Human Resources: MedZilla.com Releases its October Employment Outlook Numbers for Biotechnology

(PRWEB) November 12, 2007 -- According to statistics gathered by MedZilla.com, employers and recruiters in pharmaceuticals, health care and biotechnology performed fewer searches, in October, though that owed mostly to declines in two key states -- New Jersey and Massachusetts, which went down by 5.6 and 3.2 percent, respectively. However, gains were made in Illinois (1.9 percent), California (1.3 percent), and Missouri (0.9 percent). As for openings clients were trying to fill, sales and management jobs remained at the top, claiming more than 30 percent of resume searches, though while sales rose by 2.2 percent, management was off by almost one percent.

There was positive news, however, as gains were made in non-sales fields. From September to October, the biggest gain in resume searching was in the lab technician arena, rising 3.2 percent. General medical and surgical searches also went up by 2.6 percent.

Job postings remained relatively flat over the past month, with only New Jersey seeing an increase in postings of more than half a percent. Of the top jobs posted, the biggest changes were in research (a loss of two percent) and gains of 1.8 to 2.3 percent in business development, primary care, and marketing. Applicants, meanwhile, continued at the previous month's rate of job searching, with only California seeing a change of more than one percent in either direction.

The jobs most often searched for once again were dominated by sales positions -- all of the top ten searches by state and job title were for some sort of sales representative opening. However, in the nationwide searches, applicants branched out a bit; though sales jobs were the top five, the top ten also included searches for positions in virology and field-based practice management.

What Does It Mean?

Trends over the past six months seem to show an increased interest in diversification from MedZilla clients. While sales remained the most popular field for both clients and applicants, medical/surgical, lab tech, and research jobs have seen small but consistent increases on the part of the job posters. Also, while 0.7 more people searched for sales jobs by keyword, 2.2 percent more employers searched for those positions, indicating that jobs may be coming available even as the holiday season -- which can be a tough time for sales representatives trying to pin down medical personnel and make their presentations -- ramps up.

Last month, MedZilla also suggested that applicants try to branch out, looking into new and different employment areas while waiting for that one perfect job in pharmaceutical sales. From September to October, jobs in IT backed off by 0.1 percent, not a statistically significant change in available opportunities; however, if that number continues slipping at a regular if relatively-small rate, it could indicate that savvy job-seekers have begun cashing in on their non-sales skills.

Why?

"Many companies inside and outside of the pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotech industries that MedZilla represents, announced layoffs in the month of October," said Michele Hopps, MedZilla's marketing director. Indeed, several big-name companies including GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis cut significant portions of their workforce. Additionally, more than a dozen companies noted they would be eliminating or restructuring up to 100 positions.

Massachusetts seemed to be ground zero for layoffs over the past month. Sepracor Inc., based in Marlborough, reported they would be releasing about 300 members of their sales team. Boston Scientific Corporation said they would be restructuring or combining several operational areas, leading to a workforce reduction of about 2,300. Inverness planned to scale back by 49 to eliminate redundancy and move 47 positions to a new location in Orlando, Fla.; this may have contributed to a slight bump in searches for candidates in Florida. Also, a 0.7 percent increase in job searches in Pennsylvania could be linked to Bayer's announcement that they would be eliminating up to 200 jobs over the next 18 months.

Hopps adds, "MedZilla continues to assist its employers and job seekers during this time of transition. We are working closely with our clients impacted by layoffs to see how we can help them, including providing outplacement services to them thru the MedZilla site."

Hopps also said that health care employment continued to grow in October with job gains in ambulatory health care services and hospitals. Over the past year, the health care industry has added 400,000 jobs.

Where Do You Stand?

With more and more companies looking to bolster their bottom line by cutting costs and consolidating jobs, it is reassuring that -- at least in the past month -- job postings by state remained relatively unchanged. However, job searches are likely to increase as companies announce layoffs and reorganizations. "The old adage that job security is the ability to find another job is as true now as it has always been", said Frank Heasley, Ph.D., MedZilla President and CEO. "In these times of uncertainty, it is essential to stay in touch with your colleagues, and to maintain your awareness of employment alternatives."

As of last month, 41.4 percent of applicants were looking for sales positions while only 21.9 percent of employers were searching for new sales representatives. This disparity continues to illustrate the need for diversification on the part of job seekers. In fact, job postings for October encourage that point, as business development and marketing postings rose by about two percent each. Unlike primary care postings, which also increased by a little more than two percent, neither business development nor marketing jobs necessarily need a medical degree. Candidates with sales experience looking to branch out could find new homes in positions where, instead of going out and selling to a group of doctors or practices, they create the presentations used company-wide. Plus, marketing and business development experience is horizontal; candidates with pharmaceutical marketing experience can often apply that experience to other fields in which they'd never considered working.

About MedZilla.com

Established in mid-1994, MedZilla is the original web site to serve career and hiring needs for professionals and employers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, science and healthcare. The MedZilla jobs database contains about 7,500 open positions. The resume database currently contains over 285,000 resumes with 16,800 less than three months old. These resources have been characterized as the largest, most comprehensive databases of their kind on the web in the industries served.

Medzilla® is a Registered Trademark owned by Medzilla Inc. Copyright ©2007, MedZilla, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce and distribute this text in its entirety, and if electronically, with a link to the URL www.medzilla.com. For permission to quote from or reproduce any portion of this message, please contact Michele Hopps, Director of Marketing and Development, MedZilla, Inc. Email: mgroutage(at)medzilla.com.

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