Around
268,000 people are employed by the UK life sciences industry and as one of the
fastest-growing sectors, this number is expected to continue rising. Life
sciences is a flourishing job market, particularly since the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore competition remains steep.
Writing a CV that sets you apart from the candidate competition is a key
job-hunting strategy. Here’s how you can do it:
Properly format your CV
There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to a CV, especially in life
sciences. If you've just finished school or University, choose a clear
layout that will showcase your skills in the best way. In the absence of
any previous work experience, include a skills section after your list of
qualifications and aim to keep it just to one page. You could also use some
space to talk about relevant personal interests and highlight how these
make you a great cultural fit for the life sciences job you’re applying
for.
Alternatively, if you’ve got a lot of achievements to share you need to
spend some time thinking about how to present it all clearly without making
the page look cluttered. It’s best to keep your CV to two pages and though
it might be difficult to omit some relevant experience, keep a note of what
has been removed and save it to speak about in the interview. Lots of hiring
managers and recruiters now use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) which
scans a CV, so avoid using any unnecessary designs, borders or fonts.
Open with a strong headline statement
The first few lines of your CV are the most valuable real estate. Hiring
managers and recruiters only spend a short amount of time on each CV, so
open with a strong headline that captures their attention. Think carefully
about how your summary makes you come across both professionally and
personally. There are many
exciting science-based careers in clinical research, one being a clinical trial manager – here’s how their opening statement
might read:
‘Results-driven clinical trial manager with 10 years experience. Skilled
in management of clinical studies in adherence to ICH and GCP guidelines
while leading cross-cultural teams. Areas of expertise include managing
remote decentralised trials, liaising with medical device companies, collaborating with Business
Development and regular oversight of DOS, MVR, FUL and AI.’
Use the STAR method
If you’re applying for a
Senior CRA job
and you claim to have a ‘Proven track record of leadership’, the hiring
manager reading your CV has no evidence to back this up. To make sure your
CV stands out from the rest, use the ‘Situation, Task, Activity, Result’ (STAR) method. For example, ‘When involved with the set-up and monitoring of a
study, I ensured the team completed the study status reports on time by
creating a worksheet which each person could update in real-time. This kept
everyone accountable for their work and resulted in the fastest turnaround
for the reports to date.’ If you can quantify your result, it can have an
even greater impact as hiring managers are drawn to figures. This technique
is also extremely useful for interviews.
Keywords
Look for keywords that the employer or recruiter uses in the job
advertisement and incorporate these into your CV in a natural way. ATS
systems will pick up on these keywords and may give you an advantage. For
example, when applying for a Study Start Up job you might pick out SSU,
pharmaceutical products, contractual documents, QC submissions, CDP and
wearable technology as terms included in the roles you're most interested in.
Using these keywords in your CV allows a recruiter to quickly identify you
as a strong candidate.
Looking beyond the skills required for the job, think about what relevant
experience employers will be looking for in every team member. In a
2019 skills demand survey, 63% of cell and gene therapy companies admitted that digital skills are a
must-have for future candidates. To show that you’re digitally savvy, make
sure you highlight your tech skills and promote any digital skills that are
relevant to the job.
Triple-check for spelling and grammar mistakes
Whether you’re
forging a career in clinical research
or applying for more niche areas like medical writing and medical affairs,
your CV must be totally free of mistakes. Any life sciences job requires
someone who is detail-oriented and there’s no better way to showcase
yourself as a meticulous employee than to present a document entirely free
of error.
Once you’re at the stage of submitting your CV pause for 15 minutes and use
this time to go through the file with a fine-tooth comb and even share it
without someone you know who has a keen eye for typos and grammar mistakes.
Alternatively, there are plenty of useful free online tools like Grammarly that will do the
checking for you.
Find the life sciences career that’s right for you
Now you know how to write an outstanding life sciences CV, next up is
brushing up on
tips to make a lasting impression in a video interview. Our job hunting tips are designed to help you best showcase yourself, so
you can find the life sciences career that’s right for you. ICON is
committed to becoming the leading Clinical Research Organisation but for
that, we need the best talent in the market.
Does that sound like you?
Apply for a
clinical research role
at ICON and show us why you’re made for the job today.
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