The Pros and Cons of Being an Independent Consultant

Posted on by February 25, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentChoosing between independent consulting and being a company’s employee is an important decision. Each choice has its pros and cons, and being fully informed of the benefits and drawbacks will help you decide what is best for you.

We have put together a quick Pro/Con list based off of our discussions with candidates.  This list is not intended to be all inclusive, but hopefully will make sure you have more information to help you make your decision.

Pros of being an independent consultant:

You have more flexibility with your schedule. If you want to spend the summer with your family in Spain, you are able to choose projects to accommodate your plans.  Like to be off on Fridays?  This is easier to coordinate as a consultant.

You choose which projects to work and which to pass up. If you have a passion for oncology, being an independent consultant gives you the freedom to work only oncology trials. Similarly, if you find cardiology trials to be uninteresting, you can avoid these projects. You can also be more selective as it relates to the type of company you wish to work with (Sponsor vs. CRO, Large vs. Small, Pharma vs. Biotech or Device, etc.).

You may have the ability to take additional tax deductions. If you are an independent consultant, you can write off everything considered to be a business expense. This can include non-reimbursed travel expenses, home office equipment and supplies, home office space, internet and telephone services, etc.

Additionally, independent consultants can typically earn higher hourly rates because company’s incur less overhead and burden costs than they would when hiring full-time employees.

Cons of being an independent consultant:

You now have two jobs – your clinical research contract position and marketing yourself for your next clinical research contract position.  Being a consultant means you are responsible for finding your next contract so you will have to stay focused on constant networking and personal branding. Depending on how often your trials turn over, you may be searching for new trial work several times a year.

You are responsible for your own health insurance and retirement plan. Many talented clinical research professionals choose to be directly employed by a company because of benefits. Providing your own health insurance can be pricey, and putting money aside for your retirement requires a lot of discipline.

You no longer have paid time off. It is simple – when you are not working, you are not getting paid.

You are responsible for providing your own clinical research professional liability insurance. Although the cost is not significant, traditional employees enjoy the benefit of being covered by their employer company while Independent consultants are required to cover themselves.

You are responsible for paying your own taxes. This doesn’t mean you will pay more taxes, it just means you have to do it instead of someone else doing it for you.  This means you will need to be disciplined enough to continually set aside a portion of your hourly rate pay your own withholdings.

As you can see, there are plenty of benefits, as well as drawbacks, to being an independent clinical research professional.  In order to make the right decision, you must evaluate what’s most important to you in terms of both your professional and personal lives.

Have any questions?  Ask the team here and we will be happy to help.

Written by Katie Fidler

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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Neglecting Your Job Description Will Cost You

Posted on by February 13, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentThe job description is an often overlooked aspect of the hiring process. This is unfortunate because having an accurate and attractive job description is the foundation for successfully placing and maintaining a candidate for any given position. Having problems with your attrition rate? Go back and examine the job descriptions for those positions. Are they updated? Accurate? Neglecting your job descriptions will cost you in three major ways.

  1. Time. If your job descriptions are vague and confusing, you are going to receive a lot of resumes from unqualified applicants. Instead of focusing on candidates who meet all of your prerequisites and qualifications, you’ll be sitting behind your desk leafing through resumes all day. By the time you do run across that “allstar” candidate, he may have taken another opportunity.
  2. Money. Having an inaccurate job description will cost you financially as well. If your job description doesn’t specifically outline the actual duties and responsibilities of the position, the person you hire will leave 9 times out of 10. They’re not getting what they signed up for. If your job description is accurate, you’ll save yourself the cost of finding, interviewing, and training another employee.
  3. Sanity. Perhaps most importantly, accurate job descriptions minimize conflict. You’ll never have to worry about the rebuttal “That’s not my job!” One of the best ways to ensure that your job description is accurate is to speak with the employee vacating the position, if appropriate of course. Have them give you insights into their day to day activities, the “behind the scenes” details and duties that keep things going.

Investing time in your job description is crucial if you are serious about finding the right candidate the first time around. It’s much more than a net you cast out, it’s a guidebook to the position itself. You will interview based off of it (“Explain your experience with XYZ,” “How many years have you”) and you will use it as a performance metric throughout the life of the position (“Are you fulfilling your duties?”). Investing a little extra time into your job description will save you big in the end.

Written by Katie Fidler

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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Are you ever involved with the clinical recruiting hiring process? If so, sign up for our Hiring Manager email course which focuses on how to attract and hire the highest quality candidates.

