—and being served by—the pharmaceutical industry.
Based on how President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration handled immigration, experts are concerned about how his second term will impact foreign-born biopharma professionals. Two immigration attorneys discuss what may be ahead, including increased difficulty getting work visas.
At Drexel University’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies, graduate students and active professionals can take interdisciplinary, career-oriented programs designed to help launch their careers and take them to the next level.
Join us in this discussion on how you can optimize your chances of landing a new role despite a highly competitive job market.
MORE ADVICE
Looking for a biopharma job? Check out the BioSpace list of 12 top companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Looking for a biopharma job in New Jersey? Check out the BioSpace list of eight companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Job postings in California took a dip in December during the holiday period, but activity is expected to pick up in January.
Massachusetts’ increased investment in the life sciences industry includes boosting its life sciences tax incentive program by $10 million annually, aiding job creation in the state.
Many biopharma professionals view smaller companies as having the best flexibility and remote work options, but that doesn’t mean their larger counterparts are failing in that area. Several professionals, including Apogee Therapeutics and Insmed executives, share their insights.
Check out five New York companies hiring biopharma professionals like you, including 2025 Best Places to Work winners.
Year-over-year BioSpace data shows there are fewer job postings live on the website and far more competition for them.
At Johns Hopkins University, the biomedical engineering program’s Design Team offering lets undergraduates dive deep into clinical projects that can help them land industry jobs, get provisional patents or even start companies.
Not everyone who completes a life sciences Ph.D. wants to continue working in a laboratory or in research. If this is the case for you, here are 12 careers for Ph.D. life scientists outside of the lab.