In Conversation with Eduardo Marinero, An Experienced Hire Based On The East Coast

Meet Eduardo!

Eduardo joined us back in August 2022 as a Lead Recruiter. Splitting his time between New York and Dallas, he works with our East Coast team in the Pharmaceutical and Biotech space, specialising in the commercial side of the business.

Before joining Meet, Eduardo already had three and a half years of experience working on the commercial side of Life Sciences recruitment, providing talent solutions and career guidance to businesses and individuals alike.

Along with his talent and charisma, we couldn’t be more thrilled to have him as part of the team, so I sat down with him to see how he’s getting on here at Meet…

Let’s go back to the beginning… What attracted you to Meet?

It was a big people thing for me. Funnily enough, back in 2021, I was actually offered a job at Meet, but I turned it down to go to another firm. I spent a year there and learnt that it just wasn’t the right fit for me, you know people-wise and culture-wise, from day one it just didn’t feel quite right.  

Once I was looking for a new role, I met with a recruiter, and he asked if I would ever consider Meet again and I was, of course, massively interested. The year prior I had a great talk with Rebekah, and also spoke with Laith and Anton, and they were just a really genuine group of people.

So, early last year, I spoke with Laith to explain why I was looking for new employment and understand what my expectations are. Then, afterwards, I had a really exciting conversation with Anton and then with Paige, who I would potentially be reporting in to.

After talking again with those four, it only highlighted to me that Meet takes a real people-centric approach when it comes to their teams, not only with high skill and high will but also culturally. That again became even more evident when I came into the office – from the first week I was there, there was not a single person I didn’t get on with and I enjoyed every single conversation I had, which was not always the case in my previous role. After a few days of being there, it only solidified that this was the right place for me.

‘People-centric’ can be such a buzzword for businesses to sell themselves, but we hope with Meet the authenticity is obvious. It’s such a massive part of everything we do and it tends to be a thing that everyone comments on.

I agree, but it makes so much sense once you become a part of it!

Do you find Meet is different from your last role with regard to the recruitment side of things?

Commercially speaking, yes. We’re probably only scraping the surface when it comes to the potential we have on providing a full talent service offering to the commercial markets in Life Sciences. That’s to no one’s fault, but it is a big reason why I was so excited to join the organisation and work with Laith and Paige to develop the scope of our offerings here on the East Coast and beyond.

Meet is already in a strong position where we’re working with exciting and innovative Biotech and Pharma companies. We’ve got great connections and a rapport that speaks for itself, so to come in and help establish and build out that market, it’s a dream come true, to be honest with you.

What was the reason you left your previous role?

Culturally, I just knew, and I’d probably known for a while, that it wasn’t the right fit for me. I persevered for a year because that’s in my nature but there was never a three to four-year plan where I really saw things working out there.

Is there anything you learnt during your time there that you’ve brought along with you to Meet?

Absolutely! Recruiting is not just about the company you work for, it’s about establishing your own book of business, your own brand, and being your own person.

In some sense, for anyone working in Life Sciences – a recruiter, hiring manager, talent acquisition associate, or anybody else associated with the industry – you’re in one great big community, so building rapport and reputation is hugely important as we play our part in moving the industry forward.  

It’s really fulfilling and I’m hugely grateful to be able to leverage all my previous connections. Although it’s a different organisation, I’m still able to build on a lot of those professional relationships and I hope that helps us to continue to positively impact the world of Life Sciences now and long into the future.  

Because you built your network elsewhere, did you have concerns about moving as a more senior recruiter and ‘losing’ all that hard work?

Yes and no. At the end of the day, recruitment is recruitment. Once you’ve established yourself and understand what it takes to be a successful recruiter, I feel like that probably translates to any organisation. If you have a network and experience in a specific sector, such as Life Sciences, that’s a bonus!

Another reason why I wasn’t too concerned was because I’d previously spoken to some people who’d worked at Meet, and they let me know about the amazing support system and training and development here. Those conversations were with people that I respect and trust very much, so we were able to have really open and honest discussions about Meet, which was all very positive.

I think the one concern I did have was on a much more personal level. This is my third recruitment role in over three and a half years, so I told myself, whether it’s Meet or elsewhere, this is a company I need to be committed to, to really continue my professional growth and development. And again, in the two months I’ve been here, I’m excited, I’ve got my spark back and I’m here for the long haul as we grow and build on what we can offer to the world of Life Sciences.

As we touched on earlier, you’ve worked in Life Sciences for a few years now. What is it about Life Sciences that keeps you motivated?

We’re taking super talented, intelligent people and placing them into organisations that are really trying to make a difference in the world. Whatever vertical within Life Sciences you recruit for, introducing brilliant people to brilliant organisations to make the world a better place is as good as it gets.

Secondly, when I first started in recruitment, I spent time looking around for what sector I wanted to go into. At the time, my mom was going through breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. Because of that, Life Sciences really struck a chord with me. Thankfully, she’s now in full remission, but again, if I can help anyone in any way make the world a better place, that’s what I’m here for.

