Lead CRA Q&A: Am I getting a bad reference from a previous boss?

Anonymous said...

Hi, thank you for the advice you offer in your blog. Just a small question, I was referred for an interview at an international pharmaceutical company. I passed the first interview and was asked to have psychometric test which I was prepared for by a psychologist. They probably called my previous boss and after all that I received a negative response. This is the second time that I miss a good position after she was called. What do you think I should do? I have a lot to contribute to any firm, I just can't find them. thank you Y.S -September 3, 2009 6:46 AM

NadiaBoBadia responds...

Hi Y.S., and thanks for your question. I am sorry to hear that you were passed over for an opportunity that you were interested in. I am a very firm believer that things happen for a reason and I hope it will be of comfort to you to think that missing out on this particular job(s) leaves you available to find one that will be an even better fit and more rewarding experience. You would like to know whether you failed to land these positions because of your performance at the interview, due to results of an interview assessment, or because of a bad reference from a previous boss, or even a combination of any of those three factors.


You do have some control over the success of the interview. Please review my interview tips so you are always prepared - by knowing what to expect you are most likely to perform your best. To your second point, I have never been given a test or a psychologist assessment (to my knowledge) at an interview so I am not in the best position to give you advice. All I can say is that in the US we have laws that protect us from discrimination and you should always have your radar up for illegal interview questions and practices that may be used to exclude you. I am not speaking from a legal reference here, but I believe that if you agree to submit to the test you are consenting to the results potentially being used against you and you just have to either be at peace with that or decline to move forward.


In regards to your final concern, you are wondering whether a previous boss is sabotaging your success during the reference process. There is no requirement that you must give a prospective employer your former supervisor's contact information and I might advise you not to do so if you are worried about this particular reference. Providing a reference may be a condition of employment and withholding references will be a huge red flag to the hiring company so simply offer an alternative reference instead - someone you trust more, even if they weren't your line manager perhaps they had some less dotted-line supervisory experience with you.


Ask permission from all your references, provide them with a job description, and email them a bulleted list of 3 or 4 of your major recent accomplishments or strengths. This will help them prepare and promote you to the new company. Maybe your old boss isn't saying anything hurtful they are just blind-sided by the reference request and have no idea how to help you or what to say. In any case, I do recommend you have a conversation with that person before you consider providing their contact information to a potential employer again. I will point out that many large companies have a policy that managers may not provide references for liability reasons. Your former boss may have been instructed by HR only to verify the dates of your employment and not to comment at all on your performance.

Try not to take rejection too personally.

Today there are many qualified candidates seeking positions and the competition is stiff. A firm may look at 5 fabulous job seekers, any one of which would perfectly suit the role but they can only choose as many as they have requisitions for. Therefore, perfectly good candidates will regularly be turned away. In other words, not receiving an offer for the job doesn't necessarily mean you wouldn't be great for the job or that you did anything wrong at the interview. Finally, you can't force an offer, sometimes they just aren't going to love you and there is nothing you can do to overcome a lack of fit. Personally, I'd rather focus my energy on finding a great job where my unique talents are really appreciated than muddle through in an OK job where they weren't super excited about me as a candidate in the first place.


Reader questions may have been edited for spelling or grammar, for reasons of anonymity, truncated, or edited in other ways although the main content remains unchanged.

Travel Safety Refresher

So I've blogged before about travel safety but today we are all getting a refresher as a result of my monitoring trip yesterday. I've easily been to Denver 20+ times in the last 2 years for business so I'm very comfortable getting around in the airport, on the highways, and to my favorite restaurants. The point of this blog is that I may have gotten too comfortable and let my travel safety guard down. I was visiting a new site in a different part of the city I have never been to so I decided to try a new hotel. I didn't really research the hotel since I am familiar with the brand and have a certain level of pre-set expectation (mistake #1 - always read reviews on a travel site to make sure the hotel isn't too dodgey). I didn't actually even print my itinerary or write down the address because I always travel with my iPhone and GPS. Mistake # 2 - Long story short the GPS 'couldn't get better accuracy from the satellites' and I got lost in a not-so-nice neighborhood and I regret not having brought my trusty paper google maps print-outs. I pulled over in a safe place and got back on track and arrived at my destination using the iPhone. It was all really unsettling.

