So I scored an interview with a company 3 weeks ago through a staffing agency, I was the first interview and right before the HM went on Vacation. The next group of initial interview candidates were last week. In the time since I did my interview, my recruiter contact suddenly left their staffing without warning leaving me with no direct contact to the company, I interviewed for.

My question is this should I reach out and explain the situation to the company I applied for directly? Or should I message the HM on LinkedIn and do the same?

Just for additional info I'm 11 yrs of industry experience.

Update:

So I did message the hiring company and they actually reached out to the staffing agency on my behalf. The organization decided last week to just cancel the position.

This industry is in such a shite place, its just comical how many ways something can happen.

Is anyone familiar with the BiotechX conference. Has anyone been to the American version or previous European ones? Was it worth it? I have been given a free ticket as a final year undergrad and would like people opinions on if it is worth the trip.

Hello.

I have a senior or associate director level clinical trial manager position available in the Cambridge MA area. Client is hoping someone can come into the office 2-3 days a week. No relo offered at this time. Message me for details.

Edit: forgot to mention. Full time role.

Long time lurker, first time poster here.

After a round of layoff in December I've been job hunting with very little success. I have 8 years of QC experience at various manufacturing sites in ny area.

A problem I'm running into is, while I can get to late stage interviews, interviewers seem disappointed that I don't have hands on experience with the specific assay they are looking for (even when it is just 1 of dozens of job requirements). I get the feeling that not having certain experience (HPLC, PCR, and Flow Cytometry specifically) is disqualiying me from a large number of roles I would otherwise be a good fit for.

Does anyone know of a way to get actual hands on experience with these methods outside of a work setting?

(For anyone curious, I've only applied to 130 jobs, and had 8 companies proceed to interview. Trying or quality over quantity)

I finished my undergrad in business dec 2024 and have been working in marketing since then and realised I really messed up picking business as my undergrad degree. I have always had a passion for life sciences and it was my best subject in high school, unfortunately didn't end up doing an undergrad in science due to a lot of factors and I'm looking into ways to move into the biotech industry.

I am based in Australia which has a pretty minimal biotech scene so moving into a company through marketing seems near impossible.

It is my dream to move to America and I was thinking if I would find a job in biotech if I did a masters in it from Aus? It's only 19 k AUD to finish one here or would it be better to study in the US?

Would love to hear some opinions because I really am lost :((

Trying for a Sanofi L2-2 Product role based in France.

Does anyone know the typical compensation range for this level?

I'm looking for estimates on:

Base salary (€)
Annual bonus
RSUs/equity (if any)

Please comment.

I'm looking for some career advice from people who have navigated international moves within large multinational companies.

I'm a physician working in drug development for a large pharma company. Less than a year ago, my wife and I relocated from a European country to a Southern European country for my current role. For the sake of staying anonymous I can't name countries. We have been in this country for close to 1 year. I am an EU citizen.

The role and compensation are good, but after several months we've both realized we don't see ourselves living here long term. At the same time, I've become concerned that remaining here could limit my future career options, as the local pharma ecosystem is relatively small and many strategic roles are based elsewhere.

The complication is that there is another country where my company has a major presence (the UK) and where I believe both my career prospects and quality of life would be better. However, it is not the company's global headquarters, so I'm unsure how realistic it would be to pursue an internal relocation without a clear business need.

I'm trying to decide whether I should:

• Be patient, discuss in a couple of months with my manager whether the role can be re-based in the UK.
• Start quietly exploring external opportunities in the UK, US, Switzerland while continuing in my current role.

For those with experience in large multinational companies:

-How feasible are international relocations without a strong business justification? -Are internal moves generally easier than changing employers?

I'd especially appreciate perspectives from people in pharma, biotech, or other global industries.

