Blog

Day in the Life of a Life Sciences Recruiter

By Reeshi Sen, Orbis Clinical Recruiter

 

Orbis Clinical team member, Reeshi Sen, gave us a glimpse into a day in his life as a life sciences recruiter. He has been with the company for a little over a year after honing his recruiting skills elsewhere. He lives and works in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his adult pug Zachary (aka his Executive Assistant) who is usually sleeping and snoring next to him as he works.

Morning routine

My workday begins in the morning when I open up my laptop and sign into my account on our candidate and jobs database. I simultaneously pull up LinkedIn and important documents outlining notes for tips, tactics, and best practices. Next, I catch up on emails that have come in from the evening before, responding to urgent ones immediately and scheduling follow-up tasks as needed. I typically have my plan and schedule for the day built out from the day before, so I balance the time during my workday for calls and other outreach on roles I’m working on with meetings and administrative tasks.

My next order of business is to make follow-up calls, finalizing candidates’ interest in roles, writing up the submittal of their CVs to positions of interest, and answering questions. I then call through my list of scheduled tasks, trying to reach candidates via calls, emails, and LinkedIn messages. Many times, I get voicemails, and so leave messages to candidates as well as follow-up emails and LinkedIn messages. I do vary the cadence of my outreach from time to time, but typically aim for three rounds of outreach per week.

 

Connecting with candidates 

Getting a candidate on the phone or receiving a response by email or LinkedIn is the highlight of my day. It’s always exciting to have a live conversation with these professionals, and I learn quite a bit from each phone call I have. A call with a candidate can go one of several ways: 

1. They are not currently on the job market
2. They are looking but aren’t a fit for the particular role
3. They are actively looking and a perfect fit for a current open role 
4. They are actively looking and a great match for a current open role, but uninterested in the particular position or company for numerous reasons

Delving into a candidate’s motivation, what is appealing to them, and what’s ideal for their next role is at the heart of each call. Most professionals are happy to speak about what is meaningful to them professionally and career-wise, and I oftentimes find these calls incredibly educational even if the candidate I speak with is not a fit for the particular role I’m calling them about. I also make an effort to proactively reach out to candidates, so that I can quickly touch base with them once a relevant and ideal position opens up.

Once I find a candidate who is interested in a life sciences consulting job and whose skill set and experience matches what our clients are looking for, as well as for whom the compensation is a fit, I get their verbal and written permission to submit their CV to the client along with a brief introduction highlighting their background. 

Once a candidate has been submitted, I await feedback from the client.  When interviews are requested, I prep candidates via a phone call or video call, depending on which level (initial, additional, final) of the interview is pending. When a candidate receives an offer from a client, our team jumps on a call to formally extend the offer to the candidate.

 

Building relationships 

The highs are high, and the lows are challenging, so it is helpful to try and stay balanced and maintain equanimity. Many factors of our jobs are completely beyond our control, so we have to control what we can – high activity and outreach, staying organized, staying focused, assuming positive intent, and being optimistic and enthusiastic. We also have to remember to think in terms of “the long game” – an excellent candidate who’s not interested today or not a fit for an open role today may be a perfect fit for a position that opens a month or two down the road. Continuing to build professional relationships and keep in touch with great candidates via consistent outreach is a key factor in being a successful life sciences recruiter.

I’m glad to be a part of a life sciences recruitment firm that serves a unique and important purpose in life science research. Someone who we place in a role today may work on a project resulting in a treatment for a disease thought to previously be incurable. At the end of the day, that understanding is what makes the daily grind worth it. 

 

About the Author:

Reeshi Sen is a Recruiter with Orbis Clinical. Reeshi’s background in biology, chemistry, and public health gives him unique insight into the process of scientific investigation and discovery, allowing him to better connect with clinical research professionals as he helps them navigate and improve their careers. Outside of his professional life, Reeshi has an uncanny ability to eat more food than anyone he knows, and aspires to compete in pie-eating contests in the near future.