how to get a clinical research job with no experience

7 Strategies for Getting an Entry-Level Clinical Research Job

News December 8, 2020

Kunal Sampat, MNA, ACRP-CP, Host of the Clinical Trial Podcast

Many people applying for entry-level clinical research jobs may begin their journey by enrolling in a certificate program. They invest months or years, not to mention thousands of dollars, toward earning a certificate, yet upon finishing and hitting the job markets, are likely to still be dealing with unresponsive hiring managers who are looking for individuals with two years of experience. (It is important to note here that having a “certificate” in clinical research from some source is not the same as holding “certification” in clinical research—an achievement based on mastery of job roles and solid experience in the field.)

How does one get around such a situation to get that first dream job in clinical research with less hassle, less expense, and more reliable prospects for employment at the end of the process? Presented here are some strategies that can work extremely well for individuals with foreign medical degrees, backgrounds in life sciences or allied health, or experience working in a regulated environment.

1—Gain clarity on your career goals.

  When most people apply for clinical research jobs, they fire up their computer and start applying for open positions. Before applying you should begin your journey by answering the following questions:

• Do you want a paid job or a volunteer opportunity? Is the experience you’ll gain more important, or do you really need a paycheck right away?
• Who do you want to work for? Clinical research is a vast field with different types of companies offering different kinds of job opportunities. You can work for a contract research organization, a sponsor such as pharmaceutical or device company, a clinical research vendor, a regulatory authority such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , a nonprofit organization such as a patient advocacy group, an institutional review board, or a study site, to name some of the options.
• What job role are you most interested in? Is there a specific one you’d enjoy more than others? There are many other clinical research opportunities in addition to the clinical research associate (CRA) or clinical research coordinator (CRC) roles. For example, you can work as a data manager, safety monitor, patient recruiter, medical writer, biostatistician, project manager, regulatory compliance manager, or research billing expert.
• Would you enjoy working in the field (traveling or remote work) or in an office environment? Some people enjoy being on the road (and earning frequent flyer points). Others get more energy interacting with people at the office. Most clinical research roles offer the ability to work remotely or in an office setting.
• Are you open to relocating to a different city, state, or country? Entry-level positions may not offer the best pay, so you’ll need to decide if you’d be open to relocating, even if the pay was low.
• Are you looking for full-time, part-time, or contract employment? Depending on your personal circumstances, you may be more interested in a full-time position for the medical benefits or in a part-time role for a better work-life balance. Alternatively, you may be interested to contract opportunities at first and then transition into full-time employment once you have experience under your belt.

Answering these six questions honestly will give you the necessary clarity on which opportunities you should pursue and which ones you shouldn’t.

2—Invest in your clinical research education.

At a minimum, I encourage everyone to become familiar with the tenets of Good Clinical Practice (GCP) early in their job quest. Depending on the type of clinical research organization you decide to work at, your training beyond GCP will differ significantly. For example, training for an oncology pharmaceutical company will be different than training for a cardiology medical device company.

You can watch hundreds of YouTube videos on clinical trials or medical technologies, attend conferences or seminars, and get in-depth software training, but still not have a job in clinical research. Here is what you can do to narrow down your clinical research education priorities:

• Identify the dream role (career opportunity) you’re interested in applying for.
• Read through the job description—specifically, the job requirements.
• Highlight the skills you have little or no knowledge or experience with.
• Look up webinars, YouTube videos, and literature to develop those specific skills (i.e., fill the skill gap).

The above plan won’t make you an expert in those skills, but you will have built confidence in yourself and your ability to speak to these topics during interviews. If you feel you need more training, I encourage you to sign-up for membership with nonprofit professional organizations such as ACRP or SOCRA . Membership gives you access to many training resources; a lot of information is available to you for no additional cost aside from the basic membership fee.

Additionally, with your membership, you end up surrounding yourself with other experienced clinical research professionals via networking with their virtual communities and by attending educational events. You can then reach out to your fellow members for career guidance and make them aware of your interest in working in clinical research.

3—Fix your resume.

Your resume must not read like a job description. Most employers rely on a resume to screen applicants. Unfortunately, if your resume reads like a job description, the hiring manager does not get a clear understanding of your contributions in your current and previous roles. Instead, your resume should reflect your own professional achievements. You want to clearly state the results you achieved in your previous roles and, when possible, you should quantify the results. For example, instead of stating, “Worked in a research lab analyzing preclinical data,” you might want to state, “Analyzed data from two preclinical studies in mice for an Alzheimer’s drug.”

If you feel like your clinical or medical-oriented experiences are limited, focus on transferable skills for the research position you seek. Transferable skills such as financial management, project management, writing, and informational systems management are applicable to clinical research as well.

 4—Focus on 10 job opportunities and always follow up.

Focus on only 10 job applications at a given time. Many applicants apply for multiple jobs every week during their searches. Over the course of a couple of months, they have applied for dozens of jobs, but probably haven’t had a formal interview for any position. Instead of applying for every possible clinical research job as soon as they appear on the radar, I have found that applying for 10 at a given time gives applicants the time and energy to personalize their approach for each position.

Following up with employers is absolutely necessary. Even though hiring is a top priority for many organizations, hiring managers get busy with their day-to-day activities and hiring can take the back seat. By following up with the hiring manager, you’re demonstrating your continued interest in working for the company.

