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Typical Questions
Here are general questions that you will likely be asked with tips for answering shown in italics: |
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§ Tell me about
yourself? Keep it short and hand them a copy of your resume to look
at while you give the penny-tour of your background and experience. Showcase
yourself, “I live in San Francisco and I have 5+ years experience in this
industry. I have been working as a CRA for over 18 months. I have had the
opportunity to work in Phase I, II, and III trials for the following
indications… I attended courses for CRA training through a local university
and I am an active ACRP member.” Be prepared to explain why you are currently
job seeking and any gaps in your employment history or a trail of many past
job over a short period of time.
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§ What are your
salary requirements? I’ve had success with this script, “I will
consider the entire package including employer flexibility, 401K, a
competitive benefit package, etc. However, my minimum salary requirement is
$$$$. I would be pleased by a compensation package that includes benefits and
incentive compensation to increase the value. From my research, it appears
that similar positions in this industry are paying between $$$$ to $$$$.”
Then be quiet!!!
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§ What
percentage/amount of time are you willing to travel? Be honest.
Travel is difficult and it is not in yours or the employer’s best interest
for you to misrepresent yourself when this question is asked.
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So here are the more
role-specific questions:
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§ Have you had GCP
training or formal CRA training through an employer or accredited course?
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§ Do you have
experience with the following?
o Regulatory document review o Selecting and recruiting qualified and interested investigators o Performing source document verification o Utilizing EDC, electronic diaries, or IVRS systems o Database close o Development of protocols or ICF? |
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§ Do you have
experience with the following therapeutic areas: Cardiovascular, CNS,
Oncology, Diabetes, HIV, etc.? If you are interviewing with a CRO
this is especially important because they will need to market you internally
and to clients. There is no sense in lying here because there is no
substitute for experience. Try to highlight experiences you have from other
jobs that better prepare you for a monitoring role. For example: “Although my
oncology experience at this point has been limited to clinical database and
CRF design, that experience has afforded me the opportunity to read through
no fewer than 10 to 15 different oncology protocols from a variety of
sponsors and assist (at least on the data end) in these sorts of trials. I
have had the opportunity to develop some very fundamental and transferable
skills in XYZ indication this past year related to study start-up,
maintenance, building/maintaining relationships with study sites, trial
fiscal management, and facilitating cross-functional trial specific working
teams to track and deliver important study milestones on time/budget.”
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§ What is the
greatest number of [protocols, sites, patients] that you have been
responsible for at any one time?
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§ Which phases have
you worked in?
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§ How many [pre-study
qualification visits, site initiation visits, site monitoring visits, site
close-out visits] have you conducted in your career?
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Undoubtedly, the
last question you will be asked is, “Do you have any questions for me or
about our company?” And the answer is, Yes, you do! I know you will
be nervous, but ask good questions and listen to the answers to the questions
and try to get feedback during the interview so you know how you are doing.
You may have been misunderstood during the interview or missed an
opportunity to really sell yourself. Asking great questions will give
you one last chance to show your best or address any concerns the interviewer
has before you part or even in a follow-up letter or email. Here are
some generic ones, but you have to ask something:
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§ Describe the three
top challenges that I’ll face in this job?
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§ What are the key
metrics for measuring success in this position?
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§ If I were offered
the opportunity to work with your organization, what would you like me to
accomplish in my first 90 days?
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§ How would you
describe the qualities of the most successful people at your company?
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§ How closely do my
qualifications match the requirements for the open position?
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Interview Styles
At this point, I want to mention that there are various interview styles. Being familiar with how (and why) questions might be asked will only help make you more prepared when it is time to come up with the answers. I am going to discuss a few interview styles below. The person conducting the interview may stick to just one style or have a mix of several – this is especially true when you are in a panel interview. Then it feels like you are in a firing range but just stay calm and try to engage the panel so you aren’t doing all the talking. After all, this is your opportunity to interview them, too, right? Anyway, here are a few interview styles you might encounter: Behavioral – Everyone knows that past behavior is a very good indicator of future performance. This interview style will require you to answer in a manner that shows you are creative and quick on your feet. Sometimes the right answer is not as important as the delivery. Before you answer think hard about why they are asking this particular question and try to cite examples of past behaviors that are relevant to the job you are applying for and explain at the end how the skills and experience you are describing would be transferable in your new role. If they ask you about a past mistake or you describe something you did but would now do differently, say so and explain why. Nobody is perfect so showing that you learn from past experiences can only help you in the interview. |
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§ Tell me about a
time when you showed your ability to [adapt to a new situation, solve a
problem, etc.].
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§ Tell me about a
time when you demonstrated [initiative, integrity, excellent
communication, etc.].
