If you are looking for pharmaceutical jobs, 9 times out of 10 you will end up speaking to a pharmaceutical recruitment agency in order to get one. Many people will pass through this without really knowing what's going on.

Here's the 6 top Frequently Asked Questions about pharmaceutical recruitment.


Q : Can recruitment agencies send my CV out to companies without my knowledge?

A : Well it's against the law. Data protection laws mean that a recruitment agency must receive specific permission from you before they do anything with your personal details. Once you have sent them your CV they have a duty of care to keep these details completely confidential. One trap to avoid is a consultant's request that 'if I see a good job at short notice, can I send your details over straight away so as not to miss out?' What they are looking for is a license to send your CV out without contacting you. the answer here is 'NO'. I suggest you request in writing by e-mail when you send your CV, specifically that your details are only sent out to any company after agreement with yourself.

Q : Why don't companies just recruit directly themselves?

A : Jobs in Medical sales and other pharmaceutical jobs are highly sought after. A campaign to advertise for pharmaceutical jobs could attract vast responses. The task of whittling this response down to a manageable number of suitable people is not to be underestimated. The cost of such a campaign and the time to deal with it would be substantial. Using a recruitment agency to both advertise and carry out this initial process of filtering can save a number of the associated costs. In addition, if the recruitment consultant is good, they will be skilled at picking out very good candidates who will ultimately make a better contribution to the company. The result is that if a manager contacts agencies for a new vacancy, they may be able to conduct a full day of interviews for strong candidates within a matter of days.

Q : What does the recruitment agency get from their effort?

A : The recruitment agency will receive a fee which is a percentage of the starting salary of the new employee. This works well for everyone. If the agency fails to provide some one good enough to employ, they don't get paid. The agency is also motivated to help the candidate get the best possible salary as this enhances their fee.

Q : How many agencies should I send my CV to?

A : Personally, as long as you make a specific request for them to contact you before passing on your details, registering with more agencies will increase your chances of being notified about a good job. However, don't tell your agencies you're doing this. Their task is to try and persuade you 'just' to register with them alone. If they achieve this, they will invest more time in you, without the risk of loosing out to another agency and obviously this is good for you. If they realise you are with a whole bunch of agencies, you will quickly become a poor investment of time and a lower priority.

Q : As a candidate, will it cost me anything to use a recruitment agency?

A : No. It's the recruiting company who will pay the agency a fee.

Q : Should I use an agency to find me a job?

A : Certainly yes . The use of pharmaceutical recruitment agencies is standard in the pharmaceutical industry. A 'switched on' recruitment agency will guide you through the process, offer advice to improve your CV and help you in interview technique and assessment centres etc. In addition they will have good contacts into companies to get you interviews with the right people.

Good luck

This article is written by John Bult of Medical Sales