5—Write and speak clearly.

Aside from strong technical skills for many jobs, you may also need to demonstrate above-average written and verbal skills. This is important because clinical research is a cross-functional, team-oriented field. For most roles, you’ll be working in a team environment. When the job description states, “candidate must have excellent communication skills,” the employer wants to ensure you can write and speak clearly.

Many candidates will create a page-long, generic cover letter that repeats everything that can be found in their resume. Such a cover letter fails to show the employer why you’re the right fit for the role. Instead, I recommend applicants write a cover letter with three to five bulleted points that outline the benefits of hiring him or her for the job. The more personalized your cover letter is to a given employer and role, the greater chance you have for being invited for an interview.

Personalized cover letters might make reference to a specific clinical trial the hiring company is running, the company’s therapeutic area(s), and other details that show you’ve done your homework and are engaged in the opportunity to work there.

When it comes to verbal communication, the easiest way to have clarity in your message is to write down the key points you want to discuss on the phone. This forces you to be clear about why the company should hire you and not some other candidate with equivalent credentials.

6—Prepare for your interview.

Once you’ve landed with an interview date, it is time to prepare for the interview, using the following tips:

• Read the “About” and “News” section of the company website. Learn about the company’s clinical and regulatory leadership team. The news section will provide insights from the latest press releases from the company. This will give you an idea of what is on the company’s “mind.” You can also visit ClinicalTrials.gov for more information on the company’s trials, and to get a better understanding of the medical treatments being developed and their targeted patient populations.
• The biggest unknown in any interview is that you do not know what questions the interviewer will ask you. To help focus your answers, I recommend that you come up with a list of five to eight examples from your education or professional experiences that you’re proud of or that taught you something valuable. When possible, limit these to experiences that are medical or clinical in nature. Next you want to create a story around each of these examples that will become a valuable answer to an appropriate question. The best way to create a story is using the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, and Results). For each of these examples, you want to write down the situation, the task in front of you, the action you took, and the results achieved as a result of your actions.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re almost ready for the interview. The last thing you need to do is to appear and sound professional during and after the interview. Be sure you write a personalized “thank you” note after each interview.

7—Have the courage to hear “No.” Remember that you will eventually hear “Yes.”

Many entry-level clinical research applicants lack the courage to hear that, “No, we cannot hire you for this job” from potential employers. It is painful to hear a “No” and rightfully so. Furthermore, most employers do a poor job of providing constructive feedback to applicants they don’t want to hire. Employers don’t want to say “No” to the not-so-great candidates because they fear not finding the “right” candidate for the job; they prefer to have a backup list of candidates in case their preferred candidate doesn’t work out.

This makes it even more important for candidates to encourage employers to make a decision, whether it’s a “Yes” or a “No.” This not only helps the candidate, it also helps employers to move on to other candidates who might be a better fit for the organization.

You don’t need to sign up for an expensive and time-intensive clinical research certificate program to secure an entry-level job in clinical research. Instead, you need to gain clarity around your clinical research career ambitions, learn GCP, invest in your continued education through nonprofits such as ACRP and SOCRA, fix your resume so that it doesn’t read like a job description, focus on 10 open opportunities at a given time, write and speak clearly in all your communications with the potential employer, plan for your interview using the Situation, Task, Action, Results (STAR) format, and embrace rejection if you’re not hired for the role. These strategies, collectively, will increase the odds of your success tremendously and you’ll be on your way to experiencing the joys of working in clinical research and clinical trial management.

by Guest Contributor Kunal Sampat, MNA, ACRP-CP, Host of the Clinical Trial Podcast

BEAVER Method—How to Get a Job in Clinical Research

Navigating a Career as a Clinical Research Professional: Where to Begin?

Getting Started in Clinical Research

How to Enter the Clinical Research Field

Who’s Who in Clinical Research

Introduction to Good Clinical Practice

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FDA PDUFA Reauthorization Looks to Increase Use of Decentralized Trial Technology

A Guide to Patient Payment Best Practices

How to Get into Clinical Research Step by Step

What is clinical research.

Clinical research is a branch under the healthcare sciences that is responsible for finding out the effectiveness and safety of medical devices, medications, diagnostic products and treatment regimens that are intended for human use to help cure illnesses. Clinical research is important for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, alleviating of symptoms of a disease, but it is much different from clinical practice.

You want to get a career for yourself in clinical research, then let's take you through the drill.

The first step is to get an education.

Earn a bachelor's degree in a life science or health related discipline. Courses like medicine, pharmacology, biology, molecular biology, genetics, anatomy, biotechnology, nursing, physiology, chemistry, or bioengineering will equip you with the necessary and relevant knowledge to get you into clinical research.

Supplement your education by applying for the courses offered at your university or from professional organizations like Certified Clinical Research Professionals (CCRPS) and Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) . These courses will include; study designs, Good Clinical Practices (GCP) , research ethics, drug development cycle, regulatory affairs and requirements both in the US and internationally, among others.

Get a certification from a reputable organization, such as CCRPS , ACRPS , and Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA) . Make sure you study the ICH GCP guidelines and ethics to make you competent. Training in the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) Good Clinical Practices (GCP) ethics and guidelines improves your chances greatly. At CCRPS, we offer a free ICH GCP certification to help you get started.

