Secrets of a CRA Recruiter

Today’s roundtable is about how professional networking can create a Small World Phenomenon for you. And no, I am not talking about Disney World’s Small World ride. I am talking about the principle that Wikipedia describes where short chains of acquaintances, often no more than a handful of individuals, connect any two people on the planet.  This concept was first explored with the “ Six Degrees o...

It is standard practice for interviewers to open up the discussion with a question like “tell me about yourself” or “walk me through your resume.” I like starting an interview this way because it typically puts the candidate at ease while giving me an idea of what he/she is looking for. While there are certain key points you want to make when answering these introductory questions, it is important...

The topic of this week’s roundtable is self-defeating beliefs and how they may be keeping you unemployed or unhappily employed. I refer to self-defeating habit patterns as Blockers. Blockers are those habit patterns that may have helped you survive in the past but are no longer beneficial to you. For example, as a baby, you cried when you were hungry. But as an adult, if you cry every time you fee...

Do you think that bosses can have friends at work?  It is a complicated question…and if your answer is no, then I am certainly guilty. I love my team members. Each and every one of them are more than just colleagues to me. But as the boss, fostering close relationships with team members can sometimes lead to firing a friend.  The irony is that most firings can be avoided. Last year I had to releas...

Some of our listeners may argue that no one should be declining a job offer in today’s economy.  I find that many candidates decide to accept or decline a position based only on compensation. But aren’t there other factors important to you?  And while I agree that money shouldn’t be the primary driver in making career decisions, isn’t financial security something everyone strives for? How do you b...

Have you ever considered how getting a job is directly related to your mindset as a job seeker? Before you craft your resume, update your LinkedIn profile, or start applying for positions, consider whether your mindset may be turning off potential hiring managers.  For example, let’s say that you apply for a position that is a bit over your experience level. If you go into that situation lacking s...

Several years ago Lou Adler wrote an article that described what recruiters and talent leaders felt were challenges to hiring the right person. He boiled their feedback into two primary categories: Teams aren’t seeing enough quality candidates , and Hiring managers are the problem, not the solution .  Hiring the right person can certainly be a challenge. And yes, we see many Sponsors and CROs spea...

In the last 24 hours, one of our clients just received 667 applicants for an open CRA position. I just received 272 applicants for an administrative position (and they are still pouring in). The rub? Many of those candidates were seriously overqualified for these roles. Some people may feel that such an outpouring of interest is a positive thing.  But I see something different…hundreds of individu...

Unplanned absences are going to happen.  Kiddos get sick. Parents become ill and need to be cared for. Car accidents happen. Unplanned absences from the workplace are inevitable. We teamed up with one of our favorite Hiring Managers to discuss how both management and team members can (and should) proactively plan for unplanned absences. Part of our discussion relates to federal guidelines that pro...

Folks break into a clinical research career via many different pathways. And when it comes to a clinical research professional’s foundations as a CRA, we typically see one of two approaches.  Many sponsors and CROs would say that obtaining foundational experience through “classical training” is the preferred approach. However, while we are seeing more and more sponsors and CROs offer entry-level p...

This podcast tackles the topic of how job seekers should be pickier when selecting a recruiter to work with.  In this ‘How to Recruit Your Recruiter’ discussion, you will see how easy it is to fall prey to a recruiter who may not have your best interest in mind. Years ago, an executive search firm reached out to me, offering to represent me if I paid them a fee.  At the time I was with IBM and qui...

About twenty years ago I had a mentor who told me that interviewing was the worse way to identify talent. I thought he had lost his mind. But with the rise of the fake interview, I see some wisdom to his point. Now I am not going to go on record stating that we should throw out the interview. But I will state that an effective vetting process starts long before scheduling an interview . And when i...

From a CRA staffing perspective, I believe all of us can agree that we have some work in front of us to clarify the barrier to entry into the role.  We also need to define the CRA role more consistently. Wouldn't it be nice if all sponsors and CROs were in agreement on titles and the qualifications of CRAs at various levels? With all of that in mind, I have recently been seeing bloggers and ‘...

I had someone ask me once: Do you wear the same clothes to a phone interview as you do to a face-to-face interview?  Wow…I sure hope not. But since you would certainly consider the interview venue when planning what to wear, shouldn’t you also consider your interview audience when planning what to say? As an example, what topics do you feel are appropriate to discuss with an HR partner? And why is...

She wore a wig in her video interview. Not that wearing a wig is a bad thing in itself...my Mom wore a wig after her chemo.  But the reason for the wig became apparent later. It all had to do with her faking her interview . You have heard us talk about various ways that candidates falsify their way through the interview process, but we want you to hear what a seasoned CRA Manager has experienced w...

What the Heck is Brand Storytelling? You have heard me say it before: I want to hear your career story. Your unique story.  I want to see what your passion is as well as the qualities you bring to my table. In a nutshell, you need to be versed in the art of brand storytelling. So how do you tell that story? Well, you start by clarifying your personal brand . Then, you come up with a way to honestl...

This week's roundtable theme is simple and can be described in one word: Responsiveness.  It is interesting to me how many candidates miss out on great opportunities...not because they aren't qualified, but because they aren't responsive. I've been so busy I do want to note that when we speak of candidates being responsive, we are talking about candidates who are further along...

We hear this all the time: “My current full-time job is very slow, so I thought I would pick up a contract to supplement my hours”.   Or “I want to shift into contracting, but I don’t want to leave my permanent position until I am secure. Therefore, I am seeking a part-time contract while still at my current employer.” So, let me ask – is simultaneously holding a full-time job while working a cont...

Most people approach the job interview as if it were a dog and pony show. After all, isn’t it tempting to ‘perform’ as the person you think the hiring manager is looking for? We have seen it cited that up to 90% of job candidates engage in faking their behavior at an interview.  But being authentic in the job interview is important . We teamed up with a friend and long-time hiring manager, Kathlee...

Did you know that hiring managers hate interviews as much as job seekers do?  Interviews can be mundane. In most cases, I ask the same old questions, and the candidate answers with the same old answers. And for those candidates who have a hard time connecting with their interviewer or properly communicating their experience…well, I can usually tell within the first two minutes how those interviews...

One of my mentors has a favorite saying: If you don’t know what you want, any road will take you there .  We speak a lot about setting career goals. After all, how are you going to find the right job for you if you don't have them? It has been my experience that talented individuals set goals because they want to advance.  Out of sheer motivation, driven professionals can maintain a clear car...

It is rare for a company to not check candidate references before moving into a final offer. In some instances, recruitment companies may not even reveal their openings without the successful completion of references. In an effort to help candidates be successful, our team got together to discuss the top mistakes we see folks make when going through the candidate references process. This podcast w...

With over 950 million members , LinkedIn can be a powerful platform when it comes to searching for a new position or attempting to expand your career. However, given the large number of members on LinkedIn, it isn’t good enough to have a simple profile. So if you are using LinkedIn to find a job, there are certain things you should know. Using LinkedIn to Find a Job…In a Good Way To get noticed by...

You just got fired…and now you are scratching your head. In some ways you may be relieved…you didn’t like that job anyway. In other ways you may be frightened…after all, the mortgage still needs to be paid. And a third side of you may be angry while a smaller sliver of yourself feels embarrassed.  As shock and emotions course through your body, you start thinking that getting a job after being fir...

Our primary niche is in the placement of Contract CRAs. And by the nature of the contract ‘beast’, often those assignments will be short.  Even though our firm understands that this is often how contract positions work, we will still ask CRAs the reason for leaving their last assignment (or position if perm). So this begs the question – what answer are we looking for? While there isn’t a perfect a...