Medical Science Liaisons and Field Medical Affairs Expertise
The Carolan Group is a leader in the recruitment and placement of Medical Science Liaisons and Medical Affairs leaders. Our main positions of expertise include: Medical Science Liaisons, Field Medical Directors, MSL Managers (both Regional and National), Managed Care/HEOR/Outcomes Liaisons, Director, Senior Director, or Vice Presidents of Medical Affairs (in-house), as well as leadership positions within Clinical Development.
Whether hiring a single MSL or building out an entirely new Field Medical team, The Carolan Group can be the strategic, one-stop source for provide a customized solution to fit your recruitment needs.
Our experienced and collaborative team of recruitment professionals has a passion for candidate quality and a strong work ethic that produces strategic and timely results based on your needs. Lastly, our group has extensive, proven experience in the strategic development and recruitment of new MSL teams and full Field Medical expansions, providing valuable market insights and real-time candidate updates every step of the way.
Key Benefits to Hiring Carolan for MSL Recruitment:
- Reputation and Results: Proven 20-year track record of superior success in building National MSL teams of all sizes with high-performing, quality employees.
- Industry Knowledge and Niche Expertise: Expert leadership and recruitment team that has honed specific industry knowledge and an established presence in Field Medical Affairs.
- Top Quality and Therapeutic Diversity: Propriety database of pre-qualified and pre-screened, experienced MSLs from any required therapeutic area, spanning from Oncology to Neuroscience.
- Time Savings: Ability to significantly reduce time to hire for MSLs and teams to get them into the field faster.
- Cost Savings: Customized, client-specific project pricing options for MSL Team builds, multiple hire expansions and outsourced services.
- Flexibility: Complete, turn-key solutions and flexible recruitment options, based on your team’s specific timeline and needs.
We believe the cornerstone of our client relationships is honesty, trust, responsiveness, and reliability combined with a flexible approach to help achieve the highest performing Field Medical teams.
Medical Science Liaison Expansions
As the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry continues to foster exciting R&D pipelines, develop promising compounds, and launch new products, so increases an organization’s essential need for a team of strong, field-based Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs). The ever-changing research and development environment of the pharmaceutical sector requires adding a team of qualified MSLs to communicate the science behind the compound and to develop scientific, peer-to-peer relationships with influential Thought Leaders, KOLs, and Healthcare Providers within the respective disease state.
When preparing for a new product launch, it is necessary to onboard and deploy a team of MSLs to build clinical relationships with main institutions, academic centers, and community practices nationally. MSL expansions are implemented to provide medical and clinical support to the new product launch and can range in scope from a single Medical Science Liaison to several dozen Liaisons, depending on the size of the organization, internal KOL mapping, and the projected launch effort.
In a nutshell, in today’s competitive and clinically focused climate, MSLs are not optional; they are required for an organization’s success.
Medical Science Liaison Staffing & Recruitment Options
DIRECT HIRE MSLS
The Carolan Group will offer an extremely cost-effective plan to recruit, on board and assist in training MSL’s for direct hire. From one MSL to complete MSL teams nationwide, Carolan will offer therapeutically specific MSLs ready for direct hire.
OUTSOURCED MSL TEAMS
In partnership, The Carolan Group will provide flexible terms for a complete team of nationwide MSL’s and management for rapid deployment. Carolan will offer a complete turnkey solution including:
- Full life cycle recruitment and on boarding
- MSL management and support services
- KOL mapping and territory alignment
- Training and compliance
- Reporting and metrics
- KOL management software
- Complete operational support-finance/payroll, benefits and auto/fleet services, material support, technical support including mobile phones, tablets, etc
CONTRACT TO HIRE
As an option to a Contract MSL team, we can offer the choice to convert MSL’s to direct hire employees based upon tenure and time of conversion.
Medical Science Liaison Titles
- Scientific Affairs Liaison (SALs)
- Medical Scientific Liaison
- Medical Scientific Manager
- Medical Science Manager (MSMs)
- Medical Affairs Liaison
- Medical Education Research Liaison
- Medical Information Scientist
- Medical Liaison
- Professional Education Liaison
- Regional Medical Liaison (RMLs)
- Regional Medical Scientist
- Regional Medical Specialist
- Regional Medical Associate
- Regional Medical Research Specialist (RMRS)
- Regional Associate Director
- Regional Scientific Manager
- Regional Scientific Liaison
- Clinical Liaison
- Clinical Science Manager (CSMs)
- Clinical Science Liaison (CSLs)
- Clinical Scientific Liaison
- National Medical Scientist
- Health Science Associate
- Medical Development Managers
MSL Recruitment Specialist
Tom Caravela, Founder and Managing Partner of The Carolan Group, is an MSL Recruitment Specialist, host of the MSL Talk podcast and Medical Affairs speaker to clients and industry conferences. Tom has 30 years of experience in the Pharmaceutical industry including 10 years working in field-based roles at Abbott Laboratories. His experience at Abbott includes roles in primary care, managed care, and field training. According to Tom, “we really did not have Medical Science Liaisons in those days. Many companies had a speaker’s bureau where we hired a local scientific expert to speak on our behalf and attend meetings with KOL’s. I have seen the MSL role evolve and truly understand the need for companies to hire teams of Medical Liaisons”. As a result of that need, The Carolan Group has maintained a focus on MSL Recruiting. Whether it is one MSL territory or a nationwide expansion, Tom Caravela has built a team of MSL Recruiters to handle any and all MSL hiring efforts for our clients.
Seeking a Career as an MSL?
