Client Challenge

A growing specialty pharmaceutical company needed to hire three Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) and an Associate Director of Pharmacovigilance (PV) – but strict requirements and limited internal resources stalled their progress.

Key obstacles:

• 8+ years of MSL experience required, this did not match with an individual contributor role
• Rigid city-specific location demands
• Compensation not aligned with market rates
• Incomplete job descriptions

After months searching on their own, they turned to DoubleStar for support, engaging one of our expert talent researchers.

Our Solution

We started with stakeholder interviews to clarify expectations and flag potential misalignments. A two-phase research project followed, focused on identifying qualified candidates and delivering market intelligence to inform hiring decisions.

Phase One: Feasibility Assessment

Outreach:

• Contacted 165 MSLs whose profiles met the initial qualifications
• Contacted 73 PV candidates whose profiles met the initial qualifications

Insights:

• 8+ years of experience was rare; most MSLs had moved into senior roles
• Job specs limited candidate pool
• Salary expectations exceeded the client’s budget

We presented data weekly and analyzed the client’s existing MSL team to help adjust expectations.

Phase Two: Expanded Search

With a more flexible MSL profile, we widened the search.

Outreach:

• 900 additional MSLs (total: 1,065 initially qualified prospects)
• 25 additional PV candidates (total: 98 initially qualified prospects)

Final Results:

• Over 10,000 MSL profiles were reviewed
• 1,065 MSL profiles delivered for future hiring needs
• 73 MSLs expressed interest with résumés
• 70% of interested MSLs were outside the client’s salary range
• 22 PV prospects submitted résumés

Outcome & Impact

With this market research and real-time prospect feedback, the client was able to gain key insights to help them move forward:

• A customized database of qualified candidates
• Clear visibility into candidate availability and compensation
• Data-backed rationale to refine their hiring strategy

Conclusion

This engagement highlighted the power of data-driven talent research. With market-aligned intelligence and targeted outreach, DoubleStar was able to:

• Provide transparency into a hard-to-define talent market
• Influence and improve hiring strategy in real time
• Equip the client with the resources to build a more scalable and sustainable recruiting process

While filling the roles proved complex, the client walked away with a deeper understanding of the market — and the right tools to approach it more effectively.