Keep proper documented records of your certifications as well as your education.This will save you a lot of time and stress.

The next step is to gather experience.

The following are ways you can gather experience:

Volunteer - Look for volunteering opportunities around your area and volunteer to help with the projects that will be carried out in the clinical research industry. This helps you get closer to the professionals as well as the tasks itself. You can volunteer at clinical research professionals organizations related to the clinical research field or medical field, medical centers or hospitals, International Review Boards (IRB) or Research Ethics Committees.

Research Projects - Take up clinical research monitoring projects and you can gain at least two years of experience.

Internships - Seek out an internship with medical firms, biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies while you're still in college. CCRPS offers an internship program that can help you develop your resume.

The next step after getting an education and gathering experience is to apply for entry-level positions

A job as a clinical research professional is a rewarding career, and as such you must not only get an education and experience, but you must also be able to put in a high quality CV and cover letter for your application.

As long as you have a bachelor's degree and at least one year of experience in clinical research, you can easily qualify for an entry level position in clinical research. A quick search for “clinical research jobs near me” allows you gain more insight into the clinical research industry.

So, how do you get a job?

Here are tips that you need to keep in mind when you are applying for clinical research jobs.

• Be realistic about the jobs you can go into with your educational background and experience. Apply for entry-level positions firsts, then work your way to the top with targeted efforts and tenacity.

• Read each job descriptions clearly and highlight on your CV the relevant experience that you have that matches the specific role requirements. That little edit can change the way clinical research recruiters and consultants look at your CV as compared to others.

• Network with hiring managers and clinical research recruiters to expand your base as not all companies will advertise their vacancies. Upload your CV to a database that enables employers, clinical research recruiters, and hiring managers to easily find you.

Take courses from CCRPS and learn more on how to become a clinical research professional.

Clinical Research Coordinator : Gain foundational knowledge and skills essential for coordinating clinical research studies.

Pharmacovigilance Certification : Understand pharmacovigilance practices crucial for ensuring drug safety in clinical research settings.

CRA (Clinical Research Associate) : Dive into the responsibilities and duties of Clinical Research Associates in managing and monitoring clinical trials.

ICH-GCP : Learn about the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines essential for ethical clinical research.

Clinical Trials Assistant Training : Acquire the necessary skills to support clinical trial operations effectively.

Advanced Clinical Research Project Manager Certification : Elevate your expertise in clinical research project management.

Advanced Principal Investigator Physician Certification : Gain advanced certification tailored for Principal Investigator Physicians involved in clinical research studies.

Medical Monitor Certification : Explore the critical role of medical monitoring in ensuring the safety and efficacy of clinical trials.

Discover more from Clinical Research Training | Certified Clinical Research Professionals Course

How To Maximize Using The Clinical Research Wiki

Clinical research coordinator jobs.

How to Get Research Experience

New section.

Working in a research setting can help make you a competitive medical school applicant and help you to determine if a career in medicine or medical research is right for you

How do I find a research position?

If you’re currently in college, check with your institution’s science or undergraduate research websites for opportunities to assist with faculty research projects. You can also review faculty bio pages and lab websites for more information. Next, reach out to your immediate network: express your interest in assisting with a research project to your science professors, academic advisor, and your pre-health advisor.

Try exchanging ideas with your peers and upper-classmen for advice on research opportunities at your institution. You can also ask peer advisors, resident advisors, or any fellow premedical students for introductions to principal investigators (PIs). You might even try the “Undergrad-Grad-PI” method. This is where you first reach out to undergraduate students in research labs to learn about their responsibilities; they oftentimes are more responsive. Then, reach out to the graduate or post-doc students to learn about the research question being investigated. After this, read the most recent paper or abstract the lab published. Once you complete these steps, you can approach the PI more confidently and more effectively demonstrate your commitment to and understanding of their project.

Your school’s career center or student employment office may know about research job openings, and they can also offer resume help and go over interview tips and techniques. Remember, opportunities may be on or off campus, full- or part-time, paid or unpaid, or part of a summer program. Once you find a position, you can connect with your school’s fellowships or awards office to inquire about research funding opportunities.

If you’ve already graduated, consider looking into open positions. Research hospitals, universities, and biotech companies are always looking for lab technicians or clinical research coordinators (CRC). Job opportunities are typically posted on the career pages of their websites.

When should I begin gaining research experience in college?

Some premedical students begin their research experiences during their first year of college, and others begin research positions after they have already graduated. On average, most students secure a research position junior or senior year. There are three big factors that will impact this:

• Your level of interest in pursuing research. If you are really excited to investigate a question under a mentor, you might find yourself reaching out to professors early and often. Other students may focus on gaining clinical experience, and therefore wait later in their academic career to start research.
• Readiness for the research project. Different PIs will have different expectations for preparation. A research project might require you to first take coursework in basic lab sciences, statistics, or another advanced topic specific to the project. Other PIs may prefer to train you “on-the-job” through their graduate or post-doc students. This will impact when you are ready to join a project.
• Finding the right research project. There is a process of reviewing different PIs and research projects to find the right fit for you. What subject do you want to investigate? Do you want your research project to take place in a lab or non-lab setting? Is there an independent question you want to investigate with the help of a mentor?

When is the best time to look for a position?

