Life Science Professionals can be odd sometimes. The current 'selfie‘ culture requires, however, a positive self-exposition. Yet it impairs the perception of the candidates‘ key quality: their true abilities.
Visibility is a trump card. It determines extraversion. The more a candidate seems outward-looking, the more positive the first judgement. Proactive and outgoing communication often brings a candidate half-way to a successful interview.
I must admit I have reservations about this trend in personnel diagnostics. This opposition between introversion and extraversion goes too easily hand in hand with a simplistic judgement: thumbs up for extroverts, thumbs down for introverts - especially when assessing managerial capabilities.
The presumption that life science professionals and engineers are „restrained" professionals is actually quite frequent - after all, you need be somewhat introvert to be interested in such topics...isn't it? Moreover, life science professionals are often critical, often demonstrate a differentiated approach, carefully weighing and balancing pros and cons and do not easily show enthusiasm. This is often - wrongly - understood as distance, lack of emotion, if not simply as obvious disinterest. The term „life science professional" usually conjures up images of „researcher". And the latter is commonly believed to spend his time alone, locked up in his mysterious laboratory - which is a stigma per se.
And indeed, those who enjoy working with mathematics, physics or mechanical engineering generally prefer a thorough and in-depth analysis. He or she usually demonstrates strong abstraction abilities and carefully considers all facts and figures before addressing an issue. Similarly, experts in chemistry, process engineering or biology enjoy experiencing, intellectual games and laboratory work. Pharmacists and physicians acquire a comprehensive theoretical and technical knowhow before making a diagnostic or developing drugs for patients. Those who tend to be inward-looking will probably find research and development more appealing to them, while extraverts will feel more at ease in a commercial or product management role.
„How beneficial is the factual and analytical view on things when they are moving at fast peace in an emotional context. How pleasant, when someone shows no partiality but weights the different options without excluding."
However, avoid drawing hasty conclusions! The cliché of the ‚lonely researcher" is mere fiction - nowadays researchers commonly work in teams. And in practice, scientists represent the full spectrum of human behaviour. Moreover only a small proportion concretely work in the research sector. Most scientists choose from a vast spectrum of jobs and professional opportunities. They decide for themselves where to focus their activity according to their personal preferences and behavioural dispositions.
This is why we need to answer a number of questions when recruiting Life-Science staff, including Executives: Do we really want the team leader who sells himself the best to manage development? Do we want as a production manager the one who presents her figures to the management in the most favourable light? Is extraversion for the concerned position or the branch in general really that important? In the end, we need to include the second and third impressions in our considerations.
And I repeatedly observe: How beneficial is the factual and analytical view on things when they are moving at fast peace in an emotional context. How pleasant, when someone shows no partiality but weights the different options without excluding. How sovereign, when one keeps the necessary distance and forward-looking strategic vision. What a consistent guidance, when one knows how to listen to employees and thinks along when they come up with ideas and proposals! All reasons that speak for more introverts of the sort.
Dr. Irmtraud Lang, PHD, Chemist, Managing Director gloor&lang ag, life science careers