What CRAs Want in an Employer
The market for clinical research associates (CRAs) is competitive at the moment, and the demand for CRAs is expected to remain strong for the foreseeable future. Because of this – and because CRA roles are similar across employers – it’s usually not that difficult for CRAs to change jobs. Therefore, employers would do well to learn what CRAs look for in an organization and try to meet their needs – otherwise, they’ll have a hard time attracting and retaining CRA talent in this niche job market.
Bear in mind that CRAs are often targeted by corporate recruiters. A good salary and excellent benefits are table stakes when it comes to hiring CRAs. Organizations have to offer more, including flexibility and the opportunity to meet challenges and gain valuable experience, if they want to hire top CRA talent.
New CRAs May Look to Smaller Companies
In many cases, CRA candidates who have recently completed their education look to smaller organizations for their first jobs. Ideally, a CRA should gain experience from both large and small organizations, but starting out at a smaller one can offer some advantages.
For example, in a small organization, a CRA may gain more responsibility more quickly. In addition, the tasks that the CRA at a smaller organization is assigned tend to be more varied because everyone may be required to wear several hats. However, with smaller companies, there may not be as much room for career advancement.
Larger Organizations May Offer Valuable Monitoring Experience
Larger companies can also tout certain advantages when looking to hire CRAs. For one, many larger organizations are less averse to hiring an inexperienced CRA and providing the kind of training they need to advance in the field. Furthermore, at larger companies, there can be more room for career advancement, plus more opportunity for lateral career moves – things that may be difficult to find at smaller companies.
CRAs Want Independence and Flexibility
Anyone who becomes a CRA expects to work hard. At the same time, they expect to be treated with respect and to enjoy a certain amount of autonomy. Some of the work of the CRA can be done from home with a secure Internet connection, and this can be a nice perk for the CRA who spends a lot of time on the road traveling from one clinical site to another. A CRA could be responsible for at least half a dozen clinical sites, each of which must be visited several times during a clinical trial depending on the research protocol. Frequent travel means many CRAs are grateful when nonclinical aspects of their work can be taken care of from home.
Ultimately, with any CRA job, the positives must outweigh the negatives. One of the great things about a career as a CRA is that there is a lot of variety in the tasks a CRA performs, which means they’re less likely to fall into a rut or grow bored of their work. And though the hours can be long, there is some flexibility for the hours not involved in clinical tasks, and CRAs with families appreciate this.
The challenges of a career as a CRA include frequent travel between clinical sites, which can be exciting at first, but less so as a career progresses. Great time management skills are necessary, and CRAs must not only fulfill their professional obligations, but also must do so in strict regulatory environments. The best CRAs know that it’s worth the hard work if they can find the right employer.
Finding the Right CRAs for Your Team
Whatever the size of your organization, you have something to offer the CRA beyond a good salary and benefits. Whether you work at a small company where the hiring manager assumes multiple responsibilities in addition to recruiting, or you work at a large company and face a major hiring push, working with a recruiter that specializes in pharmaceutical and biotech recruiting can be the key to finding CRAs who are perfect for your needs. A specialist recruiter not only understands what kinds of skills and experience mixes are right for CRA positions, but also has a strong network of professionals they can leverage to find the right candidate more easily.
A version of this post originally appeared at HirePerfect.com .