According to Kate Stutz, Ph.D., Director of Pre-Health Advising at Brandeis University, if you’re interested a research position during the academic year, the best time to look for positions is at the very beginning of the semester. There also tend to be a lot of research opportunities in the summer, both paid and volunteer, through set programs like the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REUs). It’s best to start applying for summer research positions in December-February for the upcoming summer. Remember, typically there are more applicants than available spots so get your applications in early. Each undergraduate institution will be different, therefore make sure to connect with your advisors and peers for feedback on when to start looking.

What’s the best way to apply?

The outreach email message that you send to potential research faculty is very important. This message should include a formal introduction of yourself, evidence that you are familiar with their research project(s), and a clear, specific ask. Identify what you hope to contribute to the project. Do you want to clean the glassware or analyze lab findings? Consider attaching your resume as well. Dr. Stutz stresses that networking and persistence are crucial to finding a position. Make sure you’re using all of your network, including your peers and professors, to find open positions. Don’t be afraid to send follow up emails; faculty are very busy and often overlook emails. Sometimes, it can be even more effective to stop by a professor’s office hours to hand deliver your materials and indicate your interest in person.

How should I prepare for an interview?

With any interview, it’s important to make a good impression. Be sure to dress appropriately. Come prepared with a resume. Use your campus career center for advice on proper attire and resume best practices.

Often during interviews, you’ll be asked about your career goals. It’s helpful to be able to speak about the steps you plan to take to meet those goals. Talk about classes you’ve taken, especially upper-level science courses. Speak about your skills, your knowledge of techniques, and the equipment you’ve used throughout your coursework. Be prepared to discuss the lab experiments you’ve completed. If you’ve done any sort of research—even in your coursework—keep track of it. This shows you have experience. Lastly, interviewers often ask candidates if they have any questions. Dr. Stutz suggests asking something that indicates you’ve done your own research into their project. You could ask where they see their research going in the next three years or what challenges they anticipate. You could also ask about expectations for undergraduate researchers; do they expect you to work 20+ hours a week? Full time over the summer? Do they require you to have work study or to sign up for research credits? Asking these questions ahead of time can help you plan ahead and determine if this position is the best fit for you. Check out these  interview resources  for more tips.

Does research experience have to be in a wet lab?

No! Research can be performed in any field or subject. We’ve had successful applicants with research in classics, sociology, history, and policy, as well as applicants with research in biology, biochemistry, and neuroscience. Medical schools value all types of research. Research can take place in a scientific lab that requires advanced devices and procedures to obtain data for analysis. Research can also take place in the humanities or social sciences where participant interviews or surveys are needed to obtain an individual's life perspective. The clinical research field is constantly investigating patient outcomes and how to improve care through clinical trials or analysis of patient data. As a premedical student, consider what question you want to investigate further. Do you want to learn more about how health inequities impact disadvantaged communities in your area, or perhaps you want to know more about the protein channels involved in memory cognition? Once you choose a direction, you can then partner with a research PI for guidance on how to navigate your question. Sierra Perez, Pre-Health Advisor at Brandeis University, shares not to be afraid to get creative with your research question. She has been impressed by the medical school applicants who have created independent questions that address the community needs. “Applicants are recognizing the critical needs of specific populations, such as homelessness, LGBTQ+, veterans, youth with disabilities, etc.,” she stated. “There is also a demand for translational researchers, or individuals who can take complicated bench topics and apply it to the clinical world.”

Is research experience required to be accepted to medical school? 

It depends. Some medical schools are very research focused; they may require a research thesis or have research time built into the curriculum. Other schools are more community or clinically focused; they would rather have an applicant work in a healthcare setting or volunteer at their local soup kitchen than be at the bench moving clear liquids from one test tube to another. Research experience (in whatever discipline) is helpful for developing some of the Premed Competencies , such as critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, scientific reasoning, as well as teamwork and oral communication skills. How much you should engage in research depends on how much you enjoy it once you try it!

The majority of accepted medical school applicants have some form of academic or clinical research at the time they apply. Competence in research has become increasingly important in the medical field to improve patient care outcomes.

You can also review medical school mission statements to see if research is a focus at a particular school. You can read each school’s mission, and the number of accepted students in their most recent class who had research experience, in the  Medical School Admission Requirements . Remember, it’s best to pursue experiences that you’re genuinely interested in, rather than just to check a box, but you may not know if research is for you until you give it a try.  

Get A Clinical Research Job – [THE  BEAVER METHOD]

• by Kunal Sampat
• April 6, 2019

• You spent thousands of dollars on undergraduate or graduate program.
• You majored in medicine, science or engineering.
• You even have a GPA of 3.5+ with Honors.

But now you’re struggling with getting your into the door at a clinical research organization. You keep hearing the same lame excuse, “We need someone with two years of clinical research experience.”

Well, how are you supposed to get experience without having a clinical research job in the first place?

I may have a solution for you. In this post, you’ll discover exactly how to land a job in clinical research.

It’s called The BEAVER Method.

But before I explain to you how you can apply this method to your job search, you must first know what NOT to do.

So let’s get started.

#1 Mistake You Shouldn’t Make

The biggest mistake most job searchers make is that they apply for several hundred positions at once.

Yes, you read that right. Applying for several hundred jobs will DECREASE your chances of getting the job.

