By: Claire Wilson BSc and Donagh Fitzgerald B.Prod Eng. Last Updated: February 2023

Image: Boehringer Ingelheim

How long do you think it takes to go from submitting a job application to walking into a plant and starting your first day at work in a pharmaceutical or medical device company?

What’s your best guess? A week? A month? …?

To be clear, this will always vary between companies and depend on the type of job you are applying for.

But typically the time is 3 to 6 months.

Of course, some people do get hired more quickly but it’s not so common.

We generally tell our students that they should expect a successful application to take between three and six months.

The two-part reason for this lengthy process (and the two specific things our students are generally surprised by in the pharma job application process):

1. The number of stages within the process
2. The time it can take to hear back after each stage

So let’s now take a look at a breakdown of the hiring process for a manufacturing role within a pharma company and see how that 3 to 6-month figure isn’t actually all that surprising.

BTW, if you are already working in the industry and want to upskill for a better job or a promotion, check out our Pharmaceutical Courses.

Pharma is an industry dominated by big multinational companies. As a result, there are typically several stages to the hiring process.

Keeping in mind that the specific process can look different in different companies. A typical hiring process for an entry-level manufacturing role in a pharma company can consist of:

• Submission of a CV or completion of an online application
• Psychometric testing
• First round interview
• Second round interview
• Medical
• Job offer
• Begin job orientation

A typical hiring process might look something like this:

(Please note: This is an approximation of the hiring process. There could be significant differences in the hiring steps and wait times depending on the company.)

Even with all these stages complete, you’ll never just walk onto the factory floor on day one. You should always expect an extensive onboarding process and training.

This may seem like a long process, but the different steps are assessing candidates in different ways. It is hoped that by using these multiple different ways, companies are ultimately finding the right candidates for their vacancies in this unique and highly regulated industry. It’s also worth noting as well that all candidates – regardless of their experience – will be going through the same process. There’s no skipping ahead!

This shouldn’t be a surprise. To get the whole process started, you’ll need to submit a CV or complete an online application on the company’s website.

Try to avoid “applying” via LinkedIn or any other site where your details/CV are saved and then just sent to each employer. While this may feel like timesaving, you’re going to miss a crucial part of the CV writing process, tailoring your application.

For a full run-down of successful CV writing, check out our Ultimate Guide to CV writing series.

Psychometric testing usually happens early in the application process and is essentially used as a screening tool.

Using psychometric testing allows a company to sort through a large number of applications and find the candidates that best match a predetermined set of criteria.

Tests can assess things such as a candidate’s numerical skills, written communication skills, problem-solving skills, or even manual dexterity (this is commonly used for medical device assembly roles).

Check out this article for several tips on psychometric testing.

If there are still lots of applicants then first-round interviews can also be used as a screening tool to filter and find the best candidates.

In such a case, they may be conducted as telephone or video interviews and you’d typically expect a focus on competency-based questions.

Check out this section of our interviewing post, for more information about what competency-based questions are, and how to answer them.

Some companies might jump straight to in-person interviews at this point, and you’d expect to speak to the person who’d be your line manager or someone from HR.

This section of our interviewing post will give you an idea of the types of questions to expect.

If your first round interview was a telephone or video interview, your second round will likely be in-person with your potential line manager or a representative from HR.

If your first round interview was in-person, a second round interview will typically involve you meeting with someone more senior, or from a different department. For example, if the first round was with HR, the second round might be with your potential line manager; or if your first round was with your potential line manager, the second round might be with their boss.

This section of our interviewing post should help with some tips for the actual day of your interview.

Manufacturing roles within pharma and medical device companies generally require potential employees to complete a medical. Due to the strict rules and regulations of the industry, it’s essential that staff meet some basic medical requirements.

Any medical stipulations for the role will usually be outlined earlier in the process to allow candidates who don’t meet them to withdraw their application.

Stipulations might include things such as unsuitable for candidates with colour blindness or candidates should be medically able to lift/carry up to a certain weight.

You might receive a job offer via phone call, but this will typically be followed up in writing.

It should be noted that this timeline assumes that all staff (managers, HR, etc) are freely available and not on holiday or out sick during this process. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that the hiring process can easily push beyond a three month timeline, and closer to six months.

We also understand that this timeline can be especially frustrating if you are coming from the service or construction sectors where you can often get hired after just one short interview, and sometimes even start working on the same day. But it’s just the reality of job hunting in.

This three to six-month timeline is why we enthusiastically encourage all our students to make multiple applications every single week.

Consider you only make one application… You might get to the second round of interviewing and then be unsuccessful. By that point, two to four months could easily have passed and you have to start all over again with the next application. It’s simply a waste of time to “see how this one goes first”, no matter how confident you feel about it.

Having as many active applications as possible is the smart and time efficient way to job hunt. And when the worst case scenario is that you’ll have multiple job offers to consider, there’s really no down side.

If you’re feeling confused about your pharma job hunt, our Advanced Career Coaching module will walk you through the process step by step, helping you figure out where to apply and when.

And if you’re changing industry into pharma, that job hunting module is included in our Conversion Course into Pharma, giving you the technical knowledge you need as well as the job hunting support to get yourself in front of employers.

Getting a job in a pharmaceutical manufacturing company can be a lengthy and time-consuming process. There will be several stages and you might be surprised by how long you’re left waiting after each one. But when you’re successful, your patience will be rewarded with a well-paid, secure and rewarding job with excellent career prospects.

No industry experience, science or engineering qualifications?
You’ll need to start with our Conversion Course into Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Already working in the industry and want to upskill for a better job or a promotion?
View all 13 Pharmaceutical Courses