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The Top Biotech and Life Sciences Interview Questions

biotech and life sciences interview questions

Biotech is one of the fastest growing industries. When it comes to recruiting employees for open roles at your biotech company, you’ll want to ask the right questions to assess their true aptitude.

Below you’ll find our list of the best interview questions for biotech employees of different roles.

Biotech Interview Questions

When looking at the best interview questions for hiring emergency room nurses, you’ll need to focus on competency, behavioral questions, and experience dealing with fast-paced, high-pressure situations. Reviewing how they handled past situations will give you enough information to quickly make the right hire.

Common Biotech  Interview Questions to Ask

  • Why do you want to work here? How can you help our company?
  • If you were choosing someone for this job, what kind of person would you select?
  • What do you expect to get from this job that was missing or you’re not getting from your current one?
  • If you were working in an unmotivating environment, what would you do to make sure you stay motivated with your work/projects?
  • What do you like best/least about your current job?
  • In your current position, how much of your work is done on your own vs with a team? Which do you prefer and why?
  • Describe one of the most challenging projects you worked on. What made it challenging? Did you overcome these challenges? What was the outcome?
  • What type of manager or leadership style do you thrive in?

Biotech Interview Questions About Company Culture

Why Company Culture Matters?

Company culture is important to employees because workers are more likely to enjoy their time in the workplace when they fit in with the company culture. Employees tend to enjoy work when their needs and values are consistent with those in the workplace.

  • What type of work environment are you looking for in your next job?
  • Do you have a preference for work / life balance?
  • Tell me about what you liked least about your company culture at your current job. What would you change and why?
  • Do you believe diversity plays an important role in the success of a company?

Biotech Interview Questions for Research and Development

Advances in biotechnology heals the world by utilizing nature’s own toolbox and using genetic makeup to heal and guidelines of research by reducing rates of infectious disease and life-threatening conditions affecting millions around the world, to name a few. Ensuring you have the right candidates to further these advances is critical.

  • How much does your company spend on R&D? How does that compare to similarly sized companies? Do you think your current company should be spending more/less? Why?
  • Describe your process for evaluating data prior to starting a project.
  • Describe a time when clinical research impacted the development of one of your projects.

Biotech Interview Questions for Problem Solving

A new report issued by the National Center for Education Statistics has found that American workers rank “dead last” out of 18 industrial nations when it comes to problem-solving skills using technology, the Wall Street Journal says. Ensuring you ask questions regarding a candidate’s problem-solving skills can give you the competitive advantage.

  • Give me an example of a time you had to think outside-the-box to reach a solution.
  • Have you ever managed a project that was the victim of unforeseen challenges? How did you work around these challenges? What was the outcome?
  • In your role, describe a time where you had to manage conflict with a co-worker that was part of your team. How did you overcome the conflict to complete the project/task at hand?
  • Describe a time where regulations created a challenge in one of your projects. Were you able to find a solution to this problem?
  • Tell me about a project that involved multiple teams/stakeholders. How did you manage expectations of your role and the demands of all stakeholders/teams?

Final Thoughts: Biotech interview questions

Finding staff for biotech positions can be  difficult. By leveraging the above biotech interview questions, you’ll be able to discover which candidates will be the best fit for your company. If you’re struggling with where to begin, please refer to our eBook on how you can Rethink Your Job Descriptions for the best success.