You don’t want to apply for every-single-job-opening out there. In fact, you only want to apply for 20 or fewer positions.

Let me explain you why.

Applying for more than 20 positions negatively impacts your job search. Here’s why:

• Not of focusing on handful positions, scatters your mind. And you start to lose focus. According to Tony Robbins, a world-renowned performance coach, you want to control and direct the focus of your mind on what has to be done .  In this case, you want to focus on getting that clinical research position.
• You are competing with hundreds of other applicants who are doing the exact same thing as you.  Therefore you won’t stand out from the crowd, thereby reducing your chance of getting the job. You’ll be lucky if you got called for an interview.

Now let’s get to The BEAVER Method .

If you know anything about beavers or have seen them in action at an aquarium or in the wild, you know they are industrious and hardworking creatures.

I actually also find beavers very cute.

Just like a beaver, I’ll show you have to can work hard and get the results you desire with your clinical research career.

#1: B roaden Your Understanding about Clinical Research

One of the biggest obstacles many entry-level applicants face is in their ability to believe in themselves and their know-how about clinical research.

Below are common reasons why many applicants lack self-confidence:

• I’ve never worked in clinical research before and don’t know where to start
• I don’t have the therapeutic or medical knowledge needed to get a job
• I need get a clinical research certificate before I can apply for a job

The truth of the matter is that they don’t teach clinical research in colleges. Most people get on-the-job experience.

But without self-confidence, you can’t and shouldn’t even consider applying for clinical research jobs. You’ll be flat out rejected.

However here is what you can do to quickly get up to speed on the key fundamentals of clinical research.

Learn about different clinical research roles

Understanding the different clinical research roles will give you a holistic view of your options. You’ll also get a sense of which roles are interesting to you and which ones aren’t.

Many people believe Clinical Research Associate (CRA) or Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) role is the ticket to getting your foot in the door. However, the CRA or CRC role may not be the right fit for you.

There are many other clinical research roles such as biostatisticians, clinical safety monitor, data managers, clinical study (or trial) managers, clinical quality, medical writing and more.

Here is an in-depth article in the various clinical research roles . Spend an afternoon reading it, so you can fully understand your options.

Read this 63-page FDA guidance on Good Clinical Practice

The FDA guidance on Good Clinical Practice (GCP) forms the foundation of how clinical trials must be conducted.

Even if you’re not from the US, this guidance document will serve you well. The overarching concepts of GCP don’t vary as much from country-to-country.

Also, all drug (pharma), device, or biologics clinical trials follow GCP. There are minor nuances depending on the medical product. But nothing significant for you to worry about at this initial stage.

Know about Clinical Research “Hot Topics”

There are some issues that are perennial hot topics. Some of these topics include Risk Based Monitoring , Patient Recruitment , Clinical Trial Costs and changing regulations in a given geography.

It helps to have a basic understanding of these pain points as you prepare yourself for the next step in the job search process.

As far as therapeutic or medical product knowledge is concerned, I strongly recommend that you don’t worry about it at this stage.

There is no need to spend hours reading cardiology or oncology textbooks. I’ll explain more on this later.

#2: E valuate Potential Employers and Employment Opportunities

As I stated in the beginning of this post, the #1 mistake job applicants make is applying for hundreds of jobs at once.

Instead, you first want to carefully evaluate your options and then narrow down your choices to 10-20 employers at most.

Ask Yourself the Right Questions

At this stage in the process, avoid worrying about the following:

• The company is too big (or too small) for me to get a job
• The company doesn’t have any clinical research job openings at this time
• I’ve heard they don’t pay enough
• The recruiter I spoke with said they’re only looking for candidates with work experience

Instead, here’s what you should be asking yourself the following questions:

• Can I commute to the office on a daily basis?
• If needed, am I willing to relocate to a different city, state or country?
• What salary or hourly rate would be sufficient so I can get my basic needs met (food, clothing, rent)?
• Any other “must have” requirements such as flex time or medical insurance that will determine whether or not you’ll take the job or not.

Now write down your responses on a piece of paper.

Use the responses to the above questions to guide you through the remaining steps of the job search process.

Start Researching Companies

The best way to research companies is to go their website.

But can you get to the website if you don’t even know the company name?

Well, you’re in luck because I have two amazing options for you.

One of my favorite resources is a FREE directory on Biospace.com . You’ll find hundreds of companies listed here. The other option is to use LinkedIn to find potential employers.

Your list of 10-20 companies can be pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, clinical research organizations or health IT/software companies.

Organize Potential Employers

Once you’ve identified these potential employers, type them on an excel spreadsheet. We’ll call this spreadsheet your “Clinical Research Job Search Tracker.”

If any of these employers have job openings that are of interest to you, add the job title to your Job Search Tracker.

Don’t beat yourself up if you find an interesting position but don’t have the experience or knowledge needed for that role yet.

It might also be a good idea for you to print our job descriptions that you find interesting.

#3: A ssess the Quality of Your Resume and Linkedin Profile

Now that you have a basic understanding of clinical research and have completed your research on potential employers, it’s time to fine-tune your resume and LinkedIn Profile.

Assess the quality of your resume

If you haven’t worked in clinical research before, chances are that you don’t have any clinical research experience to include on your resume.

