Hiring medical writers and document editors

Hiring a writer or editor means assessing the work a candidate can produce, the knowledge they bring and how they will respond to colleagues, clients and feedback. The assessment needs to match the role, including its demands for data checking, communication and learning.

Selection criteria

For one experienced hirer, genuine interest in writing was likely the most important criterion; a candidate needed a working knowledge of sentence structure and patterns to demonstrate the ability to produce clear, concise copy. ¹ Good Clinical Practice and ICH guidance are relatively easy to teach compared with making someone care about writing. ¹ Adaptability without uncritical acceptance of existing practice, and fit within the existing team, also matter. ²

Scientific knowledge and writing proficiency need to be accompanied by listening and interpersonal skills: a writer who cannot listen to clients or inspire their confidence cannot rely on intelligence alone. ³ Selection can also assess initiative towards professional development and resilience under project pressures. ^{4, 5} Strong candidates often describe major challenges as valuable learning experiences and demonstrate perseverance through change. ⁵ Interviewers should explain expectations for professional development and the programmes and tools available to support it. ⁵

At Scinopsis, a French writing company with fifteen permanent staff in 2015, recruitment involved the existing team and treated personality fit as essential. ^{6, 7} The company had rejected applicants with excellent CVs and writing tests because of team-fit concerns, sometimes appointing nobody from fifty to a hundred applicants. ⁶ Its staff were highly qualified scientists, most with doctorates and several years of postdoctoral experience, and all had excellent writing skills; writers were native English speakers or had lived and worked in an English-speaking country for five to fifteen years. ⁶

A 2022 report of medical-writing executives' discussions identified five attributes beyond writing skill. ⁸

• Ability to work remotely.
• Well-rounded document experience.
• Contribution to a diverse team.
• Innovative thinking, particularly about adopting automation.
• Emotional intelligence.

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Candidate sources and interviews

Personal recommendations and referrals were considered the best way to identify qualified candidates in the executives' discussions reported in 2022. ⁹ Companies had varying success with internal and external recruiters, who themselves needed training in the skills required of medical writers. ⁹

Interview processes ranged from time-consuming panels that could intimidate candidates to more expedited approaches. ⁸ Interviews let candidates explain and demonstrate what they know. ⁸ Many companies were seeking diverse candidate slates and interview panels, viewing diversity as strengthening team quality, innovation and the perspectives brought to challenges. ⁸ An experience grid may make candidates' actual experience easier to compare than CVs alone. ⁸

Writing assessments and feedback

Writing tests may be conducted in person or through automated platforms, but experienced writers can find them demeaning, decline and withdraw from consideration. ⁸ Tests can check whether experience on paper translates into meeting basic standards and focusing on the right priorities when time is short. ¹⁰

At Trilogy in 2026, trainee recruitment emphasised innate writing and communication ability and personality traits suited to the company and working under pressure with clients. ¹¹ Candidates had three hours to return a writing test, which offered limited insight into writing ability but revealed their approach and attention to detail. ¹¹ Their response to candid feedback counted at least as much as test performance: defensive or aggressive responses were poorly received because regulatory writers need to process criticism constructively, including when they have objectively done nothing wrong. ¹¹

Selecting document editors

Regulatory document editing at PPD includes grammar, spelling and punctuation, verification of data and checking text consistency against source documents. ¹² Successful full-time editors need a particular aptitude and attitude, and finding the right person takes time. ¹²

In 2014, PPD evaluated education, experience and personality and required a four-year degree, preferably in a biological or physical science, as evidence of familiarity with data. ¹³ Copyediting could be taught, but experience of how data are organised and interpreted in documents was needed at the start of training. ¹³ A science degree is a common preference, but English or technical-writing qualifications also bring useful skills and need not disqualify a candidate; some medical or scientific background is generally expected, and additional education or internships can provide it. ¹⁴

PPD's candidate assessment followed a practical sequence. ¹³

1. Candidates edited a clinical-study-report page, checked a sample table against its source table and answered questions about editing examples.
2. The company reviewed the work and returned it with its revisions.
3. A follow-up call discussed the edits.

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The assessment established candidates' editing baseline and showed them the daily work, while checking for an aptitude some people seem to possess innately: spotting inconsistent punctuation or different terms for the same concept, such as clinical study and clinical trial. ¹³

At the Texas Heart Institute's scientific-publications office in 2015, applications were assessed for form as well as content, and multiple spelling or grammatical errors led to immediate rejection. ¹⁵ Senior posts required five years of editorial experience; entry-level posts required no formal experience, but university-newspaper work or a publishing internship was favoured. ¹⁵ Qualifying candidates were interviewed and completed a sentence-level editing and formatting test, followed by a take-home paragraph-level test. ¹⁵ A take-home manuscript test was used when samples of marked work were insufficient, with tests varying by job classification; selection combined test results, experience, samples and interview impressions. ¹⁵

Recruitment constraints

At AMWA's November 2018 executives forum, which included leaders from twenty-two major biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, participants reported a shrinking talent pool and difficulty finding qualified employees as experienced communicators aged. ^{16, 17} They identified four hiring and training challenges. ¹⁷

• Uneven or missing baseline experience.
• Lack of formal, standardised training programmes.
• Lack of soft skills and emotional intelligence.
• A limited pool of technically proficient candidates.

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Executives struggled to recruit and train entry-level writers and tended to hire experienced writers instead, an approach they recognised as unsustainable because it drew from the same small pool. ¹⁸ By 2026, Trilogy's annual trainee programme attracted more than 900 applications, having begun in 2003 when the three-person company recruited two graduates. ¹¹

At the November 2019 executives forum, managers identified five difficulties in evaluating candidates. ^{19, 20}

• Finding candidates with all desired skills.
• Identifying candidates who fit the organisation and culture.
• Identifying potential during an interview.
• A lack of racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity among candidates.
• Perceived lack of respect for the profession driving away excellent candidates.

²⁰

Even highly qualified recruits sometimes quickly decided medical writing was not for them and resigned unexpectedly, leaving staffing gaps that harmed project timelines. ²¹