Qualities Hiring Managers Want Most

Posted on by February 25, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentPerhaps the most intimidating thing about searching for a new job is understanding what qualities hiring managers are looking for in potential employees. Fortunately, there are certain candidate qualities all hiring managers look for, regardless of the industry.

Someone who is hands on. When interviewing, you can demonstrate this quality by walking your interviewer through a project you’ve worked on while highlighting your individual contributions and accomplishments.  Make sure you are emphasizing what tasks you have done (using the pronoun “I”) rather than just what the overall team accomplished (using the pronoun “We”).

Strategic thinkers. Show your interviewer your logic and intuitiveness. If applicable to the position, prepare a 90 day plan that details your “plan of attack” for you first few months at the company.

Someone who is comfortable speaking and addressing people. Virtually every position you could hold involves some degree of communication. Whether it’s speaking with customers, coworkers, or clients, hiring managers are looking for employees who can keep a conversation moving smoothly. This can be demonstrated in the interview itself by not fidgeting and having answers prepared beforehand.

Leadership ability. Even if the position you are applying for doesn’t entail overseeing the duties of others, natural leadership qualities are something that all hiring managers look for. This includes accepting responsibility and volunteering for projects, even if they aren’t the most desirable.

Likeability. While most hiring managers might not admit that this contributes heavily to their hiring decision, your degree of likeability and friendliness is impossible to ignore, and may be one of the first things they notice during the interview. Managers will not hire people who won’t easily assimilate into the work environment and get along with the other employees.

Courage. This doesn’t mean that hiring managers are going to hire the candidate with the most Purple Hearts. Interviewers are looking for candidates who are willing to take risks and accept challenges, even in the face of adversity. Until you are offered the position, it may be hard to demonstrate this, but asking direct and frank questions about the company during the interview will go a long way.

Possessing the “And then Some” characteristic. This means you have a history of going above and beyond the call of duty.  You can set this initial impression by just simply being prepared for the interview.  You can also share previous examples where you have taken initiative and accepted additional responsibilities without being asked.

The qualities listed above are attributes all hiring managers are looking for in candidates. Your ability to demonstrate them before, during, and immediately following an interview will directly affect your hiring manager’s decision. Communicating and demonstrating your best qualities will go far in landing you that dream job.

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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Are you considering a career change? We specialize in clinical recruiting! You can sign up for our Job Seeker email course which provides valuable insight into how to become more competitive in the marketplace.

Why Your Attrition Rate is So High

Posted on by February 13, 2013

Clinical RecruitmentMany managers find that they struggle to control their attrition rates. It seems that no matter what they do or who they hire, they have a hard time getting employees to stick around. Some chalk it up to the industry, others the individual who left, and in some cases these might be valid. But more often than not, attrition rates increase due to either direct or indirect actions. Here are several reasons why hiring managers battle to keep their attrition rates down.

  • You settled during recruitment. You were in such a rush to get someone hired and trained so that normalcy could be restored to the office that you hired the person who was a “close” fit, not a “perfect” fit.
  • You got lazy with the job description. If your job description is vague or inaccurate, people will leave once they realize the situation isn’t what they signed up for. If your job description is vague to the point of looking generic, then the qualified candidates will skip right over and continue their search elsewhere.
  • Candidates weren’t screened thoroughly enough. Did you only communicate with them through email? How many people in your company did they speak with? Were they on time for scheduled appointments, well-spoken, and polite? Did you ask the right questions to qualify them for the position? Did you dig deep enough into their past responsibilities to make sure they were up for the task?
  • They feel undervalued and dispensable. Don’t be afraid to give praise and make your employees feel good when they accomplish their goals or complete tasks. Employees who feel valued by their company have a deeper sense of loyalty and will be more inclined to stay.
  • Their relationship with management is unsatisfactory. Whether it’s because they feel micromanaged or their opinions are ignored, employees will seek a job change if they’re not happy with their relationship with their superiors. This can be resolved make making sure each member of your team feels heard.
  • There are no work-life balance initiatives. You might be surprised how much harder and more positively your employees will work when they are given the opportunity to balance their lives. Your employees will be much more willing to work those extra hours and long nights to get the job done if they’re allowed to leave an hour early on Fridays to catch their kid’s baseball games or take a Monday off to visit with their parents.

If you’re battling to lower your attrition rate, reexamine each part of the hiring puzzle. Evaluate your methods for recruiting and screening candidates, take pride in your employees and their work, and make an effort to hear each team member’s voice.

Written by Katie Fidler

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts
www.craresources.com
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Are you ever involved with the clinical recruiting hiring process? If so, sign up for our Hiring Manager email course which focuses on how to attract and hire the highest quality candidates.