But you’ll surprise yourself by taking an inventory of your past educational or work experiences.

Below are the types of experiences you want to list on your resume:

• A research project you’ve been part of or led in the past.  The size of the project doesn’t matter. You can write about a project that lasted for just 4 hours or one that involved only two people.
• Be specific about YOUR role on this project. If you led a specific aspect of the project or led the team, write that down.
• Any scientific and non-scientific publications or articles you’ve written. Writing is an important skill that most, if not all, employers value greatly.
• Any presentations you’ve done.
• Any volunteer work you’ve done in the medical or non-medical field.

Clinical research is a team-oriented industry. If you can demonstrate that you have strong written and verbal communication skills, you’ve won half the battle.

I find many fresh graduates write down the course names on their resume. This approach, in my opinion, is a completely useless.

If you took a Bioengineering 101 course in college, it tells the employer nothing about your skills. However, if you write down details about a specific project you did as part of this course, now it becomes more interesting and useful piece of information for the recruiter or hiring manager.

So in summary, write about different projects you’ve undertaken in the past. The more specific you can be about your contributions and the outcome of the project, the better.

Other general resume rules that you must not break:

• Keep your resume short, no more than 1-2 pages
• Use bullets to make it easier for employers to read your resume
• Typos, grammatical and spelling errors are generally not tolerated
• Use consistent line spacing, font size, and formatting throughout your resume
• Use free tools like Canva.com to create beautiful resumes

If don’t know how to write a resume or need help reviewing it, your career services or local library may offer this service for free. All you need to do is ask for resume help.

Create a solid LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn is your digital resume. If your LinkedIn profile isn’t exceptional, you’ll miss out on potential employment opportunities.

There are many blogs and books written on LinkedIn profiles but I find the following to elements to be most critical:

Professional Quality Headshot

The first thing a potential employer will see on your LinkedIn profile is your face. So be sure to have a professional quality headshot (and don’t forget to smile).

You don’t want headshot with a busy background, showing you having fun at the bar with your friends, or pixelated. 

Pay a professional photographer for a stellar headshot.

Add a Summary

In this section of your LinkedIn profile, you should summarize what you’ve learned and achieved in your previous academic or professional experience.

If your experience is not related to clinical research, describe how you’ll extend your experiences and skills to clinical research.

Make your summary section relevant to the clinical research industry.

Featured Skills, Endorsements, and Recommendations

Ask your professors or colleagues for public endorsements and recommendations on LinkedIn.

When it comes to current and previous work colleagues, I would encourage that you first endorse and recommend them on LinkedIn and see if they would consider returning the favor.

You may also want to tailor these sections of your LinkedIn profile to match the clinical position job requirements or qualifications.

#4: V ow to Create and Use a Job Search Tracker

The Clinical Research Job Search Tracker is the crux of The BEAVER Method.  This is the same spreadsheet that you created in step # 2 “Evaluate Potential Employers and Employment Opportunities” described above.

What Is a Clinical Research Job Search Tracker?

A “Clinical Research Job Search Tracker” is a systematic way for you to organize contacts, company information, key communications and follow-up dates.

You’ve done your research and are now ready to apply for jobs and build relationships with potential employers.

Very soon you’ll be sending emails or calling potential employers. But if you don’t follow-up in a systematic way, you’ll get nowhere.

You have the option of trying to remember your last conversations and then follow-up accordingly. However, I find the “trying to remember” approach very stressful.

As humans, it’s hard for us to stay disciplined, especially when it comes to things we don’t really enjoy doing such as a job search.

This tracker, as boring as it may be, will help you stay focused and keep you on track with your job search.

How To Create and Use a Job Search Tracker?

The “Clinical Research Job Search Tracker” can be a Google Sheet that resides in your Google Drive or a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that you save on your computer. The advantage of a Google Sheet is that you can access it from anywhere and it remains saved in the cloud.

The key column headers of the “Clinical Research Job Search Tracker” are as follows:

• Company name
• Position/ Job Title
• Hiring Manager/ Recruiter/ Director/ VP First Name
• Hiring Manager/ Recruiter/ Director/ VP Phone Number
• Hiring Manager/ Recruiter/ Director/ VP Email
• Hiring Manager/ Recruiter/ Director/ VP LinkedIn URL
• Date of Last Contact
• Contact Type: Email, Phone, Other
• Next Follow-up Date
• Status: Phone Interview, Interview Round #1, Interview Round #2, Declined, On-Hold

You can get creative and use colors to denote the status of various items in this spreadsheet. You can also add more columns as you see fit.

The main thing here is that you want to use this spreadsheet religiously (even if you’re not a religious person).

Benefits of a Clinical Research Job Search Tracker

Here are some of the benefits of keeping a job search tracker:

• Keeps you organized with your job search and outreach efforts
• Ensures you have a clear plan on who you need to communicate with and when you need to follow-up
• Maintains a history of the communications you’ve had with the employer.

Trust me it gets very confusing, even with 10-20 employers.

#5: E ngage With Other Clinical Research Professionals

By the time you get to this step in the process, you’ve already put in a ton of work into planning for your job search.

The heavy lifting is done and now you’re ready to reach out to potential employers and apply for jobs.

There are four fundamental through which you can build relationships with potential employers and land a job interview.

