Secrets of a CRA Recruiter

The topic of this week’s roundtable is self-defeating beliefs and how they may be keeping you unemployed or unhappily employed. I refer to self-defeating habit patterns as Blockers. Blockers are those habit patterns that may have helped you survive in the past but are no longer beneficial to you. For example, as a baby, you cried when you were hungry. But as an adult, if you cry

Do you think that bosses can have friends at work? It is a complicated question…and if your answer is no, then I am certainly guilty. I love my team members. Each and every one of them are more than just colleagues to me. But as the boss, fostering close relationships with team members can sometimes lead to firing a friend. The irony is that most firings can be avoided. Last year

Some of our listeners may argue that no one should be declining a job offer in today’s economy. I find that many candidates decide to accept or decline a position based only on compensation. But aren’t there other factors important to you? And while I agree that money shouldn’t be the primary driver in making career decisions, isn’t financial security something everyone str

Have you ever considered how getting a job is directly related to your mindset as a job seeker? Before you craft your resume, update your LinkedIn profile, or start applying for positions, consider whether your mindset may be turning off potential hiring managers. For example, let’s say that you apply for a position that is a bit over your experience level. If you go into that si

Several years ago Lou Adler wrote an article that described what recruiters and talent leaders felt were challenges to hiring the right person. He boiled their feedback into two primary categories: Teams aren’t seeing enough quality candidates, and Hiring managers are the problem, not the solution. Hiring the right person can certainly be a challenge. And yes, we see many Sponsor

In the last 24 hours, one of our clients just received 667 applicants for an open CRA position. I just received 272 applicants for an administrative position (and they are still pouring in). The rub? Many of those candidates were seriously overqualified for these roles. Some people may feel that such an outpouring of interest is a positive thing. But I see something different…hun

Unplanned absences are going to happen. Kiddos get sick. Parents become ill and need to be cared for. Car accidents happen. Unplanned absences from the workplace are inevitable.We teamed up with one of our favorite Hiring Managers to discuss how both management and team members can (and should) proactively plan for unplanned absences. Part of our discussion relates to federal guide

Folks break into a clinical research career via many different pathways. And when it comes to a clinical research professional’s foundations as a CRA, we typically see one of two approaches. Many sponsors and CROs would say that obtaining foundational experience through “classical training” is the preferred approach. However, while we are seeing more and more sponsors and CRO

This podcast tackles the topic of how job seekers should be pickier when selecting a recruiter to work with. In this ‘How to Recruit Your Recruiter’ discussion, you will see how easy it is to fall prey to a recruiter who may not have your best interest in mind.Years ago, an executive search firm reached out to me, offering to represent me if I paid them a fee. At the time I was

About twenty years ago I had a mentor who told me that interviewing was the worse way to identify talent. I thought he had lost his mind. But with the rise of the fake interview, I see some wisdom to his point.Now I am not going to go on record stating that we should throw out the interview. But I will state that an effective vetting process starts long before scheduling an intervi