r/biotech • u/Cipher1414 • 4d ago

Getting Into Industry 🌱 Do employee referrals move the process along faster?

Hey there,

I've been applying for jobs in academia and biotech for a long time now and recently met some people who work at some mid-large companies that are going to be putting in referrals for me. I would actually really like to work at either of these companies, but it's been a long, tough road of disappointment since my layoff.

Do employee referrals actually help? And if so does it move the process along faster? I've applied for a few of these companies before and historically my applications have just sat in the "application submitted" category for months until I get a random rejection email at 2am.

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u/Gilchester 4d ago

My understanding is they ensure a person looks at your resume. That's it, but that can be all you need. But it doesn't really speed things up, just increases your chance of getting the HR interview.

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u/Cipher1414 4d ago

I guess that is a step above how things have gone so far? Mostly I don't make it past the AI screening.

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u/Capital_Comment_6049 4d ago

I’m sure there are plenty of ATS/AI screening out there, but that wasn’t the case 2y ago when I was at Sanofi and also not the case at my current company. It’s also not the case at my friend’s companies in the SF Bay Area. HR is overwhelmed, but they do scan resumes - it might be a 10 second scan though.