Have you always had an interest in science, or was it something you got into through recruiting?

You know, actually, I never would have thought in a million years that I’d be in this position.

I’ve had quite an interesting professional career; I went to school for Business Administration and honestly, I never really used the degree and instead went into Retail Management and ran a Louis Vuitton store for a few years. Moving into recruitment, I kind of did a full 180. If you’d told me five or six years ago that I’d be recruiting for Pharma and Biotech companies, I would have never believed it!

So, moving from one industry to another, and then one recruitment company to another, how was Meet’s onboarding process for you?

It was great and super interesting for sure. Abby has done a wonderful job of onboarding me as an experienced hire.

Actually, at the time I joined there were some graduates starting that same day, so I got the chance to have a peek at their training and development plan too. It’s the best training development plan I’ve seen in the three recruitment businesses I’ve worked with.

Meet really does take a mindful approach and Abby’s personality is probably the perfect personality you’d want for onboarding someone. She was very thoughtful and welcomed my insight. She listened to me, and she listened to Paige on what modules I should be in and which ones I shouldn’t. Coming with a few years of experience, it didn’t make sense for me to be in some of the courses, so in that sense, it’s very streamlined and very efficient.

How’s your time been since you joined? Do you have a favourite aspect of the business?

It’s been really great. Honestly, the best aspect so far for me has been my manager, Paige. She put me in a position where I was able to throw up a deal in less than a month, and that was a real goal of mine coming into the business. Without her, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it.

Going back to the people side of things, previously, I would go three, four, even five weeks without seeing or speaking to my manager. With Paige, she’s just been so great. Although the office is in New York and I’m primarily based in Dallas, Paige has still very much made me feel part of the team. Even if it’s not about business, if it’s just checking in to see how I’m doing as a person, she’s been phenomenal. I really couldn’t have asked for a better boss so far.

You mentioned you’re in it for the long haul – how do you expect or hope your career will grow in your time here at Meet?

You know, for me, people management is something I enjoy, and something I’ve done since I was 18 years old. It’s something I’ve always loved to do, something I want to continue to do and here in recruitment is no different.

Obviously, I want to come in and establish my own book of business, establish my name, and pull my weight. Once I’ve really proven myself, I absolutely want to move into a leadership position where I can develop a team, manage people, and continue to grow this side of the business.

After talking about the future, let’s head back to the past for a minute. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

I’d probably go back and tell myself to join recruitment a lot earlier than what I did! Having that extended period of time in retail, I wasn’t happy for the longest time. Some of the best years I’ve ever had and some of my happiest memories have been in recruitment, so it’s a bit of a bummer that it took me so long to find it. So yeah, I probably wish I could have started recruiting a bit earlier than I did.

What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far throughout your recruitment career?

That’s a good one. I’d say learning to manage my time and organisation. When I first started recruiting, those were two skills I definitely did not have, and I didn’t become successful until I got hyper-focused and developed those skills.

Managing my time and creating day plans are probably two of the biggest reasons why I’ve improved as a recruiter and as a person in general. That’s what I’d attribute it to.

From your perspective, do you think there are any areas Meet can improve on?

Aside from our incredible Partnership team, much of our work is based on Direct Hire, Contract and staff augmentation projects. Doing more around becoming a full-service provider to Life Sciences will create so much opportunity and value, not only to Meet but the wider industry.

The great thing is that I know that Hannah and the wider senior leadership team are already moving this approach forward. I can’t wait to play a part and see how it all pans out!

Have you got any advice for someone considering joining Meet as an experienced hire?

I’d say have a conversation and speak to the people here – as many as possible!

The biggest thing for me, from what I’ve seen in my time as a recruiter, is that it can be very cliquey. At Meet, it’s very much the opposite and all about meritocracy – everything is earned and not just given. Taking it one step further, I really don’t see any cliquey situations happening at Meet because everyone gets along, everyone talks to each other, everyone laughs with each other, and everyone has a good time.

If you’re looking for an environment where you’re going to get the professional development and growth that you want while also having a good time with great people, then this is the place to be. Nothing is off the table, and it feels like everyone is pulling in the same direction with regards to their own objectives and a wider collective purpose.

I feel like that’s a really good point to end our chat on, but I’ve got a couple of fun, quickfire questions to round us out… Ready?

Let’s go…

If you were in trouble and you could only call one person from Meet to come and save you, who would it be and why?

Probably Anton. The guy just has a way about him and he’s such a good talker. I feel like he could probably sweet talk his way out of me being trouble!

100%! Plus, he’s a well-connected guy, I bet he has contacts all over the place. Ok, last one… if there was a movie about your life, and one person from Meet had to play you, who would it be?

I’d go for Laith. You know, I’m a handsome guy and I want a handsome guy to play me, so yeah, that’d be my answer!

Good choice! Well, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me Eduardo, hopefully it won’t be too long before we can do this again!

If you're an experienced consultant looking for an exciting new challenge, we’d love to talk to you!

Reach out to Eve Coxeter at eve@peoplewithchemistry.com or drop her a message on LinkedIn.