Are you considering a career in Pharma? Then you may have asked yourself; what jobs are there in pharma? what is the recruitment process? Am i qualified? and Where do I start? The good news is, the Pharmaceutical (Pharma) industry has a range of diverse roles available for doctors and scientists, and today, we discuss a few points to consider for a career in pharma.

Pharma is generally not a well understood career for doctors who are not working in this field. This may of course be due to a relative lack of exposure throughout training.

However the big draws in a career in pharma tend to be financial, and more opportunities for leadership and making an impact in a commercial or research setting.

Nevertheless, we note that doctors tend to approach their applications with little knowledge on how to optimize them and what to expect. We therefore catch up with Dr. Paul Hercock – a doctor with 7 years experience in the world of pharma for his top 5 points to consider for a career in pharma.

1. The recruitment system is completely recruiter led

The first point to consider for a career in pharma is simple; and that is to remember that the recruitment system is completely recruiter led.

That’s right – doctors aren’t closely scouring your carefully crafted CV like a journal appraisal. It’s usually a hard nosed recruiter who is used to screening thousands and thousands of CVs. They may spend about 30 seconds on yours if you’re lucky.

Does that make you think again about how you’ll present yours?

2. Your specialty is less important than you think

Sometimes there are specialty specific projects which require domain expertise, however most of the time they’re looking mainly at your transferable skills that would fit into the business.

Have you communicated this clearly in your application or does your CV proudly list pages of your job history considering you’ve moved hospitals or even rotations every 6-12 months?

3. Ditch the paper CV

Another point to consider for a career in pharma is to ditch the paper CV.

Somewhat a contradiction to the above, but it’s somewhat more important to focus on your online presence. Particularly your LinkedIn profile.

.. sorry.. did you say what’s LinkedIn?

4. Prepare for a world of flexible and distance working

Working in pharma isn’t the most conducive to the best work/life balance.  Depending on your role, you will likely be expected to travel across the world and relatively on short notice, and flexibly from various locations.

5. Pharma is not the ‘easy option’ and you’ll need to apply your training in a new and challenging way

Working in pharma requires a significant change in mindset from clinical medicine. Be prepared to be challenged in ways you hadn’t imagined – in return you will be rewarded both personally and professionally.

Do you want to learn more?

Check out our webinar on

Essential tips for a successful career in pharma

(members only)

For more on a career in pharma, check out our Career Guide.

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