Schedule Informational Interviews

Through your research, you’ve identified potential employers. Now you need to reach out to people at these companies and schedule informational interviews.

The informational interviews can be in-person or via phone. When you reach out to individuals for informational interviews, be clear that you are not asking them for a job.

The purpose of an informational interview is to understand the hiring process, skills that are important to the employer, types of candidates that make it through the interview process and the organization’s culture.

If you end up meeting in-person, be generous and pay for coffee or lunch. Yes, it will cost you a few dollars that you don’t have. But this act will pay huge dividends in the long run. Plus don’t forget that this person is taking time off from their busy schedule to meet with you.

Use tools like hunter.io or contactout.com to find email addresses of individuals you want to connect with.

Join LinkedIn Groups and be an Active Participant

One of the best ways to connect with other clinical research professionals is LinkedIn Groups such the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) or Society of Clinical Research Professionals (SOCRA).

You may also want to search for niche LinkedIn groups that are specific for a given therapeutic area or medical product you’re interested in.

Once you’ve joined the group, take the time to read the latest posts in the group and start engaging. The simplest way to engage with others in the group is to make thoughtful comments or ask insightful questions.

People in the group will start noticing you and then you can reach out to those people for an informational interview as described above.

When people are in the same LinkedIn group, they already feel connected to each other and are more likely to meet with you or have a phone call.

Reach out to People with Director Title or above

This is my favorite tip for engaging with decision makers in the clinical research. My advice to you is to go all the way to the top!

Email and call directors, vice presidents or even CEOs depending on the size of the company.

When you reach out to high-level management, don’t send them your resume right away. Instead, ask them if they would be willing to schedule a call or in-person meeting with you.

Sound energetic and enthusiastic and clearly express why you’re interested in working at their company. If you can convey your passion and desire to work for them, your chances of getting an interview will increase manyfold.

The other key reason for reaching to the people on the top is that they are the ultimate decision-makers when it comes to hiring. Who doesn’t want great people to work on their teams?

Surround Yourself with Clinical Researchers Who Can Help You with Your Career

You the average of five people you surround yourself with. If you want to become a clinical research professional, then you need to surround yourself with other clinical research professionals.

There are many ways to achieve this. One of the most effective ways is to attend a clinical research national or regional conference.

If money is an issue, email the conference manager and find out if you can volunteer at the event and get a complimentary pass in exchange.

#6: R einforce Your Interest in the Company and the Clinical Research Position

Once you’ve started to make connections and experienced a few informational interviews, you’ll a get a feel for different employers and what they are looking for.

Using your “Clinical Research Job Search Tracker” as your compass, apply for clinical research roles that you think you are ready to take on right away or can grow into the role in 6-12 months time.

If you meet close to 80% of the job requirements in the job description, I would encourage you to apply. When it comes to prior experience, think about ways you’ve met the job requirements through your previous academic and professional experiences.

The key here is to be able to articulate how your previous experiences make you best suited for the role you’re applying for.

Follow-ups – The Holy Grail to Landing a Job Interview

Follow-ups with potential employers via personalized email and phone communication is the only way you can differentiate yourself from other job applicants.

When you follow-up with employers, write the down the key points you want to bring up during your call before you dial the number. If the person doesn’t answer the phone, leave a voice message with your full name, the purpose of the call and your callback number.

When you call an employer or recruiter thinking they are doing you a favor by offering you a job, your voice will soften and your heart will beat faster. Don’t let this happen to you.

Jobs are a two-way street. The employer needs you and you need them. You must sound confident on the phone or on email.

Once you follow-up, type in the date and conclusions from your follow-up on the “Clinical Research Job Search Tracker.”

Some employers will ask you to contact them at a later date, some will respond by saying they are not interested and others will never respond to your follow-up.

For people that don’t reply, you can follow-up every 3 business days. I usually like to follow-up till I hear a “No, we’re not interested” but in general, you can stop following up if you don’t get a response back after 3-5 follow-up attempts.

For larger organizations with many departments and divisions, a “No” from one department or division, doesn’t mean it’s a “No” from other departments or divisions. You want to be consistent (and persistent) with your follow-ups and look broadly when it comes to larger companies.

Conclusion:

Now that you have an in-depth understanding of The BEAVER Method, it’s time to put your learnings into action.

In order to get a job in clinical research, you want to tackle your job search in ways other applicants are not.

• B roaden your understanding of clinical research by learning about various clinical research roles, reading the FDA guidance on Good Clinical Practice and increasing your familiarity with hot topics in the industry.
• E valuate potential employers and employment opportunities by asking yourself the right questions, researching companies you want to work at and organizing potential employers using the “Clinical Research Job Search Tracker”.
• A ssess the quality of your resume and LinkedIn profile. Focus on projects you’ve led or been part of and detail out your role on each of those projects.
• V ow to create and use a job search tracker to keep track of potential employers and communications with the companies you are applying for jobs at.
• E ngage with other clinical research professionals by scheduling informational interviews, actively participating in LinkedIn groups, reaching out to senior leadership at various clinical research organizations and surrounding yourself with people who can help you in your career
• R einforce your interest in a company and the clinical research position you’re applying for by consistently and persistently following up with the right decision makers.

Let me know what you think about The BEAVER Method . I can’t wait to hear about your success.

