Our Biotech client needed to hire a right-hand person to the CTO, who would also be responsible for leading a new function and strategic initiatives behind the department. This was a new role to the organization.
Strategy
It’s typical with newly-created roles to have the profile evolve a bit during the recruiting process. We focused on understanding the client’s specific needs, including the critical requirements for the role. After digesting interview feedback and the core needs of the role, it was clear the original spec was too technically focused and candidates were missing the mark on strategic capability.
Recruiting for strategic experience can be challenging. We crafted a set of screening questions around experience and outcomes that were directly relevant to the business needs of the role. These data-driven stories helped the hiring team dive into the areas most critical for the role beyond technical skillset.
We really leaned on our partnership with the client for this search and our consultative approach helped us navigate a challenging search. Ultimately, we recognized the key areas we would need to flex on the profile – seniority, strategic capability and remote (out-of-market candidates) – in order to make this critical hire.
Outcome:
The successful hire looked different than the original profile. We found a candidate that on paper was not the traditional fit- title was different and the function they were leading was different. But based on our in-depth screening, we were confident the transferrable skills were a match. Given the strategic nature of the role, the organizational fit was incredibly important as well. We screened for leadership style, both managing up and down, as well as cross-functional relationship and consensus building. When we presented the candidate, we shared the full story of their technical and strategic experience, as well as work style.
Learnings:
Some searches require different approaches. There were not a lot of areas for flexibility in the profile, but we were able to provide consistent market data and a sense of the talent in the space so the hiring team could evaluate the best approach. In the end, the client found the “perfect” match and both candidate and client were really happy with the match and our services. Patience, research, market-mapping and data reporting were the keys to this successful search.
Breeana Cebulla is a Senior Vice President at HireMinds, where she strategically partners with Life Science companies of all sizes on a national level. With over 18 years of recruitment industry experience, she supports a wide variety of areas for her clients ranging from R&D, Clinical, Quality, Regulatory, Statistics, Tech Ops, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Program/Project Management, Corporate (IT/HR/Legal) and welcomes new challenges! She strives to provide a “one-stop-shop” experience for her clients, eliminating the need to have multiple vendors. She also has extensive experience in building out teams/companies from the ground up.
