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[toc headings=h2] The biotech job market is booming, with the number of jobs available in the sector growing by 5.3% between January 2021 and January 2022. Even in this robust employment landscape, though, finding the right job isn't always easy. In fact, the proliferation of open positions can make it even harder to find your ideal opportunities since you'll need to sift through jobs that aren't a good fit to find them. A recruiter can be an invaluable ally for biotech candidates who are looking, not just for a new job, but one that will advance their career. Of course, that leads to another question: how do you find the right recruiter for you? There are a plethora of firms out there, each with their own recruiting approach and areas of specialty. Knowing what to look for in a recruiter, and which agencies are currently at the top of the field, can help narrow your search and ensure you partner with the right team.
With offices in Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, San Diego, and more than two dozen other cities, Surf Search is a life sciences recruiter with a truly nation-wide reach. They focus primarily on companies and candidates in the biotechnology, healthcare, and medical device sectors. In all of their cities and areas of specialty, their hands-on, relationship-driven approach is at the heart of their success. For job seekers, this means you'll benefit from their experience at every stage of the recruitment process, from finding the ideal role for your skills to coaching through the interviews and offer negotiation. Read more Surf Search
A boutique executive search firm, Cornerstone has a tight focus on filling leadership roles in organizations across the life sciences industry biotechnology. They've built an extensive network during their more than 20 years of experience connecting talent to opportunities in this space, allowing them to find the highly-skilled executives others can't. Their specific areas of expertise include CEO and other c-level positions, as well as VP, director, and management roles in research, medical equipment manufacturing, marketing, sales, and all other aspects of the biotech industry. Read more Cornerstone Search Group
The recruiting teams at ClinLab Staffing work exclusively within the biotech industry, and their in-depth knowledge of this landscape is what makes them so valuable as both consultants and a recruiting service. They work with individuals at all stages of their career, including technician, research associate, senior scientist, and the whole variety of other employees a company needs on their team. In terms of location, they work with companies on the US East Coast and in California. Read more ClinLab Staffing
Founded in 1983, Scientific Search is one of the leading recruiting firms for people who want to find a new position quickly. The massive database of talent, along with their long-standing reputation for fast, high-quality placements, makes them a go-to staffing partner for solving time-sensitive staffing challenges. They recruit workers in a range of roles related to biotech, from drug development through marketing and sales of medical devices and other products and the physicians who prescribe them to patients. Read more Scientific Search
Smith Hanley has been helping biotech and medical device companies build a better workforce since 1985. They are particularly focused on jobs in the operations, analytics, and sales aspects of the life science job market, and provide staffing solutions for an array of companies with needs in those areas. With offices in New York, Chicago, and Southport, they're excellent recruiting partners for businesses and job seekers in the Midwest or Eastern US. Read more Smith Hanley Associates
Based in Springfield, Missouri, Global Edge works with companies from all over the world. Their main focus is on helping global companies in the fields of biotechnology, health care, and adjacent industries expand their sales into the US marketplace. Their client list includes companies ranging from small startups to Fortune 500 companies, and with more than two decades of consulting and recruiting experience, their in-depth understanding of the biotech market on an international scale makes them an ideal fit for US-based professionals who want to take their talents global. Read more Global Edge Recruiting
Orbis Clinical works with clients in biotechnology and medical devices, but they like to say they're in the people business. They were named the best staffing firm for employees by Staffing Industry Analysts in 2021, and their focus on culture, both within their company and in the employers they work with, makes them especially appealing to technology workers in these sectors whose job search goal is to find a better work-life balance or more inclusive work environment. They recruit for all hierarchy levels, from executive search for organization leaders to individual contributors in operations, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, and all other aspects of the life sciences. Read more Orbis Clinical
With locations in San Diego, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco bay area, BioPhase Solutions is a top life sciences recruiter in Southern California, with a tight focus on companies operating in this state. Their mission is to match the ability and needs of candidates and companies with each placement, helping high-quality scientific, research, and administrative staff find the right company to achieve their career plans and goals. Read more BioPhase Solutions
From their main office in California City, Cowen Partners helps leading biotech companies across the United States find the executive talent they need. Most of their clients are multi-million dollar corporations seeking experienced leaders in areas like human resources, accounting, finance, compliance, or management of projects and research teams. Read more Cowen Partners
Barrington James is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, with additional US offices in Detroit and New York as well as international offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Germany Switzerland, and the UK. Their services include both permanent placements and contract staff, within areas of specialty including artificial intelligence, biometrics, clinical operations, enginnering, legal and regulatory affairs, and other key roles within the healthcare sector. Read more Barrington James
Recruiting is all about relationships, and that's as true on the candidate's side as it is for companies. The best way to know if a recruiter is a good fit is to sit down and talk to them, either face-to-face or through a video call, to get a sense of how they communicate and whether your personalities will mesh. The first step in this process is to identify your short list of recruiters that seem like they could be a good match that are worth your time to schedule a meeting with. Research the agencies, both on their website and on sites like LinkedIn, paying close attention to the types of positions they've filled recently. Most recruiters will have a list of current openings on their websites, as well, which can give you a sense for the size and type of companies they're working with currently and whether these seem like places you want to work. Along with this, take a look through their company values and how they describe their recruiting process to gauge if those align with your expectations and needs. You should also do a bit of soul searching before you meet with recruiters. A candidate should come into that conversation with a clear idea of their career goals, both in the long-term and their immediate next steps. You should also be prepared to answer questions about your ideal work environment, salary expectations, culture preferences, and other things you'd like to get from your next job. Remember, a recruiter can only identify great opportunities for you if they know what you're looking for, and you need to know that yourself before you can share it with anyone else. Finally, it's important to ask the right questions during your meeting. A recruiting firm should be able to provide proof of their past successes in the form of case studies or testimonials. It's also smart to evaluate their expertise in your specific niche of the biotech industry, as well as the employer relationships they've established in that sector and what differentiates them from other recruiters in the sector.