CTP 021: Getting Into Research and CRO Partnerships with Jessie Coe

Ctp 020: 17 strategies to increase patient recruitment in clinical trials, 18 thoughts on "get a clinical research job – [the  beaver method]".

Thank you Kunal for this blog post, I am guilty of the “what not to do,” probably because I had overly optimistic expectations of getting a job. I am bit more humbled now after 6 weeks and only 2 interviews. I will follow your recommendations and be more methodical. Thank you! Amy

Kunal Sampat

Hi @amynadell:disqus Thanks for your comment. Yes, I cannot emphasize how important it is to only apply for 10-20 jobs and then work really hard towards securing interviews and job offers at those companies. Let me know how things work out for you in the coming weeks. You’ll do awesome!

Thank you Kunal for bringing these articles to people who are trying to build their careers in Clinical Research. It motivates and helps to believe in ourselves. Best wishes!!

Hi Maya, I can’t wait to hear about your success :).

Clare Chang

Thank you for such tangible approaches to strategising a job search. I’m currently working on “B” and “E” – Broadening my understanding of Clinical Research and Evaluating Potential Employees. I know that having a solid background is important, however, it also feels like you can never know enough because there will always be more to learn about the different aspects of clinical research.

My question is, at what point would it be sufficient to start approaching professionals? Did you also use the BEAVER method for your search?

Hi Clare, thanks for bringing up these excellent questions.

I agree that you can never know enough. When you’re trying to broaden your understanding of the clinical research, at a minimum I recommend reading (and re-reading) the Good Clinical Practice document. This is the foundation.

Once you’ve read the GCP document, you can immediately start approaching professionals. When approaching professionals early on in your clinical research journey, it’s important that you don’t ask for a job. Instead you want to focus on asking insightful questions (asking questions about their role, career trajectory, what challenges are they seeing in the industry, questions you might have after reading the GCP document, etc.).

The goal here is build a relationship and learn. After you do 3-10 of these in-person or phone conversations with different professionals, you’ll start to see a trend. This is the point when you’ll be more confident about know-how in clinical research. Also you don’t want to try to impress the people you’re meeting. Instead just stay curious about what they do and ask more questions.

Yes, I used the BEAVER framework when I started working in clinical research. But my entry was more of an accident as I did not know anything about GCP, monitoring etc. when I landed with my first job. I was merely a clinical research assistant and learned along the way. Also many of the tools that exist today such as LinkedIn, etc. weren’t ask readily known or used 12 years ago.

Hope this answers your question.

Thank you for your answer – this really helps!

In response to @kunalsampat:disqus ‘s suggestions. I recently found an online training course that also provides certification for GCP and may be useful for those interested in starting career in clinical development.

Here is the link: https://gcp.nidatraining.org

I love this resource. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Clare – Your GCP training has been super-helpful. I shared it with a bunch of people. Thanks again for sharing.

Chandrika Abburi

Thank you Kunal for bringing up such a great podcast. This is really helpful for the ones who have scientific background and want to make a career in clinical trials. I worked several years in clinical research projects but never thought of this option. I hope the insights you shared in the podcast pave a path for the dreamers.

Jamila Hoque

Kunal this is such a great podcast. I have been following for a while now. I find it hard getting an interview from CRO’s. My background is a CPM at an Ivy League institution for the past 2 years and had done several years as a clinical research coordinator / assistant. I also just finished my Masters in Biotech from the same university. I feel that I would fit right in as I negotiate with sponsors and CRO’s regularly. I am currently applying for home based CPM positions at places like PRA, ICON, etc. but no luck so far. Any advice?

Hey Jamila, have you tried following the steps in the BEAVER Method? You certainly sound qualified. Are you getting calls for interviews? Have you tried to call potential hiring managers (not recruiters) directly and ask them for feedback on your resume, interview, skills, etc.?

One of the key advice I have for anyone is to apply for FEWER positions, 10-20 max but really work hard to connect with the hiring manager over the phone and on email. You want to be persistent enough to get hold of them but careful enough to not be annoying. Applying for jobs on job search sites is not something I would recommend. Instead, apply directly on the company website. The key is to get in front of the decision maker i.e. the hiring manager.

Jayashree Patil

Great Post. very useful information shared you through this post regarding clinical research. i am really appreciate for this valuable guide. thank you and keep writing on same topic.

Thanks, very great article its very helpful.

Thank you, Taniya

Excellent information you shared. Thanks for posting such a needed information

Heena Gandhi

Thanks for sharing a step by step guidance for landing into a right clinical research job. Though I am not a fresh starter in this field, I am looking for a job as I have recently moved to a new country. I will follow all the steps mentioned in your post as it seems very relevant and practical to me. Thanks again!

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How do you land a research position without undergraduate/graduate research experience?

I am curious to know if anyone has been able to get a job as a research assistant without having any research experience as an undergrad or graduate student. I am in the middle of my second gap year and am looking to gain some research experience. I have applied to around 10-15 intro level research assistant jobs and have either been rejected or haven’t heard back. Many of the job descriptions ask for prior research experience and I am unsure how I would gain this experience now that I am no longer attending a University. I feel that I am not a competitive applicant for any of these positions and won’t be able to land a position before I apply. I am hoping to apply MD.

If you have been able to get a research experience, what have you done to stand out and land a job. Any advice you have would be much appreciated!

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