Merck & Co. is Looking to Hire Many Scientists at BIO Talent Connect in San Diego
May 23, 2017
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
On Thursday, June 22, BioSpace is hosting BIO Talent Connect previously known as the BIO Career Fair. It will be co-located with the 2017 BIO International Convention in San Diego from 2:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
One of the companies that will be actively recruiting at BIO Talent Connect is Merck & Co. .
Merck & Co. is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. With headquarters in Kenilworth, N.J., the company employs about 69,000 people worldwide and in 2016 reported total sales of $39.8 billion. The company’s core focus includes diabetes, cancer, vaccines and hospital acute care.
Paula Newberry, associate director of Recruiting & Staffing for Merck, took time out to talk to BioSpace to discuss why they are participating and who they’re looking for.
Like many of the companies attending, Merck is seeking biologists and chemists—principal scientist, associate principal scientist, research associates—PhD and non-PhD.
“We are actively recruiting for world-class scientific talent. Two new Discovery Centers have been established to build Merck’s capability in Discovery Research, capitalizing on existing hotbeds of research talent in South San Francisco, California and Cambridge, Massachusetts,” Newberry says.
Although top talent can often be difficult to find, Newberry says that the highest demand and most difficult positions to fill are “non-PhD scientists with a demonstrated track record in academia or industry.”
In order to differentiate itself from other companies in order to attract talent, Newberry says, “We are holding quarterly invite-only open houses, creating a culture of regular collaboration, leading by example, highly competitive relocation, compensation and incentive structured, based on local market conditions.”
A quick perusal through the BioSpace.com job postings shows at least 26 current job listings for Merck, including Principal Scientists, Chemistry, in South San Francisco; Principal Scientist, Chemistry, Modeling and Informatics, also in South San Francisco, and Associate Director, Vivarium in South San Francisco, as well as numerous others.
“We’re looking for candidates who can bring greater diversity of thought and new insights and approaches that will lead us to a deeper understanding of human disease—world-class scientists and drug hunters, those with high intellectual curiosity, those who are entrepreneurial and have an appetite for risk and are highly networked,” Newberry says.
If you’re planning to attend BIO Talent Connect, be sure to check out Merck. Newberry says, “Come to an event and talk to the current members of the team who will be able to tell you firsthand what an exciting time it is to be in Merck Discovery!”
BIO Talent Connect will be held at the San Diego Convention Center located at 111 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego. BIO Talent Connect will be in Ballroom 20 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
BIO Talent Connect will allow candidates to meet with representatives of these companies and many others, to participate in company roundtables, and to network with your peers from around the world. Even if you’re unable to attend, BioSpace has a way for you to engage with sponsoring companies and submit your resume.
The career event is free to the expected 16,000 attendees at the convention. In addition to the BIO Talent Connect, individuals who register will also receive an Exhibition registration badge that provides access to the BIO International Convention Exhibits all day, Thursday through Thursday, June 20-22.