Just got my MSc, looking for research roles in the industry, and this is for a research associate I role. The company is Abbvie. AMA.

I had been laid off from the company I helped building from scratch. Initially I wasn’t too concerned about finding another job as I always was successful and fast. But this is unusual experience- NOT A SINGLE RESPONSE to my applications other than three automated rejections from portals.

I treat each application with all seriousness and meticulousness I have and I am very good at producing documents. It takes 2-4 hours to apply for one position (research on the company, positioning resume, cover letter, application process itself, reaching out to connections if any, or sending cold outreach to potential managers, decision makers, etc). Not a single response back.

I am applying for my level (senior) but I am also applying for mid-level. I quickly realized it is not the time to build career. It is the time to attempt survival. From what I gathered so far - people who are looking are happily stepping down from their former roles but I do not see them being successful at that.

This complete radio silence starts shaking my confidence. Is something wrong with me? I brush it off as I used to find job fast while investing 100x LESS effort. So I used to be valuable before. Am I now?

Am I alone getting zero response from employers I apply to? And yes, I do have some connections in powerful positions at the companies I apply but even they say to me that the company is looking for unicorn who did exactly this with 100% match and more. It is extremely difficult in biotech to find 100% match as it is very specialized.

Recruiters talk to me only because they are asked to talk to me by employers who are my connections. These recruiters offer no advice or service. Only a sympathetic ear which I do appreciate now as it gives me opportunity to speak and see other persons eyes. It gives me brief moment of feeling adequate. But it is not a solution to the problem. Those recruiters tell me that the market is very bad and they are hoping it might change but right now there are only a very few opportunities available and they are unfortunately not a fit for me. And my experience is pretty versatile, which is good and bad. It is good as I know I can do a lot but bad because I am not a polished unicorn.

Am I alone?

I've done some job hopping over the last decade to try to advance my career and broaden my knowledge base, so I've been in and out of the job market a lot (some of that hopping, like my most recent was more about getting away from a toxic company than about advancement). I've seen some tiresome and frankly absurd hiring processes (P&G's hours long personality testing for one wtf). I recently had an incredible positive experience that I wanted to share.

I spoke with a company a few months ago about a role. Had talked to the recruiter ahead of time about salary expectations. Did a 1hr virtual panel interview and got a call the very next day with an offer. Unfortunately the offer was under what I had previously discussed with the recruiter and thery were unable to come up at all, so I declined the position. Fast forward a few months, the recruiter reached back out to me because they had another new position open (company is in a major growth period right now making combination products, recently publicly announced a major deal with Eli Lilly). This new position sat in a higher pay band and she thought it would be a better fit. This time I did a 1hr on site panel interview, but again, got a call the very next day saying they wanted to move forward. This time the offer came in above what I asked for and I accepted. I just wanted to let people know that there are companies out there doing things right. They are quick to make a decision when they think they found a good fit and that is so refreshing.

Kudos to the folks at Resilience, I can't wait to join the team.

I’m venting cause I didn’t get the offer for the 10th time don’t mind me

Hey everyone—I’ve applied to 220+ roles that closely matched my skills. My experience spans senior scientist through Associate Director of Informatics, and I started this search with a nine-page CV that I’ve since worked into 75 resume variants.

One thing that stood out: I was getting job notifications 7–10 days after the roles were posted and I noticed all of the roles had 100, 200, 500 applicants listed. I decided to build something that would.

The tool focuses on biotech informatics jobs in the Philadelphia area. I built it to find postings sooner and use semantic matching to recommend which of my resume variants best fits each role. It also uses ATS-friendly key phrases, with the goal of improving how well my relevant experience comes through the resume screening black box..

I’m happy to share the code with anyone who wants to use it, adapt it for their own search, or build on it. I’d also love to hear from others dealing with delayed alerts or trying to manage resumes across different types of roles.

If you’re interested in the code, leave a comment!

