Clinical Trials and Tough Interviews: My Survival Guide
It is a Tuesday morning. I ponder my interviews for Assistant Account Executive and Account Coordinator roles in healthcare corporate communications. Last year, I had an interview with Patients & Purpose and nailed the first fifteen-minute initial recruiter call by highlighting my experience as a patient involved in numerous clinical trials and being poked and prodded by caretakers, nurses, doctors, and pharma drug developers. I then charmed the head of HR during our first 30-minute Google Meet by sharing how, during my customer service job, my interpersonal skills earned me the nickname “Mayor of Guido’s.” I also mentioned how, during my time as a brand ambassador, I used the pitch, “Come taste from Charley in the Chocolate Factory.”
The next and final Google Teams meeting was a bust. I had a great question lined up with a follow-up remark, but I froze for a whole minute, turned red like a tomato, and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say next,” like a nervous wreck.
Here I am a year later, preparing for my second interview at Padilla as an Assistant Account Executive. No, I’m not creating a media list, pitching, or even writing a press release yet. I just have to convince the hiring team that this is the right role for me. It’s not rocket science, yet I’m nervous. I shake off the jitters by rewriting my notes for the fifth time, trying to condense them from a page to half a page of clear thoughts, highlighting my eclectic interests in a concise summary that isn’t too wordy.
I hop into the shower to bring authenticity to a world where all interviews are on Google Meets. I give my hair a nice shine with conditioner and dress in a cashmere sweater that I hope will warm both me and the interviewers to the idea of hiring me. I shave my beard by tilting my chair back after the shower, towels wrapped around me. It feels like I’m at the barber shop, but my mom is the stylist. I unload on her about how nervous I am, but I’m also ready to ace the interview.
I had a prep talk on Google Meet with a family friend who showed me the ropes and helped shake off the jitters even more. Together, we went through my notes and made a plan for me to master the interview. I sip my third cup of black coffee, mentally prepared, with notes and a racing mind like a racehorse, which is funny because coffee is a diuretic.
It feels so strange shifting from in-person interviews to Google Meets, but in times of change, I’ve learned to embrace it. I strive to make these interviews feel as authentic as possible, as if I were truly there. I cross my fingers and pray that my introductory Google Sheets course and online PR certifications are enough to get me across the finish line and start my path in healthcare communications.
I clutch my advertising holy grail, Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy. I glance at my Muck Rack Academy certification and fit in one last chapter of Spin Sucks by Gini Dietrich. Enough talking about trials and test tubes—it’s time to start working in a marketing and PR media lab. I can talk endlessly about Deflazacort and the risks and rewards of pharmaceutical drugs, but what I truly want is to get my foot in the door and start marketing drugs and enhancing the patient experience. I take my pills, cross my fingers, and hope to nail a healthcare corporate or agency communications interview soon.
