You are not alone if you dislike job interviews. Many senior-level executives, accustomed to being in control, are uncomfortable with the uncertainty of the interview situation. The good news is that you can take charge of every interview, by using a common i

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

nterview technique to your advantage.

I’m referring to the technique of behavioral interviewing, which simply means that interviewers ask very specific questions about real situations. The theory is that your past behavior is the best predictor of how you wil

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

l behave in the future, so employers probe your background for clues.

Let’s imagine that XYZ company is looking for a Marketing VP who can generate a lot of buzz with a small budget. In order to understand your experience in this area, an behavioral intervie

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

er will ask:

“Tell me about a time when you had to promote a product with very little cash.”

or :

“Describe a time when you created a lot of excitement about a new launch using non-traditional marketing techniques.”

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

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Behavioral interviewing has become quite common over the last 15 years and, you may well have experienced it yourself, either as an interviewer, or an interviewee. Provided you are prepared (and we’ll talk about this in a moment) a behavioral interv

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

ew gives you an excellent opportunity to talk in detail about your experiences and accomplishments.

Unfortunately, many interviews still follow the old format – the questions may be arbitrary, sometimes based on the content of your resume, sometimes on the pr

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

eoccupations of the interviewer. They may also be very general in nature. For example, if the XYZ company isn’t using behavioral interviewing, they may ask VP candidates a question such as: “How much experience do you have working with a small budget?” This

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

question doesn’t invite the same detailed response as the request for a specific example – but who needs an invite? The secret to wowing them at every interview is simply this: act as though your were asked a behavioral question, even when you were not.

Ima

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

gine two different candidates for this fictional marketing position. When asked “How much experience do you have working with a small budget?”, Candidate A replies, “I’ve had to do that a lot actually – most of the companies I worked for were small to mid-size

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

so there was never a lot of opportunity to spend money. I’m very good in those situations and I always find a way to make things happen.”

Candidate B, however, gives a ‘behavioral’ answer: “I’ve had to do that a lot actually. Let me give you a recent exampl

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

e... you know the film “Dark Night?” I created the campaign around that movie with a $10,000 budget. It came to my attention because it was the only film all our staff were excited about, although it was a low-budget, independent production. I decided to cre

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

ate a really cool web site themed around the film, and then we planted seeds of interest on forums and in chat rooms ... the whole thing took off within weeks and the movie eventually grossed millions. We never did run a single TV advertisement. “

By answerin

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

in such a concrete and specific way, Candidate B brings himself to life – and ensures that he will be much more memorable than his competition.

You can use this technique for any question that is vague or general in nature:

Q: “How much do you k

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

now about?....”
A: “I’m very familiar – just recently I ....”

Q: “How often have you had to ....?”
A: “That’s something I’ve done frequently ... actually, I remember when ...”

The technique also works when an interviewer asks a hypoth

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

tical question:

Q: “What would you do if .....?
A: “Well, I faced a similar situation just last year. What happened was ... ”

Preparation is Key

To prepare effective stories you must first focus on the employer’s needs

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

and then develop examples that demonstrate your ability to meet those needs.

The employer’s needs

Research the company before you go for the interview – identify their key business issues (Are they growing rapidly? Are they in a crowded marketplace?

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

Are they planning new product launches?) Get into the minds of the company’s executives and ask yourself: Given their business issues, what will they want to know about me?

Developing Your Examples

Use the C-A-R (challenge-action-result) formula to de

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

velop stories that demonstrate your ability to meet the needs of the employer. If you know from your research that ABC Corporation needs a sales executive who can forge new strategic partnerships, develop stories about your experiences in that area. Describe

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

the initial challenge (e.g. need to enter a new market), the actions you took (researched the market, identified targets, met C-level decision-makers) and the results (built partnerships worth $15 million in revenues within 12 months).

If your interviewers ha

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ve been trained in behavioral interviewing, you’ll be exceptionally well-prepared. But if not, you’ll be able to separate yourself from all the other candidates by telling compelling, interesting and targeted stories that demonstrate your ability to add value

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products