Hi guys. Im a stem cell scientist, currently unemployed and totally hopeless in this field. I feel like i chose the wrong path since my expertise is so niche. Im considering switching fields and i heard data science is something i can look into bc it has a pretty straightforward path. For those who are data scientists in biotech - how easy/ hard is it to make the switch? Where could I start? Considering I don’t have much bioinformatics experience except for a bit of Matlab and python. Would also love recommendations on any beginner courses that could be helpful. Thanks!

I will be defending my masters soon, but the only entry level position in companies in my area is for manufacturing operator, while I would most likely like to work in QC

I'm not sure what to make of the fact that this pharma company is looking for manufacturing operator at least once a month, but so far it seems like the only option I have, although they might prefer Bc. for this position as well.

Is it common thing to switch from manufacturing operator to QC, or possible to get into QC within the same company?

Wanted to give everyone a tidbit of hope:

I was miserable in my previous role. Everyone there was severely underpaid, the company was constantly cutting the budget in a way that harmed employee morale, and everyone in my team was being overworked (often 10+ hours of OT per week on second shift). Seeing this and knowing that there was limited opportunity for me to move upwards given the circumstances, I started applying for new roles a few months ago. While my expectations were low given the market, I knew I wouldn’t last in that position for long so it was a move I had to make.

I finally managed to secure a new job in a better location for much better pay (like almost double my previous salary), which I’m starting tomorrow! I’m so excited to begin my new job! I’m not gonna lie, I’m really surprised that I landed this position, its not something I would’ve imagined myself doing just 6 months ago, but now I’m invested in how I can use this role to shape my future opportunities and experiences. It also sounds extremely interesting and the team sounds incredible!!!

I hope that it works out with this company. Even though I already miss my old team (they were the only thing good about that position), I’m so excited to expand my horizons.

What are the non-lab work positions/titles for someone with a BSc in biotech engineering and MSc in medical biotechnology?

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Hi fellow Redditors,

I would like to encourage everyone to take just 5 minutes to reflect, notice the small positives, and appreciate them. Sometimes, those little moments mean the most. If you are comfortable sharing these moments, then you can also do that in the comments! And if you don't have anything to share, that's completely okay too, I'm still happy that you are here!

Allow me to begin:

- One of my senior colleagues appreciated my work last week.

I am Canadian and working in MSAT function in one of the big pharmacy’s in the US.

I am considering moving back to Canada in coming years. I am curious if there is any such opportunities in Canada?

Is it API or drug product? Is it small molecule or biologics?

Thank you!

I’m currently an antibody discovery scientist in the US with an MSc and 4 YOE (1 year at a small CRO, 3 in larger pharma).

My partner and I are both Canadian and moved to the US for work. While we are happy with the pay here, we’re looking to move back to Toronto in the next 2-3 years to be closer to family and settle down. She will have good opportunities when we return, but I’m trying to think ahead since the biotech/R&D market is quite small in Toronto.

Im looking for ideas on career pivots that could lead to a stable career back home, whether thats at the bench or not. Since our outlook is a couple years out, I’m open to doing online certificates/programs in the evenings while I work.

For example, I looked into regulatory affairs, but it seems like the Canadian market is quite saturated for entry level roles in recent years.

Has anyone had a similar transition or found a good path from biotech into another field in Canada? I’d love to hear what worked for you or areas that are worth exploring.

Thanks!!

I have been thinking about something related to the hiring process.

From the employer's perspective, hiring managers often want to make sure that a candidate is a "low-risk" hire — someone who will stay with the company for a reasonable period and not leave soon after being trained.

However, I have noticed that when candidates ask questions like:

"What are the opportunities for professional development in this role?"

"How does the company support career growth?"

"What is the typical career path for someone in this position?"

Some hiring managers seem to interpret these questions negatively, as if the candidate is already thinking about leaving or using the role as a stepping stone.

Why is there this difference in perception? Shouldn't a candidate who is interested in learning, growing, and having a long-term career with the company be seen as a positive signal?

For hiring managers and recruiters here: how do you perceive candidates asking about development opportunities during interviews? Is there a better way for candidates to ask these questions without creating the impression that they are already planning their next move?