I was recently conducting a coaching session when someone asked what skills or experiences she needed to advance into a Senior CRA role.

It seems like a simple question but the answer can be quite complex. Should you focus on gaining foundational experience? And if so, what clinical research foundational experience is most important? Does your job tenure matter? Should you have a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate? And if yes, what field should your degree be in? What, if any, certifications do you need? Do you need experience across various therapeutics? What type of technology systems do you need to be able to use?

And we can’t forget about soft skills. How do you hone your leadership skills so you are able to handle the senior CRA role? Is the ability to quickly and effectively build relationships as important as being able to handle conflict? And what about communication…how do you make sure your communication skills are strong enough to be effective in the role?

Finally, once you have developed the hard and soft skills needed to be successful in the role, how do you go about showing others you are ready? How important is networking? And how do you leverage your network to gain advancement into the Senior CRA role?

All great questions. And we tackle them in this week’s roundtable so that you can be supported in obtaining your career goals.