About

Cycle Pharmaceuticals is a pioneering pharmaceuticals company based in Cambridge. It reimagines how drugs can benefit patients, to make their lives easier and improve their quality of life at every stage. By optimising and enhancing treatments, improving efficiency, identifying new indications for drugs, and reintroducing products to the market, it gives patients the options they need.

Challenge

Following a period of organisational growth, Nicki Giles, Financial Controller at Cycle Pharmaceuticals, was tasked with recruiting a new Global Marketing Associate as additional support for the company’s marketing function. Having compiled a full job specification for the role, the organisation knew that finding a candidate who was able to tick all the boxes would be hard to find.

Solution

Nicki appointed Pure to help in the search for their ideal candidate. Joanna Bromwich, Learning and Development Co-ordinator at Pure, met with Nicki to get a full understanding of the brief. From her extensive experience, Joanna knew that it would be an impossible task to find a candidate who met absolutely every requirement they are looking for. Working with Nicki, Joanna listened and advised on different approaches. Together they decided the number one priority was to find someone who would be a right fit for the growing organisation.

Nicki Giles said: “Joanna helped us to recognise that our most important criteria was finding someone who fitted with our culture and values. We understood we would predominately need to recruit based on attitude and personality and made the decision that we would invest in training for the right person.”

Joanna put forward Holly Archer as a potential candidate. Although her experience didn’t fit all the desired criteria, she did have was exceptional examples of committing to whatever she put her mind to; including achieving a 100 per cent track and cross-country scholarship to study a Masters in Advertising in Texas.

Joanna said: “Holly was refreshing honest about wanting to learn. Her attitude and approach made me feel this would be a good match for both client and candidate.”

Nicki added: “Holly was very honest in the interview about what she did and didn’t have experience of. However, it was her passion and desire to learn which set her apart from the other candidates. She wasn’t the most experienced, but we felt the skills could be learnt whereas the personality and attitude need to be right.”

Benefit

Nicki appreciated Pure’s consultative approach and recognised how this significantly differs to many other recruiters. She said: “It’s important to trust the agency and to work with them on solving challenges like this.”                

Cycle Pharmaceuticals now has a driven and committed Global Marketing Associate in place. Holly has found her ideal job and is being mentored to gain new skills and to grow with the organisation.