Interview With a Pharma/Biotech Recruiter

If you've been interested in getting a non-clinical job in pharma (pharmaceuticals) or biotech (biotechnology), you may not know where to begin, especially if you've only been in clinical practice and/or academia. You may have questions that you want to ask, like "How do I break into pharma?"

Well, I have the unique opportunity of interviewing a seasoned pharma/biotech recruiter who has extensive experience working in HR (human resources) at several major pharma/biotech companies. This individual has also interacted heavily with various executive search firms (or head hunters if you prefer) and can provide some practical tips and advice.

I'd like to give you the opportunity to ask your questions to this individual. Please either e-mail me your questions or post them as comments. Once I collect a handful of questions, I will post the responses in a Q&A format.

Pfizer Oncology: Martine J. George, M.D., M.Sc

Pfizer announced the appointment of Martine J. George, M.D., M.Sc, to Vice President of Medical Affairs for its Oncology Business Unit. Dr. George received her M.Sc in Pharmacology from Montreal University and her M.D. from Paris University. Her industry experience includes companies like J&J, Ortho Biotech, Novartis, sanofi-aventis, and more.

Because the pharmaceutical industry is really an international business, there are opportunities even in the United States for foreign medical graduates (FMGs) / international medical graduates (IMGs). In order to climb the corporate ladder, you have to have strong business skills and excellent people skills. If you're an FMG or IMG interested in non-clinical opportunities, build your social network so that you can find the right types of opportunities.

Pharmaceutical Executive

There are many types of publications for executives working in the pharmaceutical industry. One magazine/journal is simply titled, "Pharmaceutical Executive" and is published by Advanstar Communications. Care to take a look at it? Using Nxtbook Media technology (e-publishing/digital publishing), they have published the March issue here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/advanstar/pe_200903/

Take a look and see what's happening in the pharmaceutical industry. There are many corporate changes occurring. Jobs are responsibilities are evolving and companies are trying to adapt to all this change.

Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Investigators (APPI)

If you're looking for the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians (AAPP), make sure to visit: http://www.appinet.org/

The old URL (www.aapp.org) is dead because the organization has been renamed the:

Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Investigators (APPI)

Want to become a Certified Physician Investigator (CPI)? Then learn more about this certification process by going to the certification page on the APPI website here.