The Lead CRA Blog: HR

I’m posting to let you know what kinds of questions you might expect to be asked during a CRA interview. Practice these in the shower, in front of the mirror, or with a friend so you are prepared!

Typical Questions
Here are general questions that you will likely be asked with tips for answering shown in italics:

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.
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!!!
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.

So here are the more role-specific questions:

Have you had GCP training or formal CRA training through an employer or accredited course?
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?
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.”
What is the greatest number of [protocols, sites, patients] that you have been responsible for at any one time?
Which phases have you worked in?
How many [pre-study qualification visits, site initiation visits, site monitoring visits, site close-out visits] have you conducted in your career?

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:

Describe the three top challenges that I'll face in this job?
What are the key metrics for measuring success in this position?
If I were offered the opportunity to work with your organization, what would you like me to accomplish in my first 90 days?
How would you describe the qualities of the most successful people at your company?
How closely do my qualifications match the requirements for the open position?

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.

Tell me about a time when you showed your ability to [adapt to a new situation, solve a problem, etc.].
Tell me about a time when you demonstrated [initiative, integrity, excellent communication, etc.].

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:

You’re at a site and discover an unreported SAE, what would you do?
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?

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:

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?
I have a lot of other more qualified candidates, why should I hire you?

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).

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.
What are the activities that take place during an [initiation visit, close out visit, etc.]?

Conclusion

Every person you interact with may be
asked to provide input on your interview
performance. Remember to always respect
"gate-keepers" like reception/administrative
staff and the HR person who arranged
the interview.

Here are a few other random tidbits of general interview advice:

Show up on time, be well-dressed/groomed, and be nice to the receptionist.
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.
Avoid sounding cocky, smug, or coming off as entitled.
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?”
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.
Never say anything nasty about a previous co-worker or employer – it only makes you look bad.
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.
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?”

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.

You may also like...from The Lead CRA:

Introduction to Monitoring December 2007
Creating a CV November 2007
New Hire Orientation November 2007

I have been at new hire orientation all week. We started at 8:30a on Monday with HR. They reviewed new employee stuff including company history, benefits, and general company information. I was greeted at lunch by two long-time employees who took me out for a nice meal and told me more about the company culture and their studies. Most of the CRAs at training already knew what their assignments would be but I didn't even know who my manager was at this point.

After lunch, IT came in to deliver rollerbags and laptops. My laptop is more like a workstation (but it is tiny, light, and so cute!) because I have no administrator access and can't even change the system time or download a thing. Sites like YouTube are blocked but luckily Blogger works! Unfortunately we use Lotus Notes so that will take some getting used to. In my previous CRA position I was addicted to my MS Outlook calendar and contact functions. I have a PDA phone by Motorola so I would sync this constantly and it will be hard to go without. Lotus is 21 CFR Part 11 compliant and my CRO has chosen it because of its database capabilities. Every study gets a repository where essential trials documents and forms are stored and this is all shared through Lotus. This is better than a share drive because the repository can be 'replicated' which is a fancy term for saying I can view it even if I can't get on the VPN. For homework I had to read the employee manual.

I talked a few of the CRAs into joining me for dinner so it was a fun and relaxing evening. The next morning we reported for CRA II training. There were 6 of us in the class and we are all Regional associates (4 from the East Coast and a gal from Phoenix). CRA training lasted only about 3 hours and was just a quick review of ICH/GCP and a 'how-to' for source document review. After lunch we learned how to track our time. The system we use is not terribly complicated and I finally found out what study I would be working on and since it is only one at this point, reporting my time won't be so difficult. As CRAs, we are expected to be 85% billable. That means I need to be traveling or doing client work most of the time. I have to 'bill' these items to the sponsor by accurately completing my timesheet. This is easier said than done; I have been telling people it requires a bachelor’s degree because each 15 minute increment has to be coded to the specific task you are completing so it can get complicated. For homework we had to mock up a sample timesheet. Luckily completing your timesheet is billable because it takes a while!

All the new CRAs are asked to take part in a bull-ride
challenge. If you can last 30 seconds you advance
to the next day of training. Just kidding!

The third and final day of training was a hands on demo of how to complete an expense report. Again, this is no easy task. It is made easier by the fact that I was issued a Corporate Amex. I will put all charges on my Amex (except where it isn't accepted) and keep my hotels under $150/day and meals around $50/day unless I have written manager approval to go over (which will be required depending on what cities my sites are in). There is no preferred airline but I will be using National car rental and usually Hilton hotels as they are the preferred vendors. A large CRO can have 'preferred vendors' because they require traveling employees to use Amex. In this way, they can run queries to see how many nights employees stay in hotels and things to negotiate special preferred rates. I will have $30/mth for a cell phone stipend, my broadband and phone line will be reimbursable including installation. I have been given a $1600 stipend to furnish my home office. Lucky for us, charges to the Amex pre-populate into the expense report so that helps. Corporate pays the card directly as long as I submit the expense report within 14 days of the trip. Airfare will always be non-refundable so I can submit the expense report the moment it hits the Amex and do not need to wait for the trip to actually occur first.

It was a busy 3 days but a lot of fun, too and I may never again venture to corporate headquarters so it was a nice opportunity to get a glimpse of how the home office runs. I will hopefully have project specific training soon and meet my line manager (at least over the phone anyway). Now I am busy reading SOPs and doing on-line training for the next few days.