By Jennifer Maffia, Owner of Advanced Recruiting Partners 

In life sciences and biopharma, open roles are often treated like a talent shortage problem. Companies assume the issue is a lack of qualified candidates, a competitive talent market, or unrealistic expectations around compensation and experience. While those challenges absolutely exist, they are usually not the real reason positions stay open for months at a time. 

More often, the delay comes from hesitation within the hiring process itself. 

In an industry built around precision, compliance, and risk mitigation, hiring decisions naturally carry a lot of weight. The wrong hire can impact timelines, productivity, team dynamics, and in some cases, patient outcomes. Because of that, many organizations approach hiring with extreme caution. The problem is that caution can quietly evolve into paralysis. 

When Thoroughness Turns Into Delay 

Instead of moving efficiently once strong candidates are identified, companies begin searching for complete certainty. More interviews are added. Additional stakeholders are brought into the process. Requirements shift midway through the search. Teams start comparing every applicant against an idealized version of the role rather than the actual business need. 

At that point, the role is no longer staying open because talent is unavailable. It is staying open because the decision making process has become too complicated to maintain momentum. 

This happens frequently in life sciences because hiring is rarely isolated to one department. A single role may involve operations, regulatory teams, clinical leadership, HR, executive stakeholders, and cross functional partners. While collaboration is important, too many layers of approval can slow hiring to a point where companies unintentionally lose highly qualified candidates before a decision is ever made. 

The Candidate Perspective 

The strongest candidates in today’s market are not waiting indefinitely. Many are balancing multiple opportunities at once, especially in areas like clinical research, regulatory affairs, biotech operations, medical affairs, and specialized scientific functions. 

Long periods of silence or excessive interview rounds can create uncertainty, even when the company itself is highly respected. 

In many cases, candidates interpret a slow process as a reflection of internal instability or lack of alignment. Even highly interested professionals may begin disengaging if communication becomes inconsistent or timelines continue shifting throughout the process. 

This is where candidate experience becomes far more important than many organizations realize. The hiring process itself communicates how a company operates internally, whether intentionally or not. 

The Pressure to Hire Perfectly 

The longer a role stays open, the more pressure builds around filling it perfectly. 

Teams become exhausted from absorbing additional workload. Leadership becomes increasingly cautious about making the “wrong” decision after so much time has already passed. Expectations rise higher than they were at the start of the search. 

Ironically, that pressure often makes decision making slower, not faster. 

In life sciences and biopharma, where innovation and timelines matter, prolonged vacancies can create ripple effects across research, operations, product development, and commercialization efforts. Leaving a role open too long eventually becomes its own form of risk. 

What Efficient Hiring Actually Looks Like 

The reality is that hiring in life sciences should be thoughtful. These are highly technical, highly specialized environments where hiring decisions matter deeply. 

But there is a difference between being thorough and being stuck. 

Organizations that hire effectively are usually not the ones moving recklessly fast. They are the ones operating with clarity. They understand which qualifications are truly necessary versus simply preferred. They align internally before interviews begin. They communicate consistently with candidates throughout the process. 

Most importantly, they recognize when they are speaking with someone capable of succeeding in the role, even if that person does not check every imagined box on paper. 

The companies that consistently secure strong talent are not always the ones with the highest salaries or the longest interview processes. Often, they are simply the organizations confident enough to make informed decisions without overcomplicating them. 

At a certain point, waiting too long becomes more costly than hiring imperfectly. 

About Jennifer Maffia 
With over 20 years of experience in clinical staffing, Jennifer Maffia connects pharmaceutical, biotech, and life sciences companies with top-tier clinical talent. She is known for building lasting client relationships, supporting tenured recruiters, and driving impactful hiring strategies. Through industry partnerships and active board involvement, Jennifer remains committed to advancing the life sciences field and improving patient outcomes.