Insights

Choosing a career coach is an important decision at any level. In pharma, biotech, and life sciences, the stakes become higher as your career becomes more specialized. A Director of Medical Affairs does not need the same positioning as a commercial leader preparing for a VP role. A regulatory professional moving into RIM requires a […]

Updated August 23, 2026By Rebecca Henninger, career strategist, executive resume writer, and personal branding expert Moving from Director to VP in pharma, biotech, or life sciences is not simply a matter of taking on more. VP-level candidates need to show how they set direction, make tradeoffs, align functions, influence decisions, and shape portfolio or enterprise […]

Updated August 22, 2026By Rebecca Henninger, career strategist, executive resume writer, and personal branding expert A Director or executive-level pharma, biotech, or life sciences resume must do more than document therapeutic areas, functions, teams, and programs. It should show the decisions you owned, the direction you established, the functions you aligned, and the business or […]

Career positioning is the process of defining where you fit, what you offer, and how your experience should be understood by the market. It clarifies four things before you begin writing a resume or updating LinkedIn: Resume writing communicates that strategy. Career positioning creates it. This distinction matters because many experienced professionals do not have […]

A lot of market access resumes sound like the person was near the strategy, not shaping it. The experience is there. The scope is there. The cross-functional exposure is there. But the resume reads like a list of responsibilities: “Supported payer strategy.”“Partnered with cross-functional teams.”“Managed payer marketing materials.”“Led access planning.”“Collaborated with HEOR, medical, marketing, and […]

Why Pharma Resumes Are Different Careers in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry follow a different trajectory than most corporate roles. As a result, the resumes and CVs used to pursue positions in pharma need to communicate a different set of signals. Hiring managers in pharmaceutical companies are not simply reviewing responsibilities or years of […]

Why Pharma Executive Resumes Are Different At the director level and above, pharmaceutical careers don’t follow a straight line. Some executives rise through commercial functions like marketing, market access, or sales leadership. Others move up via R&D, clinical development, regulatory affairs, or medical affairs. Unlike early-career resumes, where job descriptions dominate, executive resumes must show […]

Originally published September 8, 2025 | Updated September 3, 2026By Rebecca Henninger, career strategist, executive resume writer, and personal branding expert A strong pharmaceutical resume does more than list technical expertise, responsibilities, or isolated results. It shows where your experience fits, how you contributed, the scope and complexity involved, and why the outcome mattered to […]