Need to hire a quality assurance (QA) specialist for your life sciences organization? Be prepared for competition as you embark upon your search: Labor-market analysis provider Burning Glass found that there were more than 15,000 new job postings for quality assurance and quality control professionals within the last 12 months alone.
Why the soaring demand? These highly trained (and highly specialized) professionals are integral to both a company's success and positive patient outcomes, serving at the front lines of top-level improvement and compliance efforts by implementing controls, carrying out important inspections and coordinating audits.
With all this in mind, it's crucial to fill your open QA positions swiftly and effectively. But how? Be sure to follow this checklist to ensure a superb quality assurance specialist hire:
Ready to dive in and start strengthening your hiring strategy? Let's get started.
1. speed up your hiring process
As the life sciences industry enters one of its most dynamic eras — with increased regulations, new drugs being brought to market and a heightened focus on innovation continuing to change the very nature of the sector — QA specialists have become even more vital to the overall health of an organization.
So to fill this important role with the best candidate out there, you'll want to recruit both quickly and efficiently. Use this diagram to determine where you can fine-tune your hiring process to make it as effective (and speedy) as possible.
2. develop a competitive compensation package
A competitive salary is the foundation of any strong job offer, especially in the age of salary transparency and employer review sites. Keeping an eye on salary trends will empower you to make sound decisions when developing your compensation package, which in turn will help your business stay ahead of the pack.
If it's been a while since you've audited your comp offerings for this role, then kick off your research with Randstad's salary guide, which will give you insights into the latest hiring and salary trends within the life sciences industry. And to get the most up-to-date, area-specific data on compensation for quality assurance specialists in your market, head on over to our salary calculator.
3. identify the top skills for quality assurance specialists
To write the best possible job description, you need to know exactly what to look for in your prospective employee. What skills are needed to get the job done effectively? What experience does the candidate need in order to make them the best fit for the role? Keep in mind that answers to these questions will vary from business to business, so it's important to identify your company's specific needs.
Be sure to meet with the hiring manager and other colleagues who work closely with your QA team to discuss the necessary skills and experience that will help the new hire make the most positive impact. And once you have that list of skills, break it down into two categories: "hard" skills (those that directly relate to quality assurance specialists), and "soft" skills (that generally speak to people and social skills).
Here are the skills that are most requested for quality assurance specialists, based on more than 15,000 job postings:
hard skills
quality assurance and control
deep knowledge of the healthcare field (laws, regulations, institutional rules)
internal auditing
process improvement
data analysis
soft skills
communication
teamwork/collaboration
writing and editing
detail-oriented
organization
4. write an eye-catching job description
A job description that's able to grab a prospective employee's attention and excite them to apply for the position is key, no matter what role you're looking to fill. To make sure that happens, keep these three pointers in mind when writing your next job description.
don't write like a robot
A job description shouldn't read like a dry list of responsibilities and tasks. Simply put, stiff, matter-of-fact sentences that rigidly outline expectations and duties aren't very alluring. Instead, appeal to candidates by emphasizing the human aspects of the job. Use clear, personable language that speaks to the role's value and answers questions candidates will have about the job, like:
-
What are the workplace environment and team culture like?
-
How many other colleagues are on the team, and what other stakeholders will I be collaborating with?
-
Who will I directly report to?
-
What are some of the initial projects that I'll be a part of?
Even in a highly technical role like a quality assurance specialist, remember that you're trying to hire a person, not a robot — and your job description should represent that.
show how the job is meaningful
Today's workforce wants to find meaning in their jobs, so taking the time to establish a job's contributions to a larger purpose creates a much more engaging posting. For example, quality assurance specialists are responsible for evaluating and improving structures, processes and outcomes across large-scale life sciences and healthcare organizations, so highlight the impact their work has both inside and outside the office: They improve outcomes for patients, make their colleagues more productive, ensure that medical facilities adhere to all laws and regulations and facilitate team building throughout an organization.
And if your company is involved in any charitable or community building initiatives, be sure to call those out to connect with the candidate on a deeper level and showcase your positive employer brand.
speak to the larger purpose this role contributes to.
make it easy to skim
In today's world, where people skim more often than they read, a job description needs to paint the most vivid picture possible in as few words as possible. Tailoring your description to be easy to skim will keep candidates engaged and prevent them from zoning out or feeling overwhelmed while trying to get a grasp of the critical information.
But while you want to make your description easy to digest, you certainly don't want to skip out on everything but the quick facts. To make the information you convey easier to absorb for potential candidates, focus on using:
-
short paragraphs
-
descriptive subheadings ("The Role," "Who We Are," "Our Impact")
-
bullet points
-
front-loaded sentences that put the action up front
If you'd like further direction, read more tips and insights in our guide to writing highly effective job descriptions.
5. brush up on the latest industry trends
Staying up to date on the latest trends in the life sciences industry will not only strengthen the quality of your QA specialist hires today, but it will help improve your recruitment process over the long term.
Here are a few trends to pay attention to right now:
-
Don't expect growth across the life sciences and healthcare sectors to slow down anytime soon, given that global healthcare spending is expected to surpass $10 trillion by 2022.
-
Life sciences and healthcare talent say they are attracted to companies that are local (45%), who's cultures align with their values (42%) and have a good brand reputation (39%). Keeping these expectations in mind when recruiting talent can give you the upper hand.
-
The top five states driving demand for QA specialists are California, Texas, Massachusetts, Florida and New York, highlighting how regionally diverse the need for QA specialists is. Employers in these markets should expect the fiercest competition when hiring.
6. choose your channels to find candidates
Job boards, employee referrals, LinkedIn searches — there are a number of different routes available for sourcing talent. But when it comes to finding the right channels for your business's needs, there isn't a magic solution that will work for everyone. Depending on your company's size, staffing needs and recruiting budget, some options will provide more ROI (and better candidates) than others.
So if you've already exhausted the job boards and network referrals have yet to produce the talent you need, consider partnering with a professional staffing firm. Working with a staffing firm gives you access to candidates in their talent network who are prescreened, vetted and ready to take on new challenges. So not only will a staffing partner be able to greatly expedite your recruitment timeline and find a best-fit QA specialist fast, the deep expertise their experts have in the life sciences sector will help you strengthen your overall hiring strategy.
If you're interested in taking your recruitment game to the next level, Randstad has life sciences experts ready to discuss your quality assurance specialist needs today. Want to browse our quality candidates on your own first? Then head on over to our Find Employees portal and take a first look at the top QA professionals in our nationwide talent pool.
