Effective Work Sample Exercises for Hiring Top Medical Affairs Managers

The Medical Affairs Manager serves as a critical bridge between pharmaceutical/biotech companies and the medical community. This role demands a unique blend of scientific expertise, relationship-building skills, strategic thinking, and regulatory knowledge. Traditional interviews often fail to reveal whether candidates truly possess these specialized capabilities, which is why practical work samples are essential for making informed hiring decisions.

Effective Medical Affairs Managers must demonstrate exceptional communication skills, translating complex scientific data into clear, compelling narratives for various stakeholders. They need to build and maintain relationships with key opinion leaders while ensuring all materials and communications adhere to strict regulatory guidelines. Additionally, they must collaborate seamlessly across departments, from clinical development to marketing.

Work samples provide a window into how candidates approach real-world scenarios they'll face in the role. By observing candidates tackle authentic challenges, hiring managers can assess not just their knowledge, but their judgment, problem-solving approach, and ability to navigate the nuanced landscape of medical affairs.

The following exercises are designed to evaluate the core competencies required for Medical Affairs Manager success. Each activity simulates a task the candidate would perform regularly, allowing you to observe their skills in action rather than relying solely on their descriptions of past experiences. By incorporating these exercises into your interview process, you'll significantly improve your ability to identify candidates who will excel in this pivotal role.

Activity #1: KOL Engagement Strategy Development

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to strategically identify, engage with, and build relationships with key opinion leaders (KOLs) - a fundamental responsibility for Medical Affairs Managers. It assesses their understanding of the medical community landscape, strategic thinking, and relationship-building approach. The exercise reveals how candidates prioritize KOL relationships and align them with broader medical affairs objectives.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with a brief about a fictional pharmaceutical product (include therapeutic area, mechanism of action, key clinical data points, and current stage in development/lifecycle).
• Include information about the company's strategic objectives for this product over the next 12-18 months (e.g., upcoming data releases, regulatory submissions, or educational initiatives).
• Give the candidate 24-48 hours to prepare their KOL engagement strategy.
• During the interview, allow 15 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for questions.
• Prepare questions that probe their rationale for KOL selection, engagement approaches, and how they would measure success.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Develop a KOL engagement strategy for the provided product that includes:

1. Criteria for identifying and prioritizing potential KOLs
2. 3-5 specific types of KOLs you would target and why
3. Engagement approaches for each KOL type (advisory boards, one-on-one meetings, etc.)
4. Timeline for engagement activities over the next 12 months
5. How you would measure the success of your KOL engagement strategy

• Prepare a brief presentation (5-7 slides) outlining your strategy
• Be prepared to discuss your rationale and answer questions about your approach

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide one piece of positive feedback about an aspect of their strategy that was particularly strong or insightful.
• Offer one constructive suggestion for improvement (e.g., "I noticed you focused primarily on academic KOLs. How might you adjust your strategy to include community practitioners?")
• Allow the candidate 5 minutes to verbally explain how they would incorporate this feedback into their strategy.

Activity #2: Medical Information Response Simulation

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to accurately respond to unsolicited medical information requests from healthcare professionals while maintaining compliance with regulatory guidelines. It evaluates their scientific knowledge, communication skills, and understanding of compliance boundaries - all critical competencies for a Medical Affairs Manager.

Directions for the Company:

• Create 2-3 realistic unsolicited medical information requests from healthcare professionals about your company's product. Include:

1. A straightforward on-label request
2. A complex request that touches on off-label use
3. A request regarding competitive products or emerging data

• Provide the candidate with basic product information, including approved indications, key efficacy/safety data, and important regulatory considerations.
• Give candidates 30 minutes to prepare written responses to these inquiries.
• During the interview, have them explain their approach to one of the more complex requests.
• Have a medical affairs team member evaluate the scientific accuracy, compliance, and communication style.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the product information provided.
• Draft written responses to each medical information request that:

1. Addresses the healthcare professional's question clearly and accurately
2. Remains compliant with regulatory guidelines
3. Provides appropriate scientific context
4. Includes relevant references where applicable

• For each response, briefly note any compliance considerations that influenced your approach.
• Be prepared to discuss your rationale for how you handled the more complex requests.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on one aspect of their response that effectively balanced scientific accuracy with compliance requirements.
• Offer one suggestion for improvement regarding either scientific content, compliance approach, or communication style.
• Ask the candidate to verbally revise their approach to the identified area, observing how they incorporate the feedback.

