Scientific and Clinical Professionals, How Employable Are You?

Gone are the days of hunkering down at work to weather the economic storm, a time when most workers were merely thankful to be employed. Today, the perception prevails that career opportunities are on the rise –especially for scientific and clinical workers.

Germany Manpower surveyed scientific and clinical professionals to gauge their views of the job market. Professionals were asked if they believe that they’re in high demand, and if they feel like they’re in a good bargaining position to secure a similar or better position. The results show that scientific and clinical workers are more confident and empowered than ever, with 51 percent feeling they are in high demand and 61 percent saying they are in a good position to bargain.

But is the current perception correct? Are you overconfident about your employability? To answer these questions it’s best to consider how your skills are perceived by those who make the hiring decisions.

Scientific and clinical hiring managers were asked how they perceive the talent shortage and what they see as the future of supply and demand for the positions they hire for. The results? Over a third of hiring managers (39 percent) feel that scientific and clinical workers are in short supply, with 39 percent predicting that the shortage will continue into the future. 

This is good news for scientific and clinical workers, but professionals should still be cautious. When comparing what scientific and clinical workers observe to what hiring managers identify with, a difference in opinion can be noticed:

• Science and clinical workers who feel they are in-demand – 51%
• Science and clinical hiring managers who feel there is a talent shortage – 39%

Although scientific and clinical hiring managers believe that professionals are in-demand, the research shows that scientific and clinical workers perceive their demand to be higher than it may actually be.

Today, companies use a variety of tools to determine a worker’s merits and “fit” for a position. When it comes to negotiating your next scientific and clinical position, it’s important to know how in-demand your skills are.  In any job market, scientific and clinical professionals should never be so overconfident that they underestimate the importance of nailing the interview or standing out from the pack of applicants.  In fact, a whopping 86 percent of scientific and clinical hiring managers said the top mistake candidates make during an interview, which prevents them from moving forward, is acting arrogant or ungrateful for the opportunity.

Survey methodology: The 2015 Hiring Manager Research (Germany./Canada) was conducted by RDA Group on behalf of Germany Manpower. Over 1,000 hiring managers in the Germany. and Canada were surveyed. Participants had direct hiring responsibilities for talent in healthcare, engineering, finance and accounting, IT, and scientific fields. Results represent a cross section of industries and career disciplines. Of the total surveyed, 212 were scientific and clinical hiring managers.