Job seekers today have a plethora of networking websites, job marketplaces, and other tools to help them with their search, but none of them can quite equal up to the value of having a real-life person by your side helping you find the best opportunities. As a candidate, some of the greatest benefits of working with a recruiter include:
Not every job gets posted to sites like Indeed and LinkedIn. Particularly when it comes to executive and other senior leadership roles, recruiters will often have the inside scoop on openings that candidates can't find by themselves online. Some companies work exclusively with staffing agencies rather than using an in-house HR department for their hiring, while others turn to recruiters for complex, critical, or time-sensitive searches. Regardless of the reason, the bottom line is that a recruiter can open the door to jobs you never would have known existed otherwise.
Most people only go through the process of looking for a new job every few years, and likely haven't been paying attention to hiring trends or how the recruiting process has changed since the last time they were looking. A recruiter works with candidates and companies on a daily basis and is intimately aware of what skills are in demand and what hiring managers want to see from successful candidates. That kind of insight can be greatly beneficial when you're preparing your application and interview materials, making it more likely your resume will get the attention it deserves.
During your initial job search, a recruiter can help you to negotiate for compensation that matches your true value--and have a vested interest in getting you the highest salary they can since their pay rate is often determined by what you're paid if you're hired. A recruiter's relationship with candidates doesn't stop there, though. Their reputation depends on the success of professionals they place, and most offer follow-up services through and after onboarding to ensure the job is a good long-term fit. Recruiters can also serve as long-term career advocates. Once you've established a relationship with the team, you can reach out when you're ready for your next job search, too, or keep you in the loop about other opportunities that can help you advance your career.
A recruiter may suggest jobs that you wouldn't have thought of as a good fit on your own. Sometimes this is helpful, opening you up to new opportunities, but if the recruiter's suggestion seems like it's missed the mark, don't hesitate to say so. Recruiters want to find you a position that's a good long-term fit, but they aren't mind-readers. If they suggest a position that's not a good fit, clearly explaining why (and what you're looking for instead) will help them present you better opportunities moving forward.
While it's important to give the recruiter guidance, you also need to let them do their job. Hiring a recruiter automatically means letting go of some control and taking advantage of their expertise. If they tell you they're looking for positions, trust the process and don't pester them for updates every day. Once they present you with opportunities, let them manage communications with the client, and keep them in the loop of any contact you and the client have. It's good to be ambitious, but if you're seen as aggressive and meddlesome that can hurt your chances of getting the job you want.
The best opportunities often get filled quickly, and companies aren't always willing to wait for candidates to respond. If a recruiter calls unexpectedly, they probably have good news about an opportunity, and that news could be time-sensitive. Answer if you can, and call back as soon as you're able to if you miss it.
It's one thing to say you need a few days to think about an opportunity, or to ask for more details about a job you're not sure about. Once you've made a decision, though, stick to it, and when you do need time to think, keep that time span to a few days at most. It reflects poorly on recruiters if the candidates they suggest suddenly ghost after their interview, or change their mind after accepting an offer. That means they'll be less likely to put you forward for other opportunities in the future, and could permanently damage your relationship with that recruiter.
Working with a recruiter can help you advance your career in biotech, but not every firm will be an ideal fit for every candidate. By doing your research, building relationships, and knowing exactly what you're looking for, you can reap the full benefits that a recruiting agency has to offer.
