Employment Trends in Biotechnology
by David G. Jensen, Search Masters International
The often-used phrase "Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology" is actually two separate words hooked together, seemingly suggesting one grand industry. In actuality, one end of this phrase--biotech--represents a set of technologies joined by two key ingredients: entrepreneurs and money. Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, is a business dominated by companies that are often over 100 years old. When we group these together and try to analyze trends like employment, we come up against a problem of definitions.
Without a doubt, the two industries have all the potential to merge in the next decade and cause the "shake out" that many have written of in many publications. In writing about employment trends, the problem is that as discreet as these two sectors are, one does influence the other. It would be a mistake to paint the picture of employment prospects with the gloom that currently dominates the world of the major players of the healthcare industry, however. That is because there are many biotechnologies which are not related to the world of therapies and drugs.
Some of these, like the agricultural biotechnology category, show tremendous potential to influence the hiring picture of our industry--after many years of languishing in the background. Biotechnology also has the potential to bring forth a wave of new consumer products. These range from fragrances enhanced by genetically engineered pheromones to drain cleaners based on microbes developed with an appetite for common grease. Each of these subcategories of biotech has its own perspective on the future, and it's own unique aspect of hiring and employment trends. Because of this, this article will focus on the common ground for both hiring companies and biotechnology job seekers.
Biotech Employment Trends - The Corporate Side of the Story
In the work world after World War II, it seemed that companies and people had similar goals. Careers took place from first job to retirement at the same company. The word "downsizing" had not yet been invented. Growth was rampant, and many of our parents were with the same company for 40 years, taking the gold watch and a pension at age 65. In biotechnology, however, the stay of three or four years may be seen as the "average." Generally, shorter stays of that sort are not viewed negatively by hiring managers. In the view of many career experts, this is a trend that will continue in our industry.
* Situational loyalty will replace company flag waving - Prue Hoppin of the international outplacement firm Drake Beam Morin in Washington, D.C. describes what she sees happening in companies of all sizes. "What we see nowadays in the biotechnology company is not the company flag waving. Instead, it is what we call 'situational loyalty,' where people are held together by team or project loyalties, perhaps fostered by group leaders and not company presidents."
Situational loyalty will have a continued impact on hiring and employment trends in biotechnology as both corporate entities and employees define terms such as success and job satisfaction with a project orientation. Here are several other significant employment trends identified by biotechnology executive recruiters and H/R department heads:
* Mid-size biotechs running short of cash will hold off on new hires - Before 1994, the term "hiring freeze," (an important part of corporate human resources jargon) had not integrated itself into biotechnology. Now, however, there are many middle-sized biotechnology companies in all the technology sectors that are in a "freeze" for new hires. They have reached the point where clinical trials results are questionable, or where the proof-of-concept is coming much slower than anticipated. Cash reserves are tightening up, and this sector of biotechnology will increasingly be the one under fire by investors. Hiring freezes have taken effect in many well-known biotech companies, and it will take positive clinical results or new projects with new financings to change this.
* Downsizings will continue for companies that hit the wall with poor clinicals - Other firms will no doubt see major reorganizations like those that have affected companies such as Synergen, Repligen, and Centocor in the past. As mentioned earlier, biotech companies now hire and layoff based on projects. To the outside observer, or the scientist affected by these layoffs, biotechnology employers seem to feel no mercy when cutting entire projects and related teams.
* More sophistication in the recruiting process - Many companies have made dramatic changes in their recruiting process. Company H/R managers note that more direct recruiting on campus is taking place. At some point in the future, companies will go "on line" with campus recruiting by tapping into the resumé files of major universities. In addition, electronic systems are being setup in many H/R departments that will automatically scan and digitize resumes so that long-term storage can go to hard discs instead of filing cabinets.
* Many biotech recruiters will fall by the wayside - Hundreds of recruiters from the microcomputer, defense and high-tech electronics markets have rushed to biotech over the last several years. There is almost universal agreement among company H/R managers that a shakeout will occur as many of these recruiters find that the "plain vanilla" positions are being filled more often by internal resources. As companies move toward the selective use of recruiting companies to fill highly specialized or senior level positions, companies that sprang up out of the need for people to fill entry level jobs will go away.
