Are you a good fit for a role in biotech?
Advice from a biotech interviewer
Biotech is a booming sector, but is it really for you?
On the face of it, a role in biotech is an exciting opportunity and it might be appealing as the next step in your career. But before you rush to your laptop and apply for that super interesting biotech job, take a pause, and consider if the nature of biotech is actually right for you.
It’s a VUCA* world in early biotech
Get comfortable with change, complexity, and ambiguity if you want to work in a biotech, particularly in early-stage biotech.
In early biotech life, a nimble and adaptable workforce is essential. Change is the norm, the hierarchy is flat and informal, and people work cross-functionally on an ad hoc basis. There is an aversion to red tape so there are minimal formal systems and finding shortcuts through traditionally formal processes is encouraged.
If you’re someone who thrives on structure and order, where roles, systems, and processes are well-defined and well-observed, I would suggest that early-stage biotech isn’t for you. I would encourage you to instead consider CRO or big pharma.
*VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity
How risk averse are you?
If stability and job security are primary considerations, biotech might not be a good choice for you. Many biotechs operate a 2-year funding runway, so if you’re uncomfortable with the idea that you might have to find a new job in 2 years, the stability of big pharma might be a better proposition for you.
However, if you see risk as a challenge, and you have the determination and tenacity to work hard in a job that might be relatively short-term, biotech is great choice. If you take the risk and it doesn’t work out long-term, what have you lost? You will have had a fun and rewarding job for a couple of years and have given your career an incredible boost.
Scientific research vs commercial focus
I know that as a scientist you’re passionate about science and your own field of speciality. You might be considering a move from academia into your first industry role to bring the impact of your research to fruition.
Pause, though. Consider how important it is that you have control over your own research; the transition from academic research to working in an industrial R&D setting can be scientifically challenging.
In industry, there will be a commercial focus when considering the viability, direction, and pace of your research. To you, your project might be heading in a fascinating scientific direction. You may have found an innovative avenue that excites you scientifically and you might be keen to pursue that line of research and maybe even publish.
From a purely scientific perspective, the business might agree that it could be interesting to explore. Great! Except what if it doesn’t fit with the commercial objectives? If it doesn’t fit with the company’s direction or strategy, that exciting rabbit hole you want to dive into might not be commercially viable and you could find that you’re not allowed to follow that line of research. Worse still, the project you’ve just sunk 6 months of your energy and commitment into might get cancelled entirely. Not so great.
Seriously consider what working in a commercial scientific setting might look like in reality, and how you would feel if your project was unceremoniously shelved, despite its potential scientific merit.
Working style
You’ve probably gathered that biotech isn’t the ‘easy’ option if you’re making a choice between biotech start-up and big pharma. I strongly recommend that you think about what kind of working environment plays to your strengths, and that you will thrive in.
CHANGEABILITY
Biotechs are nimble, high-energy companies. They have smaller workforces than big pharma, and fewer constraints, so they can respond rapidly to changes in the competitive landscape, requiring the workforce to embrace the change and adapt without missing a beat.
If you are not adaptable and change-positive, you will find it challenging if the business changes course and you have to lead in that new direction.
WORKLOAD
With fewer people to do the work, individual workloads can be high with aggressive deadlines.
The pace has to be faster than in big pharma – much faster, in fact. You might be under pressure to reach certain milestones before a competitor, or for the next funding round. You don’t have a cushion of people to fall back on or hide behind. You must be responsive, and hardworking, willing to work long hours under considerable pressure.
If you have commitments that make it difficult for you to work long hours, weekends, and bank holidays, you may struggle to meet your objectives on time. There will be an expectation that you will dedicate the same time to work that your peers do.
INTENSITY
It can be a high stress, high pressure environment. Because the workforce is smaller in biotech, you, your work, and your mistakes will be more visible.
When things go wrong (because they will go wrong), it’s not some faceless ‘other’ who is affected – it’s your teammate, the person who works in the hood beside you, the person you have lunch with. When you make a mistake, you will see the impact it has on your team (and the business in general) and that can take an emotional toll.