The biotech job market is booming, with the number of jobs available in the sector growing by 5.3% between January 2021 and January 2022. Even in this robust employment landscape, though, finding the right job isn’t always easy. In fact, the proliferation of open positions can make it even harder to find your ideal opportunities since you’ll need to sift through jobs that aren’t a good fit to find them.
A recruiter can be an invaluable ally for biotech candidates who are looking, not just for a new job, but one that will advance their career. Of course, that leads to another question: how do you find the right recruiter for you? There are a plethora of firms out there, each with their own recruiting approach and areas of specialty. Knowing what to look for in a recruiter, and which agencies are currently at the top of the field, can help narrow your search and ensure you partner with the right team.
With offices in Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, San Diego, and more than two dozen other cities, Surf Search is a life sciences recruiter with a truly nation-wide reach. They focus primarily on companies and candidates in the biotechnology, healthcare, and medical device sectors. In all of their cities and areas of specialty, their hands-on, relationship-driven approach is at the heart of their success. For job seekers, this means you’ll benefit from their experience at every stage of the recruitment process, from finding the ideal role for your skills to coaching through the interviews and offer negotiation.
A boutique executive search firm, Cornerstone has a tight focus on filling leadership roles in organizations across the life sciences industry biotechnology. They’ve built an extensive network during their more than 20 years of experience connecting talent to opportunities in this space, allowing them to find the highly-skilled executives others can’t. Their specific areas of expertise include CEO and other c-level positions, as well as VP, director, and management roles in research, medical equipment manufacturing, marketing, sales, and all other aspects of the biotech industry.
Read more Cornerstone Search Group
The recruiting teams at ClinLab Staffing work exclusively within the biotech industry, and their in-depth knowledge of this landscape is what makes them so valuable as both consultants and a recruiting service. They work with individuals at all stages of their career, including technician, research associate, senior scientist, and the whole variety of other employees a company needs on their team. In terms of location, they work with companies on the US East Coast and in California.
Founded in 1983, Scientific Search is one of the leading recruiting firms for people who want to find a new position quickly. The massive database of talent, along with their long-standing reputation for fast, high-quality placements, makes them a go-to staffing partner for solving time-sensitive staffing challenges. They recruit workers in a range of roles related to biotech, from drug development through marketing and sales of medical devices and other products and the physicians who prescribe them to patients.
Smith Hanley has been helping biotech and medical device companies build a better workforce since 1985. They are particularly focused on jobs in the operations, analytics, and sales aspects of the life science job market, and provide staffing solutions for an array of companies with needs in those areas. With offices in New York, Chicago, and Southport, they’re excellent recruiting partners for businesses and job seekers in the Midwest or Eastern US.
Read more Smith Hanley Associates
Based in Springfield, Missouri, Global Edge works with companies from all over the world. Their main focus is on helping global companies in the fields of biotechnology, health care, and adjacent industries expand their sales into the US marketplace. Their client list includes companies ranging from small startups to Fortune 500 companies, and with more than two decades of consulting and recruiting experience, their in-depth understanding of the biotech market on an international scale makes them an ideal fit for US-based professionals who want to take their talents global.
Read more Global Edge Recruiting
Orbis Clinical works with clients in biotechnology and medical devices, but they like to say they’re in the people business. They were named the best staffing firm for employees by Staffing Industry Analysts in 2021, and their focus on culture, both within their company and in the employers they work with, makes them especially appealing to technology workers in these sectors whose job search goal is to find a better work-life balance or more inclusive work environment. They recruit for all hierarchy levels, from executive search for organization leaders to individual contributors in operations, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, and all other aspects of the life sciences.
With locations in San Diego, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco bay area, BioPhase Solutions is a top life sciences recruiter in Southern California, with a tight focus on companies operating in this state. Their mission is to match the ability and needs of candidates and companies with each placement, helping high-quality scientific, research, and administrative staff find the right company to achieve their career plans and goals.
From their main office in California City, Cowen Partners helps leading biotech companies across the United States find the executive talent they need. Most of their clients are multi-million dollar corporations seeking experienced leaders in areas like human resources, accounting, finance, compliance, or management of projects and research teams.
Barrington James is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, with additional US offices in Detroit and New York as well as international offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Germany Switzerland, and the UK. Their services include both permanent placements and contract staff, within areas of specialty including artificial intelligence, biometrics, clinical operations, enginnering, legal and regulatory affairs, and other key roles within the healthcare sector.
Recruiting is all about relationships, and that’s as true on the candidate’s side as it is for companies. The best way to know if a recruiter is a good fit is to sit down and talk to them, either face-to-face or through a video call, to get a sense of how they communicate and whether your personalities will mesh.
