Today’s labor market poses multiple challenges for life science companies. The right life science executive search firm knows how to navigate today’s market and can help identify talent that is critical to an organization’s operations. There are a number of challenges when trying to hire senior-level talent in today’s market, including: identifying and accessing talent, negotiating terms, and convincing potential candidates that joining your team is the right career choice.
Each of the various talent acquisition challenges that life science companies face in today’s market require precision and strategy to overcome.
Time is of the essence when finding the right talent and leadership for a company going through a growth phase. Consequently, the solution for most companies is to outsource the recruiting process. However, it’s important to find a search firm that understands the unique challenges your industry faces.
Here are a few advantages to selecting a life science executive search firm that focuses exclusively in the life science industry for your next life science hire.
1. Access To The Best Candidates
With a historically low unemployment rate, most of the candidates you want to talk to for your life science vacancy will be employed at another company. Many of these candidates will qualify as passive candidates.
Passive candidates are professionals who are not actively seeking a new job, but are open to hearing about possibilities. Passive candidates are often the ideal candidate for your company, even though they are not actively looking for a new job. Passive candidates won’t organically apply to your open position. That’s where a life science search firm can be valuable.
A search firm that specializes in the life science industry has relationships with an abundant network of professionals that can lead them to passive candidates who are high performers and have the specific skills and experience you need. If these passive candidates aren’t contacted by a search firm, they would never learn about the opportunity with your company. Many hiring managers are surprised to learn that most of the prospective candidates in the industry are not only unaware of opportunities, but aren’t even aware of their company. A specialized search firm is regularly in direct contact with passive candidates who will fit your company’s needs, know where to look, and know how to find other passive candidates that they don’t speak with regularly.
2. Industry Expertise
The life science industry is vast and ever expanding. While both medical device companies and biopharma companies exist in the life science space, there is a tremendous difference between these types of companies. A benefit of partnering with a search firm that works exclusively within life sciences is that their industry expertise makes them keenly aware of the unique challenges your company faces.
Specialized recruiters at these firms spend their days speaking with life science business professionals. Through these conversations, they absorb a great deal of industry knowledge. These life science recruiters speak the language of the life science world and understand the precise career paths within each functional area of the industry. Their industry expertise enables them to present you with a more robust panel of candidates to fill your needs faster.
3. Functional Teams
Life science executive search firms, like Marcus & Associates, have specialized teams dedicated to specific functional areas. We understand how unique the required skill set is for a qualified product development manager versus a compliance officer. The functions within the life science industry have unique needs, and their searches deserve to be led by recruiting professionals who spend all of their time working in their function.
That’s why firms like Marcus & Associates structure their teams into functional areas. The team conducting your search focuses not only on the life science industry, but also on the type of position that you are seeking to fill. We have six teams divided into the following functional areas:
- Research & Preclinical
- Clinical & Medical
- Product Development & CMC
- Regulatory Affairs, Quality, and Compliance
- Commercial
- Human Resources & Corporate
Further Reading: A Comprehensive Guide To Life Sciences Executive Search