When I started researching companies within Life Science – from large corporations like Thermo Fisher to start-ups like Nuclera – I was taken aback by the cutting-edge technology they are developing and how impactful the projects are on healthcare.

Last year, I worked with Somalogic’s APAC Senior Leadership Team on finding 2 x Senior Sales Managers in Japan. On a personal level, these were my first placements within the Life Science industry in Asia and it opened up many opportunities to work on similar positions elsewhere in Asia. Professionally, these placements enabled Somalogic Asia to begin direct sales in Japan and they were the first direct reports for the APAC Regional Director.

• Conversations with candidates and clients on a daily basis has been the biggest benefit in keeping up to date with latest trends and industry news

• LinkedIn, especially following KOLs within Life Science

• News organisations specific to Life Science such as GenomeWeb and Fierce Biotech

The excitement I hear in candidates’ voices as they progress through the interview processes with the clients we work with. I can tell when people increasingly get interested in the company and position they are interviewing for as they realise the potential for their own career development and the relevance with their profile.

Colossal Biosciences – they’re trying to bring species back from extinction! It’s a truly ambitious vision but it is so exciting to think, “What if?”

Work with 1 or 2 experienced executive recruiters that you trust and communicate well with. Most executive recruiters have vast networks and are keeping up to date with industry news and opportunities which is great to find out about leads that may not be available on the job market. By working with 1 or 2 recruiters that specialise in your market, they can help tailor approaches to relevant decision makers at companies you have a specific interest in. Once an opportunity has been found, these recruiters would help guide you through interview process and provide pointers on how to prepare for each stage including negotiating a competitive salary package.

Last year, I helped Chris Tan (Regional APAC Director for Somalogic) to hire several sales leaders across Asia and Oceania – these positions were predominantly Sales Managers, Senior Sales Managers, and Sales Directors and were the first employees for Somalogic in countries such as South Korea, Japan, China, and Australia. After successfully building the senior sales leadership in Asia, we have now begun recruiting the technical support positions including FAS.

• Be constantly open to learning new things

• Teamwork

• Empathy

Our culture. Kapia is a small start-up of experienced recruiters who have come from other recruitment companies. Most of us left our previous companies due to the culture of those recruitment firms so we wanted to build a company where we felt tight-knit as a team but also had the freedom to express our personal views and opinions. Our culture has enabled us to grow a team of emotionally intelligent individuals who are data-driven and are able to work efficiently to our clients’ and candidates’ needs.

• With clients, we express that we are a boutique executive search firm of experienced recruiters and with that in mind, we truly desire to become the recruitment and HR extension of our clients, viewed as a partnership. Many of our candidates become our clients so it is essential that we develop and nurture a relationship that is symbiotic and long-term.

• With candidates, we ensure that they are only reached out to about relevant opportunities that suit their profiles. A large percentage of the candidates we work with are not actively looking for new opportunities – they are most often working in a stable position with a great company – but the opportunities we reach out to them about are exciting and we want to make sure our candidates have had the chance to think about it themselves.

• Throughout the interview process, I frequently keep in touch with our candidates on the next steps of the process, pointers for each stage of the interview, and being transparent every step of the way. Personally, I am an empathetic individual so I always try to put myself in the shoes of the candidates that I work with. Each candidate is different, their needs and wants are different, and I always try to achieve the best outcome for every candidate.

I mentioned Colossal Biosciences earlier and their vision of bringing species back from extinction. I find the whole idea fascinating from an ethical standpoint and wonder how far they can go with it – could they eventually bring back other humans?

• Sean Lock

• Robin Williams

• Carl Sagan

Kenya – staying in the middle of a safari park and waking up to giraffes, deer, warthogs, etc.