Activity #3: Scientific Content Review Exercise

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to critically review medical and scientific materials for accuracy, compliance, and strategic alignment - a core responsibility of Medical Affairs Managers. It assesses their scientific knowledge, attention to detail, understanding of regulatory requirements, and ability to provide constructive feedback to cross-functional partners.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a mock scientific slide deck or publication (8-10 slides/pages) about one of your products that contains:

1. Scientific data presented accurately but with room for improvement
2. 3-5 deliberate issues ranging from minor (formatting, clarity) to significant (compliance concerns, data misrepresentation)
3. A mix of clinical data, safety information, and mechanism of action content

• Provide relevant product information and basic regulatory guidelines.
• Give candidates 45 minutes to review the materials and document their feedback.
• During the interview, discuss their findings and recommendations.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided scientific materials as if they were submitted to you by a cross-functional colleague for medical review.
• Identify any issues related to:

1. Scientific accuracy and data presentation
2. Regulatory compliance
3. Clarity and effectiveness of communication
4. Strategic alignment with product positioning

• Document your feedback in two sections:

1. Major concerns that must be addressed before use
2. Minor suggestions for improvement

• For each issue identified, provide a specific recommendation for how to address it.
• Be prepared to discuss how you would communicate this feedback to colleagues in a constructive manner.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Highlight one aspect of their review that demonstrated strong scientific judgment or compliance awareness.
• Identify one important issue they may have missed or an area where their feedback could be more effective.
• Ask the candidate to explain how they would revise their approach based on this feedback, observing their receptiveness and adaptability.

Activity #4: Cross-functional Collaboration Scenario

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to collaborate effectively with non-scientific teams and translate complex medical information into accessible, actionable insights - a crucial skill for Medical Affairs Managers. It evaluates communication skills, stakeholder management, and the ability to balance scientific integrity with business objectives.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario where the marketing team has proposed a new campaign or messaging for a product that contains scientific inaccuracies or compliance concerns.
• Provide:

1. The marketing team's proposal (1-2 pages)
2. Relevant scientific data and compliance guidelines
3. Context about the business objectives driving the marketing initiative

• Give candidates 30-45 minutes to prepare their response.
• During the interview, conduct a role-play where an interviewer plays the marketing lead who is passionate about their proposal.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the marketing proposal and identify any scientific inaccuracies or compliance concerns.
• Prepare for a meeting with the marketing team where you will:

1. Acknowledge the business objectives they're trying to achieve
2. Explain the scientific/compliance issues in accessible language
3. Propose alternative approaches that maintain scientific integrity while supporting business goals
4. Outline a collaborative process for developing compliant, effective messaging

• During the role-play, demonstrate how you would navigate this conversation constructively while maintaining scientific standards.
• Be prepared to handle potential pushback or questions from the marketing team.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on one aspect of their communication that effectively balanced scientific accuracy with business understanding.
• Suggest one area where they could improve their approach to make the collaboration more effective.
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to reflect and explain how they would adjust their approach based on this feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much time should we allocate for these work sample exercises during the interview process?

A: Plan for approximately 60-90 minutes for each exercise, including preparation time, presentation/discussion, and feedback. These can be spread across different interview stages rather than conducted in a single session. The KOL Engagement Strategy should be assigned as pre-work with 24-48 hours for preparation.

Q: Should we use our actual products in these exercises or create fictional ones?

A: For candidates external to your organization, it's best to use either publicly available information about your products or create fictional products with similar characteristics to your portfolio. This protects confidential information while still testing relevant skills. For internal candidates, using actual products can provide more meaningful assessment.

Q: How should we evaluate candidates who have strong scientific knowledge but struggle with communication in these exercises?

A: Consider the specific requirements of your Medical Affairs team. If the role involves significant external engagement, communication skills may be non-negotiable. However, if the position is more internally focused on scientific strategy, you might provide additional training for communication skills. The feedback portions of these exercises also help assess coachability in this area.

Q: What if candidates don't have specific therapeutic area experience related to our products?

A: These exercises are designed to assess transferable skills rather than specific therapeutic knowledge. Provide sufficient background information about the product and disease state to level the playing field. Focus your evaluation on their approach, scientific reasoning, and core competencies rather than pre-existing therapeutic area expertise.

Q: How can we ensure these exercises don't disadvantage candidates from diverse backgrounds?

A: Provide clear instructions and equal preparation time for all candidates. Ensure that evaluators use consistent criteria focused on demonstrated skills rather than style or cultural factors. Consider having multiple evaluators from diverse backgrounds to minimize unconscious bias in assessment.

The Medical Affairs Manager role requires a unique combination of scientific expertise, strategic thinking, relationship-building skills, and regulatory knowledge. Traditional interviews often fail to reveal whether candidates truly possess these specialized capabilities. By incorporating these practical work samples into your hiring process, you'll gain valuable insights into how candidates approach real-world scenarios they'll face in the role.

For more resources to enhance your hiring process, explore Yardstick's suite of AI-powered tools, including our AI Job Description Generator, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator. You can also find more information about the Medical Affairs Manager role in our comprehensive job description.

Ready to build a complete interview guide for this role? Sign up for a free Yardstick account today!