* The pharmaceuticals sector will feed the young companies with employees well into the next decade - A sense of increasing dissatisfaction with the way that large companies operate, combined with the current healthcare scenario in this country, will shake out the remaining entrepreneurs within the pharmaceutical industry. This is no surprise to anyone, but many who have made this transition have found that the two sectors are much different from what they had imagined. Pharmaceuticals and biotech continue to be two distinctly different career choices.
Job Market Trends - The Human Side of the Story
Susan had a secure position in a large pharmaceutical company on the east coast. With twelve years of toxicology behind her and a history of having "risen in the ranks," it seemed logical that she'd be there another 20 years until retirement. She had just purchased a new home in the area when the news came that her employer had decided to undergo a major "rightsizing." Caused in part by talk of healthcare legislation, the layoffs would affect over 30% of the workforce at her R & D center. It was a troubling time for her employer. The pipeline of new products was in seriously bad shape, and yet they were laying off people in product development. It didn't make much sense to her. Neither did the notice from her boss that she would be "downsized" herself.
"I was given a severance package and outplacement, which meant that I had an office to work from each morning, with a fax and a telephone. With all that I'd heard about the growth in biotechnology hiring, my goal was to land a spot with one of the local biotech boomers in Philadelphia." She went on to describe her experience in the job search.
"I spent each morning with coffee and the local papers, composing letters and sending off resumes in response to ads and leads from the other job seekers in outplacement. Although the outplacement office helped me understand my real strengths and interests, I was rudely awakened by how difficult it would be to find interviews, let alone a job offer," she said. "I was really unprepared for how competitive it is in the job market right now. Throughout the process, I felt like I was selling myself and pushing too hard. No one was taking notice. When I finally had a couple of good interviews and an offer, I found myself relocating out of the area. That was something that my husband and I hadn't planned on at all." Although Susan found an interesting position with a company in D.C., she made a career change away from the bench and a relocation simultaneously. Those are two difficult cultural changes.
Here are some of the current trendlines that affect today's job market:
* The competition for jobs is getting tougher - Although biotechnology employment is still on the upswing, there are forces at work that put more people than ever into the market at this time. Whether it be layoffs from the mid-sized biotech companies who have had problems with their clinical results, or the downsizing pharmaceutical companies, there is much competition out there. Career experts advise to be prepared for a longer search than you expect, and not to anticipate several offers to choose from when the interviewing is over.
Competition for jobs is not always from out-of-work people who have been affected by company layoffs. Many enter the job market because they feel that their careers are hampered by employers who seem to have stagnated in the dynamic biotech market. There are many 5-10 yr. old companies without products that are in that position right now.
* More people are open for relocation and career changes than ever before - The competition for jobs means that many people are now more open than ever before for relocations. While a job seeker desiring to remain in the local area can still be assured of doing that in San Francisco, it would be tough right now in Boulder, Colorado. Certain geographical areas that have had lots of biotech growth in the past have now soured for job seekers.
"It's refreshing to see people who are in the job market finally begin to realize that they have to be willing to go where the work is. I can't effectively help someone who is not willing to relocate," advises Biotech recruiter Mimi Kaplan, of Gardner Associates, San Francisco. Gardner, like many retained search firms, has a practice that includes clients in locations from Boston to the bay area.
* Startup companies will represent an increasing percentage of new biotech hires - This sector of biotechnology, represented by very young companies (often with no more than eight or ten employees) will gain in importance in the job search. Since fewer large companies are the "stable" employers they once were, more job seekers will be open to the possibilities of positions with companies who are in the early stages of growing a business in some niche of the life sciences.
"I've found that there is an advantage to startups, in that the candidate and I have a pretty clear idea of the nature and extent of the risks," says biotech recruiter Lyn Brodhead, of MedQuest. "Compare this with the big companies who gloss over their problem areas so that the new employee discovers the extent of risk only after being hired."
Despite whether you are thrust into the job market by a downsizing or whether you simply feel that there are greener pastures, you'll find that these biotech employment trends point down a road that is full of promise -- and potholes. The specifics of your field of work and the demand in the job market will be addressed in an upcoming internet article "15 Hot Biotech Jobs."
Author:
Dave Jensen
500 Foothills South, Suite 2
Sedona, AZ 86336
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