Many candidates find it extremely difficult to ask someone to be a reference. I find one of the primary reasons is that the candidate doesn’t want to bother past supervisors. After all, providing a reference can be time-consuming.

As a supervisor myself, I can honestly say it would never be a burden for me to serve as a reference for one of my top performers. So is the worry of bothering a past supervisor a valid concern?

There are many other reasons candidates are anxious when it comes to asking someone to serve as a reference. Perhaps they haven’t kept up with their past supervisors, and therefore aren’t sure how to find their contact information. Additionally, in many cases, candidates may be worried the reference would simply decline, not being willing to speak on their behalf.

And the biggest fear…what will they say?

I recently presented a webinar where one of the attendees asked if it was appropriate to include her references on her resume.

No. No, it isn’t.

And what about those candidates who provide references without first asking their permission? Eek…that isn’t a smart approach either.

So what is the best practice when it comes to asking someone to serve as your reference? This week’s roundtable provides advice on how to nurture your network so you always have references available. We also give tips on how to ask someone to be a reference, as well as how to prepare your reference in a way that makes you feel confident in what they will say about you.

We receive the question of ‘how to become a Sr CRA so frequently, we recently recorded a roundtable providing tangible advice on how to progress into the role. But due to the frequency of the question, I felt it would be important to ask one of my own:

Do junior-level candidates understand the good, bad, and ugly of being a Sr CRA?

Maybe…maybe not. As I coach junior-level candidates and aspiring CRAs, it often becomes apparent to me that they have a romanticized view of the senior CRA role. Therefore, in order to demystify the role (as well as reinforce how to successfully progress into it), we felt we had to go to the source.

We partnered up with a dear friend and highly respected senior-level industry consultant, Mashaan Guy. We asked him what his advice would be to those who want to progress into the Sr CRA role.

He does a deep dive into what he believes are important skills you should develop. Additionally, he offers advice on what types of experiences you should gain in order to compete in the role. He also throws some reality your way, being very direct about the good, bad, and ugly of the role. If you have ever considered what it would take for you to progress to the senior CRA position and perform it effectively, this podcast absolutely has to be on your ‘must listen’ list.

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.

Does the job interview always have to be serious? Yes…and no. Of course, there are components of every job interview that should be serious. However, I feel that being too serious in an interview is a flawed approach and a missed opportunity.

Why?

Research shows that when used properly, the use of humor facilitates personal attachment and builds connections. Sophie Scott presented an awesome TED talk on why we laugh and how the overall purpose of laughter is to create social bonding.

And the real reason for every interview is to build a connection. Candidates who build an effective rapport with their interviewer stand out. And this is important because our statistics show that for candidates, likability is more important than competence. Many organizations such as Forbes, LinkedIn, Harvard Business Review, and GovLoop agree.

Likewise, interviewers will find they are more effective during the interview when they put their candidates at ease. Humor, when appropriately used, can go a long way in enabling an interviewer to effectively bond with a candidate. And this means the hiring manager has a better idea of whether the candidate will fit the company’s culture.

However, interview participants on both sides will seriously flunk if they inappropriately use humor. So how do you use humor in a way that makes you stand out as a top candidate (or employer) without putting yourself at risk of appearing not serious enough? Or worse yet, make you appear unprofessional, immature…or worse?

Join us in this week’s roundtable as we provide guidelines on the appropriate way to use humor in a job interview.

The job search can be a challenge. How do you, as a jobseeker overcome a career setback in a way that makes you stronger? Our special guest John Nocero would state it is time to ‘Becky Up’. Becky Lynch (John’s Shero) has been quoted as saying: You can be going through hardships sometimes, and you’re struggling, and then you’re wondering if you’re ever gonna make it.

My mentor would call this struggle the ‘dark of the night’ where you wonder if you will ever obtain your goals. And get this, all of us have experienced a career setback.

Seriously – all of us.

But have you considered if your current career trajectory…your current career goals are right for you? Becky was also quoted as stating: It’s so important just to be true to yourself and to own your character and take responsibility for it, and speak up and say: This isn’t right; this isn’t me. It is a great lesson, not just in wrestling but in life. If you’re not feeling something that’s true to your heart… everybody’s gotta be true.

Listen in to this week’s podcast where we provide advice on two key points that every jobseeker should be focused on during their challenges:

• First, why fighting for your career goals and ambitions is critical for anyone who wants to progress personally and professionally.
• And second, why being true to yourself is the key component to the recipe for success.

I will leave you with one more quote by Dan Gable, two-time NCAA National Wrestling Champion: Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.

Jobseekers should know that there are similarities in how you handle counteroffers and oddball interview questions. Oddball interview questions are unconventional and typically the answers are quite difficult.

So what is the purpose of oddball interview questions? And how can you handle them gracefully?

Likewise, counteroffers can be a challenge. The intentions behind a counteroffer aren’t always for the jobseeker’s highest good. So I ask the question of them: how can you handle them gracefully?

In today’s team roundtable, we demystify both of these concepts, digging into the similar intention behind both practices. We also provide insights into how you can effectively address both.

Have you ever heard the term ‘doppelganger’? Doppelgangers are persons who are considered a double of another individual. Today I want to speak about CRA Doppelgangers and what it means to jobseekers.

Why?

Because our industry is rocking! There are currently over 113 thousand active studies listed on clinicaltrials.gov with 21,692 in the “Not Yet Recruiting” category. Even a conservative math exercise shows that current and upcoming studies will demand at least 10 thousand additional monitoring resources be deployed on projects just getting ready to start recruitment.

But as a job seeker, it is important to know that these thousands of positions will not be listed under the CRA title. Many in our industry have split the traditional CRA role into specialties, which may be a perfect solution for your skills and needs.

So what doppelgangers should you also search for when seeking your next monitoring position? How can you effectively broaden the hunt for a monitoring role that best suits your expertise and personal balance?

Today’s team roundtable discusses all of this in depth. Happy hunting!

While leadership is considered a soft skill, effective leaders will use a combination of hard and soft skills to excel in their roles. So how do you learn how to motivate and inspire team members? What personality traits do you need to sharpen to become a more successful leader? What hard skills are necessary to be accepted in a leadership role?

In today’s podcast, we join forces with Maria-Alexandra Milas, the founder and CEO of CRAConnect to discuss how leadership ranks highest among all of the professional skills that we look for in a quality Clinical Research Associate.

Maria provides excellent insight into how strong leadership skills are critical for clinical professionals at every level. We discuss how to hone this key soft skill as well as fine-tune personality traits so you can effectively lead in the CRA role.

We also speak about one of my favorite topics: how to identify and correct personal Blockers that may be keeping you from being a successful leader. Today’s podcast is a ‘must listen’ for all of you who want to progress in your career path!