On Behalf of IQVIA – I joined IQVIA in September 2015 as a clinical trials assistant, right out of college. Since then, it’s been an exciting journey and I’m thankful for the managers that helped me along the way.
I’ll never forget the first check-in meeting I had with my manager when she asked me what my career goals were. As green as I was, I really didn’t have an answer for her, so I began thinking seriously about what I wanted to accomplish professionally.
By more clearly articulating my own goals to my manager, she was able to walk me through a few different career paths and the steps I could take to progress to the next level. It was soon clear to me that I wanted to move into the clinical research associate (CRA) position. My manager helped me figure this out by:
- Connecting me with experienced CRAs to learn more about a day in the life
- Recommending trainings to enhance my knowledge about the role
- Arranging unique tasks to bolster my resume
She even went the extra mile to ensure I had hands-on experience by allowing me to travel across the country to help one of my sponsors prepare for an inspection.
I began a CRA development program in December 2016 and later graduated into a CRA position. In my first meeting with my manager I was again asked about my career goals. This time, I was much more prepared.
After many discussions with my manager, I knew the right next step for me was moving into a CRA management role. One of my favorite tasks as a CRA was training the site staff and helping them understand the protocol and all its processes, so managing and training CRAs at IQVIA seemed like a natural fit.
My manager helped by setting up:
- Trainings to further my knowledge about the role and its responsibilities
- Instructions to become a CRA mentor to train junior CRAs
- Unique opportunities to make me a stronger candidate
On top of this, my manager helped line up an opportunity for me to assist in the development of mobile site visit reports by performing user access testing and providing practical feedback for how to improve the system’s functionality.
In my six years at IQVIA, my managers have consistently cared about my growth and development – and it’s showed me how important it is for managers to be engaged in the development of their team. Now that I’m a manager, I can’t wait to pay it forward and continue this tradition with my team!
View current CRA openings at IQVIA: jobs.iqvia.com/cra
