{"id":22732,"date":"2025-01-24T14:02:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T20:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/?p=22732"},"modified":"2025-07-30T11:11:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T16:11:24","slug":"biopharma-industry-interview-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/2025\/01\/24\/biopharma-industry-interview-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Biopharma Industry Interview Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

BioPharma Industry Interview FAQ<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tips for preparing for pharma industry interviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Have 8-10 good example stories you can tell \u2013 see behavioral interview question resources below.<\/li>\n
  2. They are looking to see if you are going to be a good team player \u2013 have some examples of this.<\/li>\n
  3. Be ready to explain anything you listed on your CV\/resume.<\/li>\n
  4. Do your research on the company and understand why you are interested in working there.<\/li>\n
  5. Emphasize what you can contribute to the company rather than what that job will do for you.<\/li>\n
  6. Frame your research experience with therapeutic or disease applicability in mind. If you are doing basic research, be able to show that you are thinking in terms of drugs\/therapies and impact on health and unmet medical needs.<\/li>\n
  7. Have a list of about 10 questions written down that you can ask at the end of the interview.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Links and resources for interviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    50 of the most common interview questions and potential answers. You don\u2019t need a response to every interview question, but you should get comfortable with what you might be asked and what hiring managers are looking for in your responses.<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.themuse.com\/advice\/interview-questions-and-answers<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Behavioral interview questions are a great way for a hiring manager to gain insight into specific situations you have found yourself in and how you navigated each of those scenarios. Here\u2019s a list of commonly asked behavioral interview questions. It\u2019s not necessary to have answers for each question but it\u2019s recommended that you have 8-10 stories that you can adapt to these types of questions.
    \n<\/strong>    https:\/\/www.themuse.com\/advice\/30-behavioral-interview-questions-you-should-be-ready-to-answer<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    A job interview isn\u2019t a one-way street between you and the hiring manager. It\u2019s also your opportunity to determine whether this position is a good fit for you. It is important to have a few questions to ask as a candidate. Here are tips and sample questions for what to ask (and what not to ask) during your interview.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/www.themuse.com\/advice\/51-interview-questions-you-should-be-asking<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Have you been invited to participate in a panel interview? Here are some articles to help you prepare: https:\/\/www.themuse.com\/advice\/the-firing-squad-how-to-survive-a-panel-interview<\/a>
    \n<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    From the interviewer’s perspective: https:\/\/resources.careerbuilder.com\/employer-blog\/what-are-panel-interviews-and-what-are-the-pros-and-cons<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n


    \n<\/strong>    \u2018Can you work with less-qualified people?\u2019 and 19 other curveball questions to navigate at industry interviews<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>This article provides industry-specific questions you may be asked during your interview.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Industrial strength: Life-science industry insiders offer tips on how to beat job competitors.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    This article provides tips on how you can switch your mindset from academia to industry to set yourself apart from your competitors, so you are ready to discuss with the hiring manager why you are right for their team.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    STAR Method:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>When answering an interview question, it is important to give a structured answer. Using the acronym STAR will help structure your responses. Situation \u2013 set the context for the story; Task \u2013 what was required of you; Activity \u2013 what you did; and Result \u2013 how the situation played out. Here are a couple of examples using the STAR method.<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/careers\/careers-blog\/star-technique-competency-based-interview<\/strong><\/a>
    \nor
    \n    https:\/\/www.themuse.com\/advice\/star-interview-method<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Specific advice related to the BioPharma industry:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>Here are BioPharma-specific questions to consider when applying for a position. It discusses the main things employers consider when hiring and questions you should ask the employer during the interview.<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.biospace.com\/article\/16-questions-top-pharma-applicants-should-ask-during-the-job-interview-\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    iBiology has a four-part video<\/a> <\/strong>series on \u201cJob Hunting in Industry: Searching, Applying, Interviewing, and Negotiating for a Scientist Position in Biotech and Pharma,<\/strong>\u201d presented by Bill Lindstaedt, then Assistant Vice Chancellor of Career Advancement, International and Postdoctoral Services at the University of California, San Francisco.<\/p>\n

    This is a helpful slide deck from our colleague, Thi Nguyen, PhD then at Washington University in St. Louis on “Giving Job Talks in Industry”<\/strong> https:\/\/career.ucsf.edu\/sites\/g\/files\/tkssra2771\/f\/ResearchersIndustryJobTalkSlides.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Virtual job interview advice: <\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>Virtual job interviews are becoming more common. Here are a couple of resources to help you be prepared so you can be more focused on the interview, rather than if your camera is working.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/www.themuse.com\/advice\/video-interview-tips<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/www.biospace.com\/article\/savvy-prep-for-the-new-normal-online-job-interviews\/?s=116<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/www.biospace.com\/job-searching-during-a-pandemic-9-questions-to-ask-in-a-virtual-job-interview?s=64<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    All of these and more resources are found on our BRET ASPIRE Website:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/path-to-career\/non-faculty-search\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    blog post contributed by:<\/em><\/p>\n

    Aubrie Stricker<\/em>
    \nPhD Candidate, Cell & Developmental Biology<\/em><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    BioPharma Industry Interview FAQ Tips for preparing for pharma industry interviews: Have 8-10 good example stories you can tell \u2013 see behavioral interview question resources below. They are looking to see if you are going to be a good team player \u2013 have some examples of this. Be ready to explain anything you listed on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":16946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[42,39],"class_list":["post-22732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-announcements","tag-career-options-pharma-biotech","tag-interviewing"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/medschool-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/04\/ASPIRE-Rings-No-Words.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22732"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23586,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22732\/revisions\/23586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medschool.vanderbilt.edu\/career-development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}