Adaptive Life Science Candidate Brochure

Video Interview Tips and Tricks for Success

As businesses across the globe are forced to transition to a remote and digital workforce, so are interviews. Zoom, Skype, Teams and other video conferencing tools are becoming today’s interviewing norm. The truth is, whether you’re an interview guru or just jumping back into the job market, technical issues and unexpected trip-ups are now more possible than ever before. So be prepared. Put yourself in the best situation to ensure you crush your video interview. Below are a handful of tips and tricks gathered from recruiters, hiring managers, candidates and industry professionals to put you in the best position possible: PREPARE YOUR TECHNOLOGY In an ideal, even typical situation, you would be sitting across the table from your recruiter or hiring manager. However, with today’s circumstances, video conferencing is the next best thing. With this, comes different video platforms; you should check to see if you need to create an account, download an app, or insert a password. Additionally, be sure to test your connection prior to the interview. You don’t want your first impression to be that you were late because you couldn’t figure out the platform. Test your camera and mic – nothing else can start an interview on the wrong foot, than a webcam or mic malfunction. You don’t want to be the “Can you hear me? Can you hear me now?” interviewee. This one seems simple, but is commonly one that is forgotten…charge your device! Whether you are taking the interview on your phone or computer, be sure you are sufficiently charged or if possible, plug into a power source. DRESS THE PART You should still dress to impress! This helps to not only boost confidence, but will also leave a strong first impression. Plan to wear the same clothes you’d wear if you were meeting in-person…yes this includes pants. We have all heard the jokes about taking video calls in your underwear, but don’t let that be you. Most likely, the interviewer(s) will only see your face and shoulders, but you should be prepared. BODY LANGUAGE AND SPEECH Video interviews can be uncomfortable and seem unnatural, but do your best to be yourself and get your personality across. Be mindful of your posture, remember to nod and be engaged, try not to fidget, and don’t forget to smile! Gesture with your hands as you normally would and don’t feel restricted or stiff just because you are talking to a computer screen. Do your best to speak clearly and deliberately. Issues with internet and connection can occur and this can cause delays or sound quality issues. So be adaptable and do your best to ensure your audience is understanding you. Try pausing momentarily before responding, as there can be a delay and cause you to talk over one another. Eye contact. This one can be a bit more challenging depending on your computer/webcam set up, how many interviewers are on the call or how the platform displays the video. Your impulse is typically to look at the face on the screen or be distracted by yourself. A few helpful tips: • Look at the camera as much as you can (this will give the appearance of making eye contact) • Place a sticky note over yourself on your screen as to not be distracted • Position your camera at eye-level for the most flattering and straight forward angle • Practice! (remember it doesn’t come natural to look at the camera rather than the people on the screen) BE CONSCIOUS OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT Beware of any potential distractions such as family, friends or pets. Try to ensure you have privacy and won’t be interrupted or distracted. Turn your camera on before your interview and evaluate your background and lighting. Have a professional, clean and clutter-free background within the frame. And don’t forget to check your lighting, no one wants to join an interview and realize you are so backlit, it looks like you’re taking the call from a dungeon. If the lighting isn’t favorable: Try facing a window to get natural light Set up a light or two behind the screen to brighten yourself and background Increase the brightness on your screen to add some illumination to your face BE ADAPTABLE It’s important to remember that technical issues or distractions can and do happen, even if you prepare. Things can take place on your end or the interviewers, they are in the same situation as you and working to do what they can to give you the best interview experience. Be patient and be understanding. DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW UP This will always be a best practice for any type of interview. Remember to leave a strong impression and send a thank you note to the interviewer(s).

