Life Sciences Recruitment: Pharma & Medical Device Staffing Firms Compared

A life sciences company does not hire someone to fill an ordinary office position. A pharmaceutical manufacturer may need a GMP-qualified professional. A medical device company might want an engineer who knows regulated product development. A biotech business might need someone who knows clinical research or regulatory affairs. You can not judge someone by their job title alone to see if they are right for the role.

As a result, companies frequently go to life sciences recruiting firms. A recruiter who understands the industry can look at things beyond the resume. They can see which experience is relevant to the position.

Why Life Sciences Hiring Is Different

Life sciences companies work within strict quality and regulatory requirements. Employees are often expected to understand processes that do not apply to jobs outside the industry. Take quality assurance as an example. A candidate may have several years of general manufacturing experience, but that does not automatically mean they know how to work within a pharmaceutical quality system. The same issue comes up with engineering.

A medical device company might receive an application from an engineer with an excellent technical background. But if that person has never worked with regulated medical products, the company may need to spend considerable time getting them familiar with the industry’s requirements.

Depending on the position, employers may look for experience with:

• GMP requirements
• Quality systems
• Regulatory affairs
• Validation
• Clinical research
• Manufacturing
• Quality control
• Product development

This is where an industry-focused recruiter can be useful. The recruiter already understands many of the terms and requirements that appear in life sciences job descriptions.

Top Life Sciences Recruiting Firms: What to Look For

Industry experience should be the starting point of choice between life sciences recruiting firms – not the size of the recruiting company. Ask a simple question: Have they hired people for positions like mine before?

A quality and production professional network may be established within a firm that regularly deals with pharmaceutical manufacturers. Some other firm knows the medical device market and has relationships with engineers and regulatory specialists. Both are good recruiters – the right choice depends on the job requirement.

A few checks you should make before choosing a partner.

Industry Knowledge 

Your recruiter should know your business and the roles you are trying to fill. A recruiter who understands pharmaceutical manufacturing versus medical device production could ask better questions early on.

Access to Experienced Candidates

Many experienced professionals have jobs and only move when it is right. Those candidates can be reached only by an established recruiter.

Understanding of Compliance

Ask how well the recruiting team knows regulated jobs. Experience with GMP, validation,  quality systems, regulatory work, and other industry requirements may be relevant when screening candidates.

Response Time

Not all open positions cause serious problems; some even stay vacant for weeks before becoming a serious issue. There are, however, other positions which cannot stay open for any amount of time, especially in cases when a company is growing or releasing a new product. And your recruiter needs to know about it.

Pharmaceutical Recruitment Agencies: Compliance & Regulatory Considerations

Pharmaceutical hiring often requires a closer look at a candidate’s previous work environment. Someone may have the right degree and several years of experience, yet still lack exposure to the processes used in a regulated pharmaceutical operation.

A pharmaceutical recruitment agency may recruit professionals for roles such as:

• Quality assurance
• Quality control
• Regulatory affairs
• Clinical research
• Validation
• Manufacturing
• Pharmacovigilance
• Process development

The hiring criteria will depend on the position. A regulatory affairs professional may need experience preparing submissions or working with regulatory authorities. The validation engineer requires practical experience in equipment and process validation, while the quality manager should have experience with audits and quality systems. This is some of the information that may be missed by a regular recruiter.

An expert recruiter will have the ability to start the recruiting process with such qualifications in mind.

Medical Device Staffing: Roles We Fill

Medical device companies have their own hiring needs. Product development can involve engineers, quality teams, regulatory professionals, clinical staff, and manufacturing specialists. These groups have different responsibilities, but their work is closely connected.

A medical device staffing agency may recruit for:

• Design engineers
• Quality engineers
• Regulatory affairs specialists
• Manufacturing engineers
• Validation engineers
• Quality managers
• Clinical specialists
• R&D professionals
• Operations leaders

Previous experience in the medical device industry can be especially useful for technical positions. Imagine two engineers applying for the same role. Both may have strong design experience. One, however, has spent several years working on regulated medical products and understands the documentation and quality requirements that come with them.

For the employer, that difference can matter. The candidate with the most impressive resume is not always the best hire. What matters is how closely their experience matches the work they will be doing.

Choosing a Life Sciences Recruitment Partner

Before contacting a recruiting firm, get clear about the position. What will this person be doing every day? Which skills do they need from the start? Does the job require experience with a particular regulatory process? Is the position permanent or contract-based?

Once those questions are answered, it becomes easier to judge whether a recruiting company is a good fit. Look at its experience in your specific area of life sciences. A recruiter working mainly with biotech companies may have a different candidate network from one that specializes in pharmaceutical manufacturing. It is also worth asking how the firm finds people.

Does it depend mostly on job boards? Does it have an existing network of industry professionals? How does it screen candidates before sending them to the employer?

When comparing life sciences recruiting firms, consider:

1. Their experience in your sector
2. The types of roles they regularly fill
3. Their access to industry professionals
4. Their knowledge of regulated positions
5. Their track record with similar searches
6. How they communicate during the hiring process

The relationship should feel practical. You should be able to explain the position once and trust the recruiter to understand what kind of person you need.

Request Life Sciences & Pharma Talent

The right hire can be hard to find when a position calls for both technical skills and experience in a regulated industry.

Whatever your need – pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical device engineering, quality & regulatory affairs, biotech, or another life sciences function – the recruiting partner you select matters.

Request Life Sciences & Pharma Talent & speak with the Employvision team about your current hiring needs. 

FAQ

Q. 1. What is life sciences recruitment?

Ans: The recruitment of life sciences includes searching for candidates for various pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical devices, diagnostics, and other health care organizations. People working in such recruitment usually hire for technical and industry jobs.

Q. 2. Why use a pharmaceutical or medical device staffing agency?

Ans: A specialist agency knows the industry and has experience with many life sciences roles required. This reduces the time it takes to sort through applications from candidates without a background check.