10 Tips on How to Choose the Right Biotech Start Up to Work For

1. Find out the company’s history. Who started it? When and why? Where did the money come from? That will help you assess what kind of financial footing the company is on and give you a handle on how to predict how stable it will be in the future.
   
   


2. Find out how financially stable the company is. Has it gone public? How is the stock trading? What kinds of business practices are in place? Get an idea if the company is on solid or shaky financial ground.
   
   


3. Find out what kinds of projects the company has been involved in. Have the projects been successful?
   
   


4. Find out about the company’s reputation. What is its reputation in the biotech industry? What does the business profile look like? Is the company a good neighbor? How do people in the community feel about it?
   
   


5. What kind of work/life balance does it offer? Does the company expect you to work 100 hours a week and give everything you have to your job? Is that okay with you? Even if it is okay, does the company sponsor social events for its employees? If you want a life outside of work, can you have one?
   
   


6. Who will you be working with? In a start up company, you will probably work with most of the people in the company. Try to meet some of them. Assess how well you think you will get along with them. Do they seem happy and fulfilled? Or is everybody tense and overworked?
   
   


7. What is the work style of the company? Is it casual or formal? Can you wear jeans to work? Eat at your desk? What are the unwritten social rules? It’s hard to evaluate some of that during an initial interview, but you can usually get a sense of whether the style is comfortable to you or not.
   
   


8. What kind of support staff is available? Not every job needs support staff, but it’s good to know if you have to empty your own wastebasket and clean the lunch room at the end of the day (and you’re not the housekeeper). It’s good to know if you have secretarial support, too. You’ll probably have less support than with a larger company.
   
   


9. Resources. What resources will you have to do your job with? That includes equipment and budget. How much will you be expected to do with how little?
   
   


10. Compensation. It’s not always the most important thing to consider when you’re considering a job, but the compensation package is up there. You expect to make less and have less generous benefits with a start up company. But are there other benefits to compensate for that? Do you have paid travel? Stock options?