1 - If you send your CV to a recruiter, make sure to specify up front that the CV will not be shared with any company/person without your express permission beforehand. Why? Because this keeps your resume from being mass-mailed to pharmaceutical companies which could affect your current and future employment. Only Regulatory NEVER sends a CV to anyone without discussing it with the candidate beforehand.
2 - A candidate should never have to pay a recruiter to help them in their search. The client always pays the fees.
3 - Only use a recruiting firm/recruiter that understands Regulatory Affairs. Using a recruiter that does not understand the different roles and what they do can cause you more harm than good with a potential employer.
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:
It is important to understand our "vocabulary" to better understand the process. Some key definitions:
Candidate - The individual who might (or might not) be looking for other opportunities.
Client - The pharmaceutical company(s) we represent.
HR - Human Resources acronym.
Hiring Authority - The individual in the company who has the current opening. This is the Regulatory Professional (typically to whom the candidate will report). It is not Human Resources. Note that some companies' Human Resources allow recruiters to work directly with the Hiring Authority, some do not.
Recruiting - Reaching out to candidates to discuss potential roles for our clients.
Marketing - Reaching out to clients to discuss a candidate we are representing. NOTE: We never charge a candidate for our efforts... ever. Clients always pay our fees.
CV - Curriculum Vitae (a resume). Learn how we recommend making your CV by clicking on the 'Detailed CV' button to the right. Make sure to review the 'starting points' above this section.
Job Order - An open position given to us by a client to find a candidate.
Exclusive - A job order given to us by a client, or a candidate we are marketing, in which no other recruitment firm is involved.
Contingent (Search) - We only get paid by the client if we successfully place a candidate with them (and they start the position). These may or may not be exclusive.
Retained (Search) - When a client pays a percentage of our fees up front to recruit a candidate for their job opening. These searches are typically exclusive, but not always.
Confidential (Search) - When a candidate or client asks us to do a search without specifying their name.
Placement - When we have successfully found a client-candidate match and they are hired.
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