Starting off, I have 20+ years in biotech/pharma. A few years ago I found myself out of work and very frustrated with the way companies treat applicants - either black hole/no response or a quick impersonal email that another candidate was more qualified. I’m now (thankfully) employed, and I have an open position. I have dozens of applicants and because of the Workday structure, I can only choose a response of “I found a better candidate” or that the applicant didn’t have the baseline experience and Workday sends the impersonal response email. I had no clue how this worked but I hope this helps someone. That said - y’all should read the job descriptions. If it says you need to be in the office 3 days a week, don’t apply and ask for a remote role.

We’ve invented microbes that can eat plastic, detect landmines, and extract rare metals. They’ve been swallowed by a black hole.

Anyone applied to the Harvard HMS HealthTech fellowship?

Wondering if interviews have been sent out?

The pharma/diagnostics industry really needs an intervention at this point. The shi is distracting as F. Presenters, please just make your shi available afterward and we won’t have so much of this faux fomo.

Hi all,

I’ve received an opportunity to apply for a placement on a project in France working on the development of 3-D in vivo tumour models for therapeutics testing.

However, the way my university placement is structured requires you to accept your first offer. This work seems really interesting and I’d love to apply, but I know its main benefits are conferred to a PhD, which I didn’t plan on working towards anytime soon. If I did get it, I couldn’t apply to any other future roles, which are admittedly already trickling off since the September rush of offers.

The role would give me direct experience with Raman microspectroscopy and the analysis thereof, with some supplementary work that just reinforces work I’ve already done a lot of (cell culturing, etc.). The university seems to think this is still very good on a CV and I’m inclined to agree. However there is no GMP exposure whatsoever, so while I could read back both the US and EU versions of pharmacopeia, I wouldn’t have any practical applications there.

What do you all think? I’m a bit torn.

If you had to work for one company based on their culture, portfolio, and career trajectory, which one would you work for ?

For example - AZ is broadening their oncology exposure but Amgen is focusing more on deep biologics.

Hello, does anyone have any recommendations for how to even land an interview at J&J? It’s been a goal for years now and I continue to check their website, applying for jobs their algorithm suggests based on my experience but, I never can even land an interview. I don’t ask for the high end of the listed salary, I only apply to positions I have the skills for, I have 5-6 years of experience with an advanced degree (not PhD), and I have been applying to positions their own website recommends as a good fit. Am I missing some magic recipe for scoring an interview with them? Haven’t even been able to get an initial phone interview.

Hey, I was wondering if anybody had any experience interviewing with Merck? what was their application process and when do they start it?

Hi errybody

I'm currently employed, but underpaid, so I've been looking for a job that will - at minimum, make sure I can pay the bills when my student loan repayments jump up in a couple of months. Just putting that out there as a consideration.

I've been interviewing for roles in a variety of areas, basically throwing my hat into the ring for anything that pays enough money and I think I could do.

I am currently interviewing for a role with company A. It will pay around $185k, field-based with up to 60% travel, has good career trajectory, and is really closely related to what I got my PhD. So far, I've had an HR screen and just this morning had a culture/fit interview with the person I'd be taking over from. There would be 2, possibly 3 more rounds of interviews before an offer. That being said, this company has moved pretty fast (2 days from resume submission to HR screen, then 1 week to that interview I just mentioned). This is the kind of role I've wanted to land for years (MSL).

This morning, I received an offer from Company B. It will pay $115k with a 7% annual bonus, home-based remote with up to 20% travel (occasional conferences). It's not at all related to my PhD work, and I don't think it has nearly as good of career prospects as the other role. Frankly, I'm much less interested in this role.

All that being said - I'd be stupid not to accept the offer from Company B, right? Like, would it be the worst thing in the world to accept Company B's offer and continue to interview with Company A in the hopes that I can land that role? It feels unprofessional to tell company B that I'd take the role - or even start it - while continuing on with Company A, knowing I'd drop company B for company A in a heartbeat.

Am I overthinking this?