Rewind to earlier in the day, after work at the site I went out to the car and realized the battery in the key fob was dead. I could have tested this at the car rental place but it didn't occur to me as the car only had 11K miles on it (Mistake #3). I had rented a new Nissan Maxima so there is no key, just a black plastic stick thing. After fumbling around next to my car for several minutes and whipping out the phone to call Roadside Assistance I realized there was a tiny button on the back of the fob that released an emergency key and I was able to get in the car (maybe this is obvious to everyone else in America but I was confused and tired and wasted a lot of time messing around with it). Luckily I was in a very safe location because I was not paying attention to my surroundings at all and I was just focused on getting in the rental car. This was pretty upsetting to me because it was clumsy to open the car for the rest of the trip and I no longer had the panic button function which is an important safety feature.

The hotel lobby scene can be fun and
inviting but for a single female business
traveler it is more safe to just dine alone
in your room.  You can get some work
done or unwind and feel secure.

I stopped in to a restaurant and grabbed some take away food to enjoy back at the hotel that night. It was still daylight but I had to park far away from the entrance. I decided I would be comfortable with that whereas at night I would have insisted on a valet (Mistake #4 - no valet at this hotel). I hopped out of the car and started walking toward the lobby. Mi stake #5 - I had seen lots of pedestrians in and around the hotel when I drove in but I did not even bother to look around to see who might be loitering near the vehicle or in the area before I got out. I cannot impress this upon you enough, you must always be aware of your surroundings. As I stepped on to the sidewalk a voice to my right called out "How are you doing today?". My initial instinct was to turn to the speaker and smile (I'm from the South - we're polite) but something kicked in and I realized the safest course of action was to keep walking to the left and pretend I had not heard the caller. The man started following me and he was calling, "ma'am, ma'am?". Maybe he was a beggar or just a senile old guy, or a complete prick (who approaches a single female traveler and scares the crap out of them like that?!). I will never know because I did not scope things out before I had gotten out of the car so I could never identify this man. I used the reflection of the hotel glass to check his distance and he slowed his pace as I came within eyesight of the lobby. I would not have gotten on the elevator with anyone else at that point but luckily the ride up to my room was uneventful. I did not report the incident to the hotel. I didn't have much of an appetite at that point but it was good to lock the door and take a deep breath because the whole interaction had been really scary for me. I will NEVER be comfortable staying in this hotel again.

I have a real affinity for hotel points and status. I will stay in a different hotel every night just so I can qualify for status quickly but I have another reason, too. A trusted monitor I know told me a story about a CRA friend of hers who was raped in her hotel room. The lady was all settled in the room, showered, watching TV, when the man just appeared out of nowhere. Maybe he had been in the closet or under the bed but he knew she had been staying there alone for several nights and had somehow gotten access to her room. The story is especially creepy because he had been watching her for up to an hour before he attacked. It is just such a disturbing story. I will never stay in a hotel for more than one night because of this story my friend told me. I also check under the bed, behind the curtains, in the shower, and in the closet before I deadbolt the door. I know I must sound crazy but I am not willing to get hurt for this job and I take every precaution I think is appropriate.

I haven't traveled for business in a while so maybe I am especially paranoid on this trip, or perhaps it is because I recently acquired an expensive piece of jewelry that I am not entirely comfortable wearing yet, or maybe I just have instincts that are spot on. OK, I am off to the airport now and I will be paying attention and traveling safely. I invite you to comment on the post if you found it interesting or helpful, if you have your own story to tell, or if you just can't stop laughing at me right now for over-dramatizing.

What are your weaknesses?

That's a common interview question, huh? I've got some pretty snarky answers but I'm not sure any are appropriate for HR or a hiring manager (For example, "one of my weaknesses is burning bacon, I'm dangerous in a kitchen"). I've been doing some introspection lately and I have a new answer prepared for this question should it come up at an interview or in the context of a performance review or at a dinner out with friends so I won't have to say something lame and generic like, "I work too hard". ;)

If asked, I would say my weakness is really more of an area of continuous development. I am overly-enthusiastic and a huge Type A person so I constantly have to audit my communications to make sure I am not 1) giving too much away 2) muddling things with extra details or 3) overpowering others. This is especially important when I send email to my sites or business colleagues. I try to keep email correspondence succinct and use bulleted or numbered lists when I am seeking clarification on multiple points. In a team context, I make an effort to listen to other's input before I jump in and offer my $.02 so that way less emotive folks can contribute to problem resolution. Finally, in a negotiation, you always have the most power when you can sit silently and take in all the information. I like to slow down and thoughtfully consider things rather than always acting impulsively.

So I think this is a good answer because I am describing something that I can control and work on. I am demonstrating self-awareness and goal-driven behavior; I think both of those skills are important to hone and develop. If I said, "I am short" I couldn't exactly do much about that other than wear high heels so I think it is a poor answer to the question (I'm actually tall, but you get my point).