Optimizing your CV in the Medical Device Industry

David James, our CEO recently caught up with our Medical Device Recruitment Team at Adaptive Life Science, Rebecca Stevens and Hollie Barry, where we discussed all things in relation to CVs in the MedTech industry! The structure is an easy fix. It is the content which truly differentiates you and gives you a competitive advantage to stand out to employers. Our goal is to demystify the Life Science CV to give it the substance that will make an employer stop and want to speak with you. From the common, and often easily avoidable, mistakes that we see in CVs throughout the industry, how to make your CV stand out, and reflect your suitability for a dream role! What common mistakes do you see on CVs in the Life Science industry? Rebecca: The most pertinent aspect of your CV is clarity and often there is not enough information on positions and industry experience. No two Medical Device companies are the same, not by structure, role or responsibility, so don’t assume that an employer will have a holistic understanding of what you do without proper explanation. We have spoken to Specialists who are leading teams of 5+, and Senior Managers with 10+ years who don’t have any management responsibility. The job title is not enough to go by, so make sure you are including your responsibilities and why you were hired for the role – what have you contributed to the department? The most common pitfall we see with medical device CVs is the missing buzzwords that employers will be looking for, to ensure that you know your standards and relevant regulations. Don’t just write about registrations – elaborate on the geographical markets, classes, therapeutic area, active or non-active products, software, IVDs etc... It is great if you are the business process owner for risk management, but make sure you include that you are working in accordance to ISO 14971. These small steps will quickly grab employer attention and lead to arranging an interview. Hollie: Sometimes CVs are just not specific enough – if 90% of your works focus is UDI/labelling, then write this. Don’t mislead an employer and be honest about your limitations, but instead emphasize the areas where you can deliver immediate value to them. If you’re applying for a role, always read the job description and if there are any applicable skills that you bring that aren’t already listed on your CV… add them! Some fool proof things to include but are not limited to: training accreditations (stay up to date), degree and particular relevant focus topics/thesis work, specialist focuses (CAPA/PMS/QMS Documentation etc..) International Standards, markets, MDD/MDR involvement and classes of devices. How do you make yourself stand out as a junior candidate with limited experience? Rebecca: Don’t devalue your experience and trainings received. Include everything, even if only a small part of your role, e.g. sometimes candidates only talk about their experience with non-active devices but on further investigation have worked on one active device and therefore have some knowledge on the electrical standard EN 60601 – it opens up the job market so much further. Hollie: In this case, it’s always a good idea to add any relevant internships you’ve undertaken – include the skills gained from these and any interesting responsibilities you had. How can you make your CV stand out to a recruiter on LinkedIn? Rebecca: Again, always ensuring that you have the relevant buzzwords or skills listed on your profile and make use of the specific skills section. Ensure that the industry is correct (Medical Devices or Biotechnology or Pharma etc...). Hollie: Think of your LinkedIn profile as an online CV, adding a clear and concise description of your responsibilities and focus points is so beneficial and just making sure that you update your skills regularly to reflect your experience. The more detail you share, the more chance you have of receiving actually relevant job enquiries. As an example, I recently spoke to a candidate with the title ‘Quality Manager’ for an ophthalmic medical device company and I had to decipher what his responsibilities were based off the title as there was no further information for me to use. Turns out – he was pretty hands on in registrations and quality was only 20% of his daily focus! If you can share more, it helps us get it right first time. How do you make your CV stand out for a management position? Rebecca: This is easy if you have already been managing and have direct reports or had reports in the past, although we do speak with professionals who are managing teams with full CVs not mentioning their team or number of direct reports. If not and you’re aiming for your first leading position, add any mentoring experience, project leading, supporting interns. Some companies will be open to this and provide the opportunity to develop these skills, but you need to make it easy for them to say yes by highlighting anything relevant. Hollie: I agree, I often speak with candidates who mention that they’ve been training/mentoring others in the team or providing their specialist skills to help the team in a certain area or even managing projects, yet it’s just not listed on their CV. It’s always worth adding any experience you’ve had in these areas especially if you’re aiming for that management/team lead role! What should I include on my CV? Rebecca: Training and accreditations, your degree and any relevant focus topics/thesis work/International Standards, geographic markets, MDR/IVDR involvement, Quality – are you specialising in one phase of the life cycle? Did you set up QMS from scratch or just maintenance? Employers will only have a few moments to review the CV, so this needs to be clear. Hollie: All of the above, and also confirming what classes of device that you work with? What kinds of device - active or non-active, implantable? Make it clear. Are there any projects you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of? Focus on the hard skills and less on the soft skills as these will be observed in the interview. It’s a good idea to always keep your CV up to date, whether you are actively looking for a new opportunity or just keeping an eye on the market. We hope that our advice has been helpful to you in some way but we’re also here to assist if you would appreciate some more specific feedback on your newly updated CV. There is no cost to our service, and we will share our honest advice to help put you in the best position for securing that interview!   Rebecca Stevens - Global Life Science Recruitment Manager rebecca.stevens@adaptivelifescience.com Hollie Barry - Life Science Head-hunter and Candidate Consultant hollie.barry@adaptivelifescience.com  