MSL Self-Test
What is your education level? Are you an MD, PhD, PharmD or DO?
Do you have strong scientific acumen?
Would you consider yourself a strong communicator?
Are you comfortable presenting scientific information in front of your peers (sometimes large groups)?
Do you have clinical and or patient care experience?
Do you have any pharmaceutical industry experience?
Are you willing travel 30-70% of the time including overnight travel?
Do you have any prior experience as a Medical Science Liaison?
If you do not have experience as an MSL, can you describe what a Medical Science Liaison does?
The more “YES” answers to these questions… the better your chances are to land a job as a Medical Science Liaison.
Tips for landing your first job as an MSL
- Make sure you have a great resume that includes detail on your scientific background and strengths as well as your communication/presentation skills.
- Do your homework! Spend time each day researching the MSL job market. Leave no stone un-turned so that you become an expert on who is hiring and what they are looking for.
- Consider an internship with a pharmaceutical or biotech company. This will provide you with industry experience which is much desired if not mandatory for certain employers.
- Obtain additional training and certifications that can be added to your resume. In this day of online training and education, there are plenty of options available.
- Consider a contract assignment to start. It has become very popular for some companies to hire teams of temporary or contract MSL’s. Hiring guidelines for contract MSL‘s may not be as stringent.
“I met Tom at ASCO in 2019 and he contacted me within a few weeks after we met in person when he found a good opportunity for me. Tom successfully recruited me for my first MSL position. Working with Tom was both fast and efficient. Tom made the process very smooth and straightforward. Communication was frequent and Tom made sure I was updated about any progress in my interview process. I enjoyed recruitment through Tom and am thankful for how much he cared at every step of the way. Getting the first MSL job can be very difficult but Tom made this process simple with fantastic communication. I was hired by the company and am very glad I got to work with Tom.”
“I truly enjoy working with Tom-he is a phenomenal recruiter. Tom is one of my trusted advisors when it comes to recruiting top talent for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Throughout any recruitment process, Tom acts as a teammate to me and an advocate to the candidate. Tom’s business acumen and knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry is quite rare and extremely valuable to me. Tom fundamentally changed many lives for the better by placing professionals in their dream jobs where they can contribute to very exciting and innovative science to change the world. I would recommend The Carolan Group to any company and will continue working with him!”
“I had the pleasure of working with Tom and his team at The Carolan Group to build a small MSL team for VAYA. As a young, rapidly growing company, I knew we had some unique needs and requirements to find the right fit for our team. Because of this, I researched several agencies extensively; but after talking with Tom, I knew The Carolan Group was the right choice. Tom has a deep understanding of the industry with a special focus on Medical Affairs that helped us narrow down quickly to find the best candidates. Tom also went far and beyond the role of a recruiter to really partner with me to understand our business and the culture of our company to make sure that the candidates that we chose would be the right fit. He was a true resource in what would have otherwise been a potentially long and difficult search. I was impressed by the healthy pipeline of qualified candidates, the time dedicated to turn the project around quickly, and the overall professionalism of Tom and his team. Based on Tom’s expertise, the strong candidates offered, and the overall experience, The Carolan Group will continue to be my trusted recruitment source for MSLs. ”
“It was a pleasure working with Tom on securing a great MSL position. His open and straightforward communication and quick turnaround on discussion points makes for very efficient collaboration. I appreciated his advocacy on my behalf and that he kept me apprised at all stages of the interview process. Tom would be a great ally for any MSL recruitment needs!”
“My experience partnering with The Carolan Group and Tom Caravela has been absolutely exceptional over the decade we worked together identifying top MSL talent for the organization across therapeutic areas including Oncology and CVM. He delivered on speed and quality in an important oncology MSL team expansion! Tom advises on the talent landscape, industry trends and insights- becoming a true partner and providing so much value. His vast network of experienced MSL talent and ability to identify and vet new to MSL role candidates is very impressive! Tom has become a trusted partner. His candor, passion and customer focus (candidate and client) sets him apart. He has the pulse on the Medical Affairs/MSL space like no other!”
“Tom Caravela and his team at The Carolan Group were instrumental in building the Medical Science Liaison team at Insmed. They were able to provide top-notch candidates in a very quick time frame; their sourcing and screening of candidates proved extremely effective. Moreover, Tom’s experience and professional relationships afforded him with tremendous insight into the Medical Affairs marketplace. After the initial MSL team build, subsequent growth provided the opportunity for Tom and his team to further assist and add value. The Carolan Group continued to be the recruiting partner of choice; they never failed to deliver. Tom is passionate about his work and he can be relied upon as a partner who cares about both the client and the candidate. He is ethical, communicative and extremely professional. In short, he is the “go to” resource for Medical Affairs talent.”
“The Carolan Group is second to none when identifying top Medical Science Liaison and Global Medical Affairs talent. They are my “go to agency” for recruiting MSL and GMA professionals. Working with Tom and his team is a pleasure! What I appreciate most is their approach…never pushy or over aggressive. They also partner closely with me during the lifetime of each search and present only the most qualified applicants. If a resume comes from The Carolan Group, I know it is someone we need to get in front of the hiring manager. They’re that good!”
“Tom has helped me with my Medical Affairs recruitment needs over the past 4-5 years at two different Pharmaceutical firms. I consider him to be the leading expert in Medical Affairs searches, especially with finding field-based Medical Science Liaisons. While many search firms claim to “specialize” in this area, he far surpasses all of them when it comes to finding/placing quality MSL candidates in a hurry. I look forward to working with Tom many more times in the future.”