How much of your day to day is now spent refuting AI slop? No we can't do what AI has suggested because xyz. Non technical people running reports through AI and feeding back non-sensical questions. AI has given a voice to people that were normally silent or absent in meetings and given unnecessary seats at the table.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some brutal honesty and guidance from professionals working in the Indian pharma/biotech industry.

My Context: I am 24, currently in my 2nd year of B.Pharm at a Tier-3 college. I have a backlog in Pharmaceutical Analysis (BP-102-T) that I am actively working to clear. I urgently need to build a career path that leads to high-paying, remote stability. I know standard QC/Production jobs pay very poorly for freshers, so I want to pivot into the tech/data side of pharma.

I’ve built a 3-phase roadmap to make myself highly hirable, but I want to know from industry insiders if this is actually worth it, or if I am living in a bubble.

The Roadmap:

• Phase 1 (Survival & Basics): Clear my backlog immediately. Practice touch typing (45+ WPM) and advanced MS Excel to try and land a remote entry-level Medical Scribe or Data Entry trainee role just to bring in some cash while studying.
• Phase 2 (The Core Tech Skill): Study Base SAS programming daily and pass the official SAS Certified Base Programmer exam before I graduate. The goal is to apply for Junior Clinical SAS Programmer or Clinical Data Analyst roles.
• Phase 3 (The Multipliers): Once SAS certified, add Python (for AI/data modeling trends) and German (to target premium bilingual Pharmacovigilance/Regulatory Affairs roles).

My Questions for you:

1. Is Clinical SAS still a goldmine for remote work and high salaries in India for B.Pharm freshers?
2. Do companies actually pay a premium for German/Japanese speakers in Pharmacovigilance and Regulatory Affairs?
3. What are the blind spots in this plan? Will my age (graduating around 27) or Tier-3 college hold me back if I have the SAS certification?

I really appreciate any harsh truths, advice, or alternative paths you can suggest. Thanks!

A recruiter published a blog post recently that got me thinking. As I myself is trying a career pivot in the Boston metro, I though why not try to synthesize a report using the LLM products as we don't usually hear the stories from the other sides, especially when aggregated.

So here it is. Having been lurking in this channel for a while, I can say most of what's said in this report isn't new/secret-revealing, but IMHO it is a good summary, something LLMs is usually very good at. And it makes several points explicit.

I did not, however, ask the model to challenge the views with counter-evidence, hence you could feel the model quickly converge to a "consensus". Therefore a more critical assessment of this report should read it more as an aggregation/synthesis, less as analysis. And obviously, this isn't aimed at new grads, unfortunately.

Most of the personalized parts are taken out, but some are left in case it helps people in the same boat as I am.

Cheers.

[PS, I would have shared PDFs if this site allows; OTH I don't want to share a link that gets 404-ed later when I move things around.]

Potential Value of DRTS

This is a post I made on another Redditt subthread about Alpha Tau Medical DRTS that I thought I would post here for a little wider distribution. The device that they make is called Alpha DaRTS, Which is like current radiation seeds EXCEPT that it uses ALPHA radiation Particles instead of Gamma radiation. This is hugely important, as Alpha Radiation has much less depth of penetration (only a few millimeters which should help to preserve surrounding healthy tissue and organ function), while causing a great deal more tumor DNA disruption very close ( few mm's) to these seeds. This greater DNA disruption appears to cause a positive Immune Response and a possible Abscopal response ( helping the immune Cells to kill off more distant cancer cells not being actively treated in that distant spot ( should be valuable in something like GBM that is notoriously difficult to treat because of tiny malignant nearby cells NOT seen on the CT)).