If you’re employed as the expert, your contribution will be pivotal to the project. You can’t vanish into a hedge like a Homer meme when things don’t go to plan. While you won’t be alone, your work will be highly visible.
If you haven’t yet developed professional resilience, and if you’re not comfortable with accountability or setbacks, be honest with yourself about how you would react to and cope with these situations.
JOB SATISFACTION
There is a positive flipside to your visibility: When you get it right, everyone will see that too!
In the smaller biotech teams, you get the credit for your efforts and your results, and your performance is seen all the way to the top. You get to celebrate the win with people who understand what it took to make that happen, and who will also benefit from your success.
Remember: In biotech, your mistakes and successes are team events. If you don’t like the idea of being so visible in either circumstance, perhaps a bigger organisation is the way to go.
Culture
Big pharma provides a more formal, corporate tone in the workplace than biotech. It’s more conservative, more structured, and more established, and that might appeal to you.
The culture in biotech is more fluid, as it will be evolving. As culture is a major driver in start-up success, they encourage innovation and creativity, transparency, cross-functional collaboration, and a strong work ethic in a cooperative team environment.
COOPERATION
Everyone in biotech will wear many hats – because they have to. There isn’t a large workforce of specialists and sub-specialists with defined, siloed roles. From the top down, everyone is expected to pitch in with the interesting work and the not-so-fun stuff. There is no room for elitism or “that’s not my job” thinking or behaviour.
For example, you might move from innovative science, to collapsing boxes and carting them to the recycling bin, to pouring coffees to help with a recruitment event, all in the same day.
RELATIONSHIPS
Because of the small workforce and the entrepreneurial atmosphere and approach, tight personal relationships with teammates are common. There is an energy and camaraderie because you’re all in it together, all laser focussed on making the science work and making the company viable.
Be prepared to not work in quiet isolation. If you need solitude to perform at your best, you will have to find creative ways to decompress from a consistently collaborative environment.
TONE
Biotech is fun. It’s quirkier than a CRO, and less formal than big pharma. There is a positivity and vibrancy buzzing around.
Initially, meetings are more like groups coming together casually on sofas, brainstorming ideas. Team meetings are open forums for ideas. People inspire each other. It’s risk positive. Scientists bounce their ideas of their team, knowing that people are there to challenge and support them to achieve the team goal, not compete with them individually. For those from academia, the competitive environment of publish or perish is in the rear-view mirror.
Opportunity
The nature of the small biotech company creates opportunities to interact with various aspects of the business that might not be accessible to you in larger CROs or pharma.
As a scientist, you could find yourself working in a project management capacity alongside someone providing business development support. You could be involved with laboratory management, H&S, strategy, or presenting to investors. You will often collaborate with people in business support functions like HR, IP, IT, finance, or office/building management.
Your proximity and exposure to these different disciplines will turbo boost your experience, making you a very attractive prospect for future employers.
Your development is likely to be on-the-job in early-stage biotech. If a new piece of instrumentation needs to be installed, qualified, and calibrated, you might have to become the internal expert – even if you are not familiar with the instrument or assay.
What may be lacking (at least initially) is formal training for soft skills like management, team building, or presentation skills. Bigger, more established organisations have the budget, the resources, and the framework in place to offer these development opportunities more readily.
It can be easier to be a bigger fish in the smaller pond in biotech which can open doors for your advancement to more senior positions or a different department or discipline. It’s worth understanding, though, that as a biotech grows, senior people will probably be brought in above you, potentially capping your own advancement. That said, while you might not advance in seniority, you will gain invaluable skills and experience as your role changes and morphs with the company’s growth.
So, is biotech for you?
Do you like the idea of being a key person in an innovative scientific environment, where you will be challenged, but where you will also see your impact in a small, adventurous team?
If so, it’s a great choice, and one I’d wholeheartedly recommend!
~ Fiona
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