Thoughts ahead of next year’s MDR deadline

Adaptive Life Science caught up with Monir El Azzouzi on some of the latest developments in the Medical Device industry. To make the puzzle easier for us, Monir is helping us all on the MDR transition journey, so be sure to check out his website for the latest news, courses and insightful podcasts. You can find access to these free resources here; https://easymedicaldevice.com for the blog and https://podcast.easymedicaldevice.com to access the free podcasts. Monir has spent many successful years working for major players in the Medical Device industry, including Aesculap, Bausch & Lomb and Johnson & Johnson in quality and regulatory focused positions. I caught up with Monir to discuss some of the advances, and challenges with the MDR changes coming next year. The hot topic of the moment, the MDR deadline coming in May 2020 for Medical Device manufacturers and notified bodies… What is your opinion on the MDR and changes to the framework? We needed a new change in the regulations, as there hasn’t been one since 1993 except some amendments. The changes in software and artificial intelligence are not regulated under the MDD, and they will be under the MDR. This in itself shows us that we need the change. There have been a number of triggers over the years to suggest a change in the regulations, most notably the impact from the PIP breast implant scandal from 2009, which were sold with unapproved industrial-grade silicone gel.  Events like this accelerated the way the way in which the MDR was created and the new framework developed. It was rolled out quickly, and there was a lot of discussion and urgency. In short, we needed it, but the way it was delivered was not ideal. Now as manufacturers we have to deal with it and manage the transition. The fault is not only on the EU commission for how it was presented, it is also on device manufacturers who lack understanding and acceptance, and now try and ensure compliance too late in the process. We could have a bottleneck at the end, and a higher need for consultants to come in, fix problems and educate the stakeholders. The candidate market in the MDR space is dry and it could be a struggle to find the most qualified person to take on the challenge now. Could the MDR deadline be extended, due to the shortage in designated notified bodies, and lack of urgency from some manufacturers? I recently spoke with Erik Vollebregt from Axon Lawyers about this topic who said it is difficult for the EU commission to extend the deadline. We would basically need to start the process from scratch. There have been talks to use the strategy that is used for MDSAP (the single audit programme – USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Australia) If there are not enough notified bodies (NB’s) to complete the new certifications; currently at 5, 16 anticipated by EOY. Then perhaps there could be a procedure for showing an application for certification under MDR, even if it is not fully compliant by the deadline. The bottleneck that I mention is not only down to manufacturers certifying under the MDRs late; a lot of manufacturers are ready and waiting for their Notified body to be approved. Even then, some NB’s may still choose not to go through the MDR designation process, leaving manufacturers scrambling for a new Notified body that also has capacity to accept new customers. Before we had 80 notified bodies, then 70 and with the MDR we are still only at 5. 80 NBs to 5 is alarming.  Who is having the biggest challenge? Smaller manufacturers or global players? Smaller manufacturers, if they are coming late to the game. It is a question of resources; the global companies should be well underway in their transition. Like small notified bodies, it is the smaller companies that could struggle the most. If you have not started the MDR transition, you are in denial! The British have a great saying, which helps in this scenario: Stop thinking it will be extended, that a miracle will happen, and start acting. It should also not be about surviving, it is about beating the competition – and your products will go to market quicker. It depends on whether the organisation is focused on sales or compliance, because although profit margins may be strong now, from May 2020 your products could be unsellable on the market. Think long term – that’s my advice. Is the designation too tough for a Notified body? Is that part of the problem? I think it’s appropriate and it harmonizes the standard across manufacturers. With the new requirements, there is a search to ensure that the Notified body chosen is trusted and impartial. Now with the MDR, the NB’s are heavily audited – so if they make the wrong call, they lose their certificate. Officially, there is also no longer a consultancy service from a Notified body under the MDR – they are just there to rate your performance and compliance.  It is tougher to be a Notified body under the new regulations, however for manufacturers you will now have an auditor who knows your devices (ie cardiovascular) so, approval is genuine without grey areas. You will have a genuine specialist monitoring your activities – this is good for customers too; having faith in the devices they use, and that they are properly regulated. There seems to be some concerns over the labelling requirements for the MDR transition – do you have any guidance on this for manufacturers? The UDI requirements could be a challenge – as this barcode must be on every device or packaging. The struggle can be if there is a large portfolio of products, not so much if there are a small number of specialist devices, so I imagine it is the larger manufacturers who would do well to hire a labelling specialist. This does not have to be a strategic person, but someone to execute the changes. At the beginning of the MDR transition, we said look at your whole portfolio, and get rid of waste. If you only sell 3 units per year of a particular device, is the investment in the MDR change worth it? No – it should be discontinued. EIFU (electronic instructions for use) and digitalization is making life easier, and the UDI is more of a space finding activity, nothing too technical! Consultancies vs In-house – What’s the best strategy? It really depends on the company. For big companies, I would always recommend having a consultant come in to understand the problem, fix it and leave. For smaller manufacturers, they could need a consultant due to lack of resources and headcount, but also, they will need a long-term conrtractor as regulatory compliance is a journey and has long term requirements. There also must be a PRRC (person responsible for regulatory compliance) – either a consultant, or in-house. Under the MDD, a sales rep could be the PRRC but now it must be a qualified person. My advice to smaller manufacturers would be to assess your level of need, portfolio of products and weigh up the balance on the cost of a highly qualified consultant, vs building an in-house team where all the value and understanding is retained in the business and team.  *** Ready to explore a new career opportunity in the Medical Device industry? Please reach out to Rebecca Woodfield for a confidential discussion via LinkedIn or Rebecca.Woodfield@Adaptivelifescience.com Adaptive Business Group is a global Recruitment, Executive Search and M&A consultancy focused on interconnecting high-growth technology and service industries. Adaptive Life Science is a brand within the group and our sector-specific consultants source talent and M&A opportunities on behalf of Medical Device, Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Diagnostic’s companies who power the development of Life Sciences globally.