You are a Junior Recruiter for a large staffing agency. You report to a Senior Recruiter for Medical and Healthcare, Linda Shaw. You’ve been tasked with finding an excellent candidate for a client in the pharmaceutical industry, WellGen Pharma. They are looking for a salesperson who will fit in with their focus on innovation and who has experience in sales. Review the job ad below and then consider the three candidates you have narrowed your search to. Please note that technically there is no wrong answer in terms of the candidate selected because you found three excellent candidates, but the explanation you provide should persuade your supervisor and the client that the chosen person is the best choice while also demonstrating your understanding of passive and active candidates and best practices for recruiting each.
Write a memo formatted report to the Senior Recruiter, Linda Shaw, introducing the candidate and explaining your choice. Be sure to address the following:
- The name and qualifications of the chosen candidate. Make the connection between his or her qualifications and the open role clear to the busy reader.
- Where the candidate was sourced, whether the chosen candidate was active or passive and what impact this had on your decision.
- Why the other two candidates were rejected.
- The ethical considerations of sourcing candidates using social media.
Review the requirements for the position in the WellGen Pharmaceuticals ad below.
WellGen Pharmaceuticals is Hiring
WellGen is the place to build a sales career
- If promoting innovative and clinically proven pharmaceutical products excites you
- If you have a proven ability to educate medical professionals on the benefits of pharmaceutical technology
- If you believe patients and doctors are important to the successful treatment of chronic an acute illness
Ideal Candidates:
- Have earned a four-year degree from an accredited institution
- Have 3+ years experience in sales
- Are curious about new technology
- Are eager to learn and share knowledge
- Are collaborative yet competitive
- Thrive in a diverse environment
The Candidates
Margaret Moore is a passive candidate found via LinkedIn. Several employees at NeuroCeuticals recently congratulated Margaret on 15 years at the organization where she is the Senior Sales Rep for the North East Division. Based on her LinkedIn profile, this is the position she has had the entire 15 years at the company. One of the colleagues who posted congratulations looked like a promising candidate, but she left NeuroCeuticals only a month ago for a position in the Berlin offices of a competitor. Margaret has a BSBA and an MBA with a focus on Sales and Marketing. She has worked at two other organizations, one for 4 years and the other for 3 years. She earned her Certified National Pharmaceutical Sales Representative certification through the NAPSR 8 years ago.
Kayla Kent applied for the role after seeing your posting on Indeed.com. She has worked in operations for a major pharmaceutical company for 3 years. Prior to that position, Kayla was in sales but in the restaurant industry also for 3 years. Her first position was in training and development for a hospital for 4 years. She completed her AS in Business Administration 10 years ago, and recently she returned to college and finished her BS in Sales and Marketing.
Rajan Rasal is a passive candidate found via Indeed.com where he posted his resume 3 years ago. A review of his resume and a search of LinkedIn shows that he has been a Senior Sales Associate for 18 months but has been at DrexelPharma for almost 8 years. His anniversary with Drexel is just a few weeks away. He began there as a Junior Sales Associate but was promoted after 2 years. Since that promotion he has made 2 lateral moves, and then he became Senior Sales Associate 18 months ago. He has recently posted interesting articles and thought-provoking questions in several groups on LinkedIn. Rajan double majored in Biology and Chemistry and graduated 10 years ago.