This letter was written to one of our recent graduates by the Director of Molecular Biology Research at a small biotechnology company.  This person had previously been with a major pharmaceutical company.

1. Are companies looking for someone who has a narrow specialty that fits their needs?

Companies don't always look for people who have experience in a specific area of research, especially at an entry level which somebody as yourself would likely be. They're more interested in what techniques you know, how you've applied them to whatever projects you have done, etc. They're interested in people who are good scientists-willing to learn, try new things, contribute, and be a real team player. Companies are no place for the person who wants to do it all herself. FLEXIBILITY is the key to success in industry. You have to be willing/able to jump onto/off projects quickly because needs change constantly and some (many) companies don't have a clue where they're going. If you can't give up a project until the end, forget industry. Many great science projects disappear before completion -not because they're bad or not progressing - but because the company's needs have changed. I was a virologist when I got hired into industry to  work on a virus I had never touched before. After a while, that project was killed by upper management and I bounced from here to there until I landed on an another program about which I knew NOTHING  but I learned and my group got some novel things done that many other companies and academics tried/failed to do...

2. Should I use a recruitment agency?

At the lower levels, recruiters aren't worth a thing. Most are incompetent. Best way to find a job is word of mouth from insiders/friends at the company. There are also lots of websites devoted to jobs in biotech (biospace.com, bioview.com, bio.com, etc.) Many companies also have their own websites with job postings, so hunt around on the web for companies in your area.

3. How do I determine whether a company has a future and whether it will be a good employer?

Reputation of companies is harder to assess. Look to see who the founding scientist(s) is. If s/he came from academia, what university? Read the founder's previous papers. Are they any good? Did they have success at another company? What's their plan? Do they have some unique technology that sets them apart from the competitors (likely spelled out on their website)? How much money do they have in the bank? Are they public or private? If possible, identify someone at the company who can meet you and just tell you about them even if there are no jobs at the moment. You can quickly find out if that's the place you'd want when a job opens up or you can rub it off the list. Do they have any products in the pipeline or are they still at the R&D phase? Corporate partnerships? That's usually a good indicator, because a big pharmaceutical company won't part with any money unless they're convinced that the tiny biotech *really* has something to offer.

Check recap.com to see if they have any deals, and perhaps a valuation (recap is not always complete, so absence of info is not evidence of absence).

3. How can I best find out about a small biotech company?

The best way into a company is word-of-mouth. People inside whom you know personally, or people outside who know someone directly inside the company. If there's a job opening, try to get the name of the hiring manager and speak to that person directly. Going through human resources can be a waste of time. In my experience the human resources people frequently rule out qualified candidates for whatever reason, even though the hiring manager might think that they're perfect for the job. Human Resources people aren't scientists, generally, and so have not a clue about good science.

4. Is the form of my curriculum vitae important?

CV: You have to get your CV into perfect condition (CV's differ from academic resumes). For me, spelling errors, bad English, grammar mistakes, colored paper, ornate type face send a CV to the garbage can immediately! The average hiring manager may look at a CV for 30 seconds. If s/he does not see what they want in that first glance, it's into the garbage can. You have to make them want to read it thoroughly. So if they advertise for experience in say, PCR, but don't see that until page 10, it goes into the garbage can. You may have to rework each CV you send out to tailor it to the job description. If they ask for PCR experience, make sure that's where they can find it. The next job may say gel shifts, so make sure that CV has gel shifts in a prominent place. NEVER lie/exaggerate on a CV. They'll find out fast.

Don't list referees on your CV. If they want them, they'll ask. It's a good way for you to find out if your application is making progress, if they call you for references. Otherwise you may never know that they checked or not. After the interview, write a thank you note to EVERYONE you met. You never know who gets to make the decision. Reiterate your strengths in the areas that they want and how YOU can contribute to their goals. You're a "team player...." Make sure you know what your referees will say about you. The worst thing is for a referee to say something like "she's a good scientist, just not motivated, or is a slob with ³²P...."etc. You would be amazed how often that happens!

DO NOT talk salary, especially on the first interview. If the topic comes up, say: "Are we ready to discuss that?" or "We're not ready to discuss that yet." Try to make them make the first money offer. The minute you mention money you hurt yourself. If you ask for more than they're willing to pay, that's the end for you. If you ask less, they'll either think you don't have a high value of yourself, and/or they'll just pay you less than they expected to do. If forced into this discussion, say something like "commensurate with others of my experience in your company". Or try to get them to give you the range for that position in their company. Then shoot for the middle of that range.

Try to get a written job description-good luck! Most small companies haven't a clue about job descriptions (in other words, they expect you to do everything). Try to get an organization chart showing who reports to whom and where your position fits into the scheme.

As you can see, there's lots to getting a good job in biotech. Also remember, the average job these days only lasts ~3 yrs. So expect to have multiple jobs and multiple research areas over your career.....

Hope this helps! Good luck....!

Return to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology Site Guide

Return to the careers page

This page copyright 2000, The Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina
This page last changed on Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Page maintained by Richard Hunt
URL: http://www.med.sc.edu:85/links/advice.htm
Please report any problems to rhunt@uscmed.sc.edu