You have skills that you may not think are important. Matt Curin shares how those skills may land you a new job.
Name: Matt Curin
Position Title: Associate Director Project Management – Marketing Strategy
Interview Summary with Dr. Matt Curin
1. Tell us about your background and the path that brought you to your current role
- Graduated from the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy in 1998
- Interested in pharmaceutical industry
- Applied to positions that weren’t suitable for an entry-level pharmacist
- Worked for 2 years as a hospital/retail pharmacist
- Interviewed for a position as a clinical manufacturing coordinator at a company in Kalamazoo, MI
- Position was to coordinate the manufacturing of drug products for clinical trials
- The interviewer valued Matt’s self-proclaimed limited experience in sterile manufacturing (experience he gained as a hospital pharmacist compounding sterile IV’s)
- Began a 16 year career in the pharmaceutical industry
- Time at Eli Lilly
- Worked in clinical manufacturing for 8 years
- Made medications from tablets and capsules to topical foams and everything in between
- New Career Opportunities
- Networking with a colleague from a joint project led to a new opportunity in pharmacy project management
- Project management career
- Started managing clinical study programs, moved into medical affairs work, and is now in commercial marketing for Astellas
- Current position works to ensure the company is successful in launching a product (the right product for the right customer)
- “Connects the dots”
- “On time, on budget”
2. What kind of work life balance do you have with this role?
- The current role is great for having a family
- Works Monday through Friday, 9 – 5
- Very flexible schedule
- Some travel involved (about 10-12 times per year, including international travel)
- Found that working as a traditional pharmacist was difficult
- Often had to work 2nd shift, holidays, and weekends
- Felt dissatisfied with “punching the clock” just to put in the time
3. What advice do you wish you had earlier in your pharmacy career?
- Have a plan
- Be open to new opportunities
These two may sound contradictory, but they actually go hand-in-hand. It is important to have a general idea of where you want to go, but don’t blind yourself to other opportunities that may come up along the way.
4. Anything else you wish to share?
- Pharmacy school was excellent preparation for a role as project manager
- Pharmacists don’t have to know everything, but are experts at locating information and determining whether or not it is credible/applicable
- A project manager needs to have the same ability to find and evaluate new information quickly
Dr. Curin’s story illustrates the importance of treating every opportunity as a chance to learn something new. Approach each job with the mindset of learning new skills, and you will find yourself to be a highly sought after candidate to employers.
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