Let me know what you think of my new answer and it's Friday so if you are feeling slap-sticky send me an email or post some outrageous answers you would love to give to this question.

Summer Vacation

I've been so busy monitoring and traveling the past year and a half that I accrued quite the vacation bank. My project is at a lull so the timing feels right to take a little holiday. I found a cheap last-minute airfare to Europe so I am flying to Stockholm and will spend a few days there then fly to Frankfurt, Germany. In Frankfurt we will rent a car and drive West to check out castles and explore the Rhineland. We'll take a few days in Amsterdam and then fly home. It will be pretty whirlwind I'm sure but that is just my style - always on the go.

One of the biggest perks of my Regional CRA position is the hotel points, car rental credits, and airline miles I accrue. I am delighted that all 8 nights of hotel are free because of the points I amassed traveling for work. The airfare between Stockholm and Frankfurt was paid for by my Membership Rewards points on the corporate Amex (1% returns on all spend). We're flying first class using the upgrade coupons I received for flying so much last year, and we received a discount on a really nice Mercedes to zip around the autobahn because of my status in the car rental program. I could not be happier with how I'll be cashing in on these benefits. I hear other monitors say all the time how they bank all these perks but never get around to using them. I'm a firm believer in earn and burn. Can't wait to blow through all my freebies!

I also bought a really cool set of Sharper Image suitcases from Woot.com - fingers crossed they arrive before we leave. Maybe since I am saving so much money on the trip logistics I can bring an empty one just for shopping and see how far I can flex the Euro and the Krona. Ha det så bra - Adjö´ så lä´nge! Perhaps my Swedish blog readers can let me know if I am using that phrase properly. Danke! ;)

Lead CRA Q&A: CRA Work/Life Balance

I recently received an email from a blog follower asking how I maintain work/life balance as a traveling CRA and whether I get paid more when the weeks are longer. The email is a little ironic as I actually have been really under-utilized lately and have spent most of the past 3 months sitting at home pushing papers around and trying to think of billable work to do. I am currently assigned to 1 study and I only have 2 sites enrolling - I can drive to both of them and visits are only every 4-6 weeks so I've been doing some co-monitoring and asking my manager to help me find more work or an additional assignment. You have to be careful what you ask for...I could be very busy again soon.

In any case, I've been monitoring for about three years and I have done a lot of traveling (if not lately) so I was definitely able to address the reader's question and I will summarize my response for you all.

I work for a CRO and I am paid the same salary regardless of how many hours I work. It is normal for me to work 10-15 hours over 40 and not be paid. This happens because I have to stay on top of my reports, there are unexpected layovers when traveling, or there is just a lot of work to do and you have to be flexible. It is important to have a good dialogue with your manager and make sure that every week isn't a 60 hour week - that is not in your best interest or the companies best interest because you will burn out.

On average I travel 3-4 days each week and spend a couple of nights at hotels away from home.

Once you have 5+ years or so of experience you may choose to work as an hourly consultant. However, while you are new and learning, typically you take a salary job. The trade is that if you work for a large company they provide structured training so you are gracious about working the extra hours because the experience you are getting is so valuable. Also, I typically only work on 1 or 2 studies at a time so naturally my work ebbs and flows. For example, this month I had a lot of trips back and forth to the East Coast (9+ hours travel time each way) but last month I was just working at sites near my house so I traveled only about 10 hours collectively the entire month.

When you travel all week sometimes the last thing you want to do is go out with your friends or plan personal trips so you have to make the effort and be sociable even if you are tired. The travel does get in the way of me taking continuing education courses at the community or local college since I am typically on the road on weekdays. A membership to a local gym would be wasted on me since I am never home - I just make sure I stay at hotels with nice gyms. Sometimes I miss Happy Hours with my friends or important networking events or ACRP meetings because I am not in town. When you are at home you may not want to eat out, upkeep the house, or take care of all your other 'real-world' responsibilities. However, you have to compromise and do these things as you can because you love the people at home and want to make them happy - even though you may be exhausted. Plus, when your home is a sanctuary from the road you'll feel better and more relaxed, too.

You may not be able to own a pet or a plant because you just won't be home to take care of them. 

That negative stuff stated, I won't travel 85% of the time forever. This is just for another 2-3 years until I step into a Lead role that requires less travel or work towards Project Management. If I go independent I could just make my schedule such that I don't travel Mondays or whatever I like and that would keep the hours within reason. I'm compensated well and I am developing great career skills and networking connections so the travel is in balance for me. Not everyone is cut out to be a road warrior but I still fancy it. There is no substitute for experience and I am gaining that everytime I travel and visit a site.