Drug Makers Expect Tough 2011

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the Pharmaceutical industry is anticipating a tough year in 2011.
But our experience suggests otherwise.
Beginning in the middle of last year and continuing so far through the very early part of this year, we have seen not only a strong uptick in hiring, but attitudes overall seem to be improving in the industry.
Bottom line: The news coming out of the industry is starting to be more positive.
Hopefully the worst is behind us...........

Recruiters Rethink Online Playbook - Article in WSJ

An article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal details the decision by a number of companies to rethink how they recruit new talent.

The article opens by stating that:
"Rather than sift through mounds of online applications, they are going out to hunt for candidates themselves."

The article continues by citing the experience of SAIC:
"Inundated by online applicants, McLean, Va.-based government contractor Science Applications International Corp. plans to cut the number of job boards it uses in the coming fiscal year to six from 15 or so, says company vice president Kara Yarnot.

SAIC has asked its 125 U.S. recruiters to find candidates for analyst, engineering, and other jobs on professional social networks instead.

'It's almost a throwback to the old, dial-for-dollars method of recruiting,' says Ms. Yarnot. 'We need to reach candidates earlier, before they're being pursued by competitors.' "

It's not a surprising development. A lot of my clients have complained of being flooded with scores of resumes from unqualified candidates when they post jobs online. They feel that that job boards are generally not a good source of talent. And what is a job board but essentially an electronic version of a newspaper want ad. The simple reality is that you don't consistently find your best candidates from an ad...whether it is a newspaper or on-line advertisement. The best people are usually not actively looking.

That is not to say you can't fill a position with a great candidate whose resume you snatched off a job board. But as one of my favorite clients...a VP of R&D with a major Pharma company....used to say..."You may get lucky and fill a single position with a great candidate by simply running an ad or scouring an online job board....but you can never build a successful organization that way."

Finding good talent is a labor intensive process. It requires talking to a lot of people. It requires a lot more effort than simply following the old "Post and Pray" approach.