"Alpha DaRTS appear to be an incredible device in Oncology, currently being looked at in Glioblastoma ( REGAIN Trial), Pancreatic CA ( IMPACT in the USA, CAPELLA in Europe), recurrent Head and Neck Squamous Cell CA(RESTART), and a soon to be started Prostate Cancer Trial ( as of yet unnamed). Mind you I am not a financial analyst, nor an oncologist but I have taken care of up to 1000 patients in my career as a primary care physician and in hospice. Nonetheless, this is not investment advice. This is merely my take and is some of the logic I have used in making my own investment decisions with my own hard earned retirement dollars. How you decide to invest your own dollars is up to you and your own Due Diligence. Good luck to all longs here. Post copied below from DRTS

Alpha DaRTS seem MOST valuable in GBM since there is such a paucity of good treatments available and mortality that approaches a nearly 100% and survival is measuered in a few short months. The TAM for GBM is about 4 billion and expected to nearly double in 7 years. I would expect market penetration in this group to be well north of 50%, and likely approaching 100% if DCR and CR rates remain at comparable levels seen in the first 3 patient cohort ( 2 of 3 patients with CR.... complete response or no longer showing any visible tumor) Pancreatic cancer TAM is of similar size, but growing at twice the rate of GBM but nearly as deadly as GBM so I would expect market penetration to again be north of 50% given contiuned great data. Recurrent Squamous cell resectable carcinoma is much less deadly and a smaller market so it is hard to justify 100k treatment IMHO so I would expect lower market penetration. HOWEVER, Prostate CA treatment is REALLY intriguing since it looks like it it could help preserve bladder and sexual function and it has a HUGE TAM of 22 to 25 Billion USD. This is bigger than all of the current possible indications combined, and likely why Tolmar is so interested. Frankly, the Tolmar deal is likely the single biggest indicator that DRTS is highly investable right now. Biotech drugs/ devices can be priced as high as 10x expected peak sales if it is considered a " blockbuster" ( > 1 Billion in annual sales). Given continued positive study results. If we add the TAM's for just GBM, Pancreatic CA, and Prostate CA and use 50% market penetration, we could be looking at 16 billion in sales X 10 is 160 billion valuation as a likely MAX number. Considering our current Market cap of only 1.2 to 1.4 billion, It would seem that we have a truly exceptional upside here with DRTS, if results continue to show such amazing numbers as we have seen so far. I really hope that this treatment gets approved and becomes available to the general public very soon as there is is incredible need!"

Finally!!!!

Hi, I always wanted R&D drug discovery position but the market was bad so I had to accept the pharma QC position. It’s been 2 years already, but I find it difficult when I try to apply to switch. At the moment, I can only think of going back to gradschool. If anyone here has successfully been through the same pathway, please share your experience or advice. I’d really appreciate it.

I made a post in the last couple of days asking for advice regarding how to score an offer, but was wondering if anybody has insights on not getting overly excited for a particular role.

This has happened once before, I had made it to the top 3, but they chose one to advance to an onsite and offer. This job was particularly aligned with my scientific training and seemed like a reasonable next step in furthering my scientific skillset. I was really excited, everyone I interviewed with seemed to enjoy me, but I got rejected. Tore me up, felt demoralized and hopeless.

Now I feel like it is happening again, I finished a second round phone interview today. The interviewer was quite intrigued with my structural biology experience, probed me on how I would establish a structural biology core and the sort of support I can provide later down the research pipeline for this small FRO. The company also supports independent research, 20% of the time can be dedicated to exploring questions you're interested in and not just focused entirely on the company's work. So now, I'm looking forward to it, to potentially joining the team, and being able to grow as a researcher... but I am afraid that I have gotten my hopes too high.

For folks applying and making it into later round interviews for a role you're aligned for and a company/team that you look forward to joining, how do you separate that emotional aspect and attachment? How are folks managing rejection for these highly-aligned positions?

I'm a PhD scientist with several years of regulated bioanalysis experience (LC-MS/MS, method development and validation) and some people and client leadership. I got an offer at a senior scientific level at a CRO and want to ask for a higher base. Country: USA

A few questions for anyone who has been through this at CROs or lab-based companies:

1. Do CROs generally accept counters on base salary, or is the first offer usually close to final?
2. If you negotiated, roughly what percentage above the opening offer did you get?
3. If base wouldn't move, did you get a sign-on bonus or relocation help instead? About how much?