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Situational/Scenario –
If you have no idea what the right answer is, you can try stalling, asking
the interviewer for help, or just qualifying your response. For example,
“Honestly, I am thinking of a few possible answers for the question. On the
one hand, I feel like this might be the right response, but on the other
hand, I can see a scenario where this might be the right approach. Which are
you looking for?” or “Well, I must admit that I haven’t ever been faced with
this particular situation, but I imagine I would handle it as follows….” Here
are some examples of situational questions:
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§ You’re at a site
and discover an unreported SAE, what would you do?
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§ You are performing
a routine monitoring visit and discover that the site has enrolled a subject
but forgot or improperly consented them, how would you handle this situation?
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Assertive – I
personally find this style offensive. Any employer that utilizes these
tactics is likely not one that I am very interested in working for. After
all, if they are a jerk in the interview, what is it going to be like on a
daily basis or when it is time to sign your expense reports, or partner to
work on your performance goals, etc. In any case, an assertive interviewer
will treat you really nastily or act very cold/aloof to see if you will get
nervous or flustered. I find brevity is key in these types of interviews and
if there are long periods of silence, just sit calmly and pretend like you
are unaffected. Be careful not to be too defensive – it is usually a trap to
see if you can keep your cool under pressure. They might say something catty
like:
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§ It sounds like you
don’t have a lot of experience with [insert something rude here], what
makes you think you can do this job?
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§ I have a lot of
other more qualified candidates, why should I hire you?
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Structured –
This interview is basically just like a test and you need to pass to make it
to the next round. It is a typical style for CROs (where many different
people perform new candidate interviews but then need to assess all
applicants against the same standards) or for first-round interviewers.
Essentially, the interviewer is looking for a specific answer, and once you
say the magic word or list the 3 bullets they are looking for, they will move
on to the next question. It is fine to ask how you are doing if you are
feeling nervous along the way – they will probably find it endearing rather
than count that against you (they probably suffered through the same type of
interview when they were hired).
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§ What are the
critical components of an ICF document? Know your regulations and GCP
guidelines – All of them – this one is CFR 21 Part 50.
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§ What are the
activities that take place during an [initiation visit, close out visit,
etc.]?
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Here are a few other random
tidbits of general interview advice:
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§ Show up on time, be
well-dressed/groomed, and be nice to the receptionist.
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§ Fill out the
employment application in advance. When you ask for this you are
demonstrating your enthusiasm for the position and you are showing how
organized and methodical you are when approaching new situations. If there is
no application to be completed, at least bring your government issued ID and
a list of references and old employers in case this is needed.
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§ Avoid sounding
cocky, smug, or coming off as entitled.
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§ Assess how the
interview is going by using any of these targeted questions after you provide
an answer: “Did I give you enough detail?”, “Was I clear on that?”, or “Would
you like me to elaborate?”
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§ Never ever ever lie
about your experience! Our industry is a small one and your reputation will
precede you. It is a huge risk so just avoid it. Besides, as CRAs our primary
objective is to ensure the safety of subjects exposed to Investigational
Product. As an extreme example, if you lack the experience to do something
and say that you actually can, you may be given a position that you are not
qualified for and as a consequence, subject safety could be jeopardized.
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§ Never say anything
nasty about a previous co-worker or employer – it only makes you look bad.
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§ Watch for and avoid
illegal questions – It is absolutely inappropriate (and in some cases against
the employment laws) for the interviewer to ask you questions about your age,
race, religion, marital status, and whether or not you have kids. If you
choose to volunteer this information in the course of an interview, fine.
However, if you are queried about any of the items above just say politely,
“I’m sorry, I don’t feel comfortable with that question but would be happy to
address any others you have.” or re-direct the questioning in some other
tactful way.
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§ At the end of the
interview thank them for their time, ask what the next steps are in the
process, and ask for the job! I know it sounds silly, but 90% of applicants
won’t ask for the job. You don’t need to be shy. You researched this company
for weeks, you got all dressed up and took an entire day (or several) to come
in and interview. You don’t need to dance around why you are there, “When can
I start?”
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Now you know what
kinds of interview questions to expect but this is really putting the cart
before the horse because we haven’t even scratched the surface of how to
execute a sound job search. I will be posting in the future with more
information that will make you better prepared for your new CRA role
including: ‘Choosing the Right Company as Your New
Employer’; ‘Networking’; ‘Doing Your Homework Before an Interview’;
‘Following up After the Interview’; and ‘Tips For Excelling in your First 90
Days of Employment’. Let me know if there are other topics that are of
interest and I will be sure to address them in other future posts.
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You may also like…from The Lead CRA: |
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