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We answer your questions!
Q: How will I find answers?
A: Be bold enough to pursue your questions.
Finding a job at Quintiles
How can I find a job at Quintiles?
Please visit our Find a Job section, which will walk you through locating the right Quintiles opportunity.
Can I still apply online even if I don’t find a suitable job opening?
You can submit your resume or complete a candidate profile. We recommend that you create a full profile because this will help our recruiters match you to job opportunities as they become available.
Do I need to answer all the questions for a job opening?
Yes. We have designed our process to get the most complete picture of your qualifications possible so that our recruiting team can better assess your fit for open positions.
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A career in clinical research
What are the phases of drug development?
The drug development process has three major phases. During Phase One, the safety of a new compound is assessed via a study on a small number of healthy volunteers. If the drug is shown to be safe in Phase One, Phase Two studies will test the effectiveness of the new drug on patients with conditions which the drug is intended to treat. In Phase Three studies, the safety and effectiveness of the new drug is tested with a much larger patient population. This phase may last for several years and once it is successfully completed, a drug may be submitted for FDA approval.
What is the difference between working for a Contract Research Organization (CRO) like Quintiles and working directly for a pharmaceutical organization?
The development and commercialization market for new medicines is booming right now and thus the outlook for CROs is very strong. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies look to Quintiles to help speed new medicines to patients who need them and rely on us for our process and regulatory expertise.
Working at Quintiles, you would have an opportunity to utilize your clinical knowledge as well as other business skills. There are many opportunities that would help you grow your regulatory or project management expertise, for example. As such, you will find our culture to be more progressive and results-driven and your career opportunities to be more varied. You would have the ability to move up the ladder in clinical research or try your hand at areas such as regulatory or medical consulting and communications.
We currently have many opportunities available for key positions such as Clinical Research Associates, Clinical Team Leads, and Project Managers.
What does a CRA do?
The Clinical Research Associate, or monitor, is instrumental in the drug development process. CRAs manage and monitor all study activity at a clinical trial site (most often a hospital or medical facility) according to study protocol. This includes ensuring the site staff follows trial procedures correctly; stores and dispenses trial drugs appropriately; and documents results adequately. The CRA will also liaise with other functions at Quintiles such as regulatory and data management. It is the CRA’s job to catch deviations and deficiencies and to recommend actions to the site to ensure the highest quality data capture possible.
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What does it take to really be successful as a CRA?
The life of a CRA is both demanding and highly rewarding for the right individual. They travel upwards of 60% of the time to the various sites they manage. Those that love seeing new places and are excited by travel may enjoy CRA work. With the frequent travel comes the need to be highly adaptable, as travel schedules often change and many unforeseen pressures arise. CRAs must also operate in various environments. CRAs must be able to influence and guide the many different personalities of their medical contacts at sites, including study coordinators and investigators. Since CRA success depends on the site staff, the ability to build relationships is very important. The CRA also needs a high level of detail orientation to effectively monitor, audit, and report on large amounts of study documentation at each and every site.
What kind of clinical research opportunities do you have for entry-level / early talent employees?
Those that are new to the field of clinical research or do not have clinical monitoring experience might normally join our organization as Clinical Trial Associates or Clinical Assistants. These roles provide valuable exposure to the clinical trial process and regulatory requirements.
Our customers, large pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies, will define the experience required for our employees staffing their projects. We typically look for CRAs with 2 or more years of experience. However, we do have accelerated training programs for candidates who have therapeutic backgrounds (study coordinators, nurses, lab technicians, pharmacists, CTAs and so on) but little to no monitoring experience. And we are currently expanding our training to cater to candidates with excellent profiles but no therapeutic experience.
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Our values
What are Quintiles’ values?
- Customer Service: Building lasting customer relationships by focusing on customer’s needs and striving to exceed their expectations through flexible, customer-driven solutions
- Teamwork: Creating dynamic, talented teams that work locally and globally, communicate openly internally and externally, are passionate about and enjoy what they do
- Integrity: Acting with an unwavering commitment to business and scientific integrity; building trust through honest, ethical behavior; acting with respect for others; behaving as responsible members of local communities
- Quality: Developing a reputation for quality; delivering services and information that meet or exceed the quality standards demanded by customers, doctors, patients, and regulatory authorities
- Leadership: Leading by example, welcoming change, encouraging innovation, providing an environment of professional learning and development, and creating value for stakeholders through sustained and profitable growth
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