Career Guide

The goal of this builder is to give those early in the careers a starting point, and for those who are senior, a different approach or ideas. We have been in pharmaceuticals since 1995 and for the most part, resumes haven't changed that much. That said, we have recommended Regulatory Affairs professionals use a slightly different approach than say, Analytical Development or Pharmacology. This is because we feel Regulatory Affairs is less research focused and more experience/success focused. So for things like publications, which we would have recommend including in a strict research environment, we don't for Regulatory Affairs. There are some exceptions to this, so it's a guide more than a rule. 

Do's/Don'ts:

• Format: Everything in the body should be 12pt, with other sections and headers larger/smaller (see PDF link to the right or scroll down below). Times New Roman was the golden standard for years, but Calibri shows up a lot now. Avoid unusual scripts.

• Use standard borders as much as possible to increase 'white space'... even if this makes your CV a page longer.

• You have 15-20 seconds to make an impression.

• Very few professionals in Human Resources (HR) are technical. In general, they have met with the Hiring Authority (HA) and have been told what to look for. This typically means they will quickly scan for key words. Examples of this would be therapeutic areas, NDA/BLA experience, FDA direct interaction, or management of projects & people. Make sure those stand out.

• Many HR professionals look for things to rule you out, not in (again the key words). Do not blame them - they deal with massive amounts of CV's so they have to make quick decisions what to do with the resume. We like to use the analogy of 'piles' or buckets. HR has several different piles: from those they are excited about, to lukewarm and finally to those who will be entered into their system for some other day (and forgotten). Make sure you get into the right pile with key wording and make sure it stands out for those giving your resume a 15-20 second glance.

• Make sure to spell check the document several times. If you have a mentor you trust (or experienced recruiter), have them look it over before submitting it. In our case, a CV will not leave our office until we feel it represents you well... even if this takes days.

• Do not be afraid to be technical - but there is no reason for your resume to look like your dissertation. Less is more.

• Do not put references on your resume (with some exceptions such as the HA knows you). References should be requested. 

• Make sure you are prepared to provide three references WHO YOU HAVE ALREADY SPOKEN TO before submitting your CV. 

• Do NOT put any contact information on your CV you don't want to be contacted at.