Dive Brief:
- When Pfizer wanted to hire new employees for jobs at a large production site near Stockholm, Sweden, the company put out ads without specifying anything about the jobs, in-Pharmatechnologist reports.
- 200 applicants responded. There were six different positions available.
- Applicants were asked about their personal thoughts and passions before any CVs were even reviewed. In addition to asking them about their core beliefs, the hiring managers asked candidates to stand in front of a group of people and speak for two to three minutes about "the most burning question" for them.
Dive Insight:
The hiring manager, Kim Sandell, Director of Supply and Operational Excellence at Pfizer Health AB in Sweden, wanted to know more than which PhD a person has. She also wanted to not be biased based on a person's CV before having actually met the applicant.
Using this approach, she hired six people from various backgrounds, including people with PhDs and lots of pharma experience, as well as operators with two or three years of experience. Pharma companies aspire to be innovative, and this is truly an innovative approach to hiring.