[Elements of Success] Biotech Seminar

It was billed as a resume session, but it was way better than that.  We met with two people from a smaller biotech company and one from a large company.  From the smaller company we had a business guy and a research guy.  From the larger company was a lady who started out in academia, moved into marketing, and is now in sales.

Notes about the Biotech Industry

• Scale economies have to be achieved when they can be.
• Marketing is very scalable because everything must be marketed.
• Development is moderately scalable.
• Discovery is not scalable.
• In 2011 many drug patents expire.
• Big pharma can't fix their discovery machine, so they turn to smaller ones.
• Small to medium sized companies are where new stuff comes from.  Large companies contract with the smaller ones.

Careers in Biotechnology

• Look at internship programs.
• PhD’s can do a post-doc in industry.
• To get a job, networking (especially at meetings) is vital.
• Technical training (B.S.) is a prerequisite even for business positions.
• Cross-functional collaboration is key in small-medium sized companies.

Finding a Biotech Job

• Try to get past HR with contacts.  You must have a significant portion of the minimum requirements. 
• At some larger companies, a computer algorithm looks for key words in your resume/cv, so tailor them to match the job description. 
• The cover letter is very important. 
• The objective is what you can bring to the company. 
• “I want to bring my expertise to the company to help them meet their objectives.” 
• If working with a recruiter- meet them in person. (Big in Boston and San Francisco)

 

An Interview in Biotech

Expect:
30-60 minutess long
There should be ~5 relaxed intro, but no personal questions or off-limits topics.
Core assessment
-Objectives and resume
-Questions to identify behavioral characteristics
It should end with a wrap-up.

General:
Research the people who are interviewing you and get background on the company.
Behavioral- good communication during the interview is important to demonstrate skills.
Make good eye contact (A post on this is to follow)
Don't ramble.  Be succinct without being abrupt.
Interviewee should talk 80% of the time.
Ask some questions to balance the conversation.
Don't answer questions with questions.
If you don't know: "I'm sorry, I can't answer that, can I get back to you?"
Business attire of course- better overdressed than under.

Specifics:
Background-Why are you interested in this company?
Legal- They can't ask about married, kids, nationality, etc.  You can bring up your own info like this if you want.

Provide examples of situations when you
-made extraordinary efforts to meet a deadline.
-took responsibility.
-made key decisions.
-were flexible, adaptive, and handled hurdles.
-were given an assignment with little direction.

Demonstrate that you
-are not sensitive to criticism.
-take initiative.
-are forward thinking.
-are strategic.
-have good business acumen.
-can motivate the team.
-can deal with issues.
-have leadership/followership.
-are a team player.
-prioritize 1-Customer, 2-Company, 3-Team, 4-Self.

Demonstrate
-what you have brought to a presentation or talk.
-what you have brought to your team.

I must say that there was one note I had that I didn't understand at all.  Please clarify if you know what it means:
"Know what the end goal is and predicted measures"