The first step in this process is to identify your short list of recruiters that seem like they could be a good match that are worth your time to schedule a meeting with. Research the agencies, both on their website and on sites like LinkedIn, paying close attention to the types of positions they’ve filled recently. Most recruiters will have a list of current openings on their websites, as well, which can give you a sense for the size and type of companies they’re working with currently and whether these seem like places you want to work. Along with this, take a look through their company values and how they describe their recruiting process to gauge if those align with your expectations and needs.
You should also do a bit of soul searching before you meet with recruiters. A candidate should come into that conversation with a clear idea of their career goals, both in the long-term and their immediate next steps. You should also be prepared to answer questions about your ideal work environment, salary expectations, culture preferences, and other things you’d like to get from your next job. Remember, a recruiter can only identify great opportunities for you if they know what you’re looking for, and you need to know that yourself before you can share it with anyone else.
Finally, it’s important to ask the right questions during your meeting. A recruiting firm should be able to provide proof of their past successes in the form of case studies or testimonials. It’s also smart to evaluate their expertise in your specific niche of the biotech industry, as well as the employer relationships they’ve established in that sector and what differentiates them from other recruiters in the sector.
Job seekers today have a plethora of networking websites, job marketplaces, and other tools to help them with their search, but none of them can quite equal up to the value of having a real-life person by your side helping you find the best opportunities. As a candidate, some of the greatest benefits of working with a recruiter include:
Not every job gets posted to sites like Indeed and LinkedIn. Particularly when it comes to executive and other senior leadership roles, recruiters will often have the inside scoop on openings that candidates can’t find by themselves online. Some companies work exclusively with staffing agencies rather than using an in-house HR department for their hiring, while others turn to recruiters for complex, critical, or time-sensitive searches. Regardless of the reason, the bottom line is that a recruiter can open the door to jobs you never would have known existed otherwise.
Most people only go through the process of looking for a new job every few years, and likely haven’t been paying attention to hiring trends or how the recruiting process has changed since the last time they were looking. A recruiter works with candidates and companies on a daily basis and is intimately aware of what skills are in demand and what hiring managers want to see from successful candidates. That kind of insight can be greatly beneficial when you’re preparing your application and interview materials, making it more likely your resume will get the attention it deserves.
During your initial job search, a recruiter can help you to negotiate for compensation that matches your true value–and have a vested interest in getting you the highest salary they can since their pay rate is often determined by what you’re paid if you’re hired. A recruiter’s relationship with candidates doesn’t stop there, though. Their reputation depends on the success of professionals they place, and most offer follow-up services through and after onboarding to ensure the job is a good long-term fit. Recruiters can also serve as long-term career advocates. Once you’ve established a relationship with the team, you can reach out when you’re ready for your next job search, too, or keep you in the loop about other opportunities that can help you advance your career.
A recruiter may suggest jobs that you wouldn’t have thought of as a good fit on your own. Sometimes this is helpful, opening you up to new opportunities, but if the recruiter’s suggestion seems like it’s missed the mark, don’t hesitate to say so. Recruiters want to find you a position that’s a good long-term fit, but they aren’t mind-readers. If they suggest a position that’s not a good fit, clearly explaining why (and what you’re looking for instead) will help them present you better opportunities moving forward.
While it’s important to give the recruiter guidance, you also need to let them do their job. Hiring a recruiter automatically means letting go of some control and taking advantage of their expertise. If they tell you they’re looking for positions, trust the process and don’t pester them for updates every day. Once they present you with opportunities, let them manage communications with the client, and keep them in the loop of any contact you and the client have. It’s good to be ambitious, but if you’re seen as aggressive and meddlesome that can hurt your chances of getting the job you want.
The best opportunities often get filled quickly, and companies aren’t always willing to wait for candidates to respond. If a recruiter calls unexpectedly, they probably have good news about an opportunity, and that news could be time-sensitive. Answer if you can, and call back as soon as you’re able to if you miss it.
It’s one thing to say you need a few days to think about an opportunity, or to ask for more details about a job you’re not sure about. Once you’ve made a decision, though, stick to it, and when you do need time to think, keep that time span to a few days at most. It reflects poorly on recruiters if the candidates they suggest suddenly ghost after their interview, or change their mind after accepting an offer. That means they’ll be less likely to put you forward for other opportunities in the future, and could permanently damage your relationship with that recruiter.
Working with a recruiter can help you advance your career in biotech, but not every firm will be an ideal fit for every candidate. By doing your research, building relationships, and knowing exactly what you’re looking for, you can reap the full benefits that a recruiting agency has to offer.
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