Hiring Heat Check: What’s Hot in Biotech + Pharma Talent in Mid-2025

Episode Title: “Hiring Heat Check: What’s Hot in Biotech + Pharma Talent in Mid-2025”

🎙️ Hosts: Ian Wendt & Na-Ri Oh 🎧 Guest: Kristiaan Rawlings, Executive Recruiter at EPM Scientific

 

Episode Overview:

This week, fan favorite Kristiaan Rawlings returns to RealPharma to give us the raw and real insights on pharma and biotech hiring trends as we hit the midpoint of 2025. From compensation curves and BD boom times to the rise of GLP-1s and the return of oncology, this episode is your ultimate pulse check on where hiring is headed—and how to stand out in a crowded field.

 

Key Topics Covered:

🔹 BD & Search/Eval Roles in Overdrive Why demand is surging—and why having both scientific chops and business fluency makes you the unicorn every company wants.

 

🔹 Therapy Area Hot List Immunology, inflammation, liver disease (MASH), GLP-1s, and yes—oncology is back, baby.

 

🔹 Career Advice for Every Archetype Whether you’re a lifer from Big Pharma or a job-hopper with a story to tell, Kristiaan offers smart, tactical advice on how to pitch your value.

 

🔹 Hiring Manager Intel From pre-reads to leave-behinds to storytelling frameworks like STAR, we cover tools that actually make you memorable in interviews.

 

🔹 Sales Teams = Prizefighters? Kristiaan breaks down why commercial ops teams are like a boxer’s entourage—and why the whole team needs to hit harder in 2025.

 

🔹 Show Me the Money Real talk on compensation ranges from Director to SVP (spoiler: the market’s healthy), plus trends in title inflation/deflation.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Sadhna Bokhiria's salary benchmark post: Kiria Research LinkedIn Post on Pharma Salary Trends

• EPM Scientific (Kristiaan’s firm): https://www.epmscientific.com

 

Connect with Kristiaan Rawlings:

📩 Kristiaan on LinkedIn 🧪 Check out openings at EPM Scientific: https://www.epmscientific.com/jobs

 

Episode Highlights:

“A 16-year tenure at one company? That’s a marriage. But now you’re dating again—and you need to know your story.” — Kristiaan Rawlings

 

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💬 Liked this episode? Let us know what roles or trends you'd like us to cover next time!