EUROA'S Lizzie Halliday, a 24–year–old neuroscience graduate, knew she wanted to work in the pharmaceutical industry, but without direct experience she was struggling to find that first job – so she decided to start a podcast.
"A lot of the recruitment's done internally, and it's about finding that one company that will give you a chance and that does see your potential," she said.
"One of the annoying things with this industry is they might say 'entry level role', but they still ask you to have two years' experience in the industry and you think, 'well, I don't have two years' experience, and how am I going to get it if you won't give me a chance?'"
It was a frustrating situation faced by many young graduates like her, so Lizzie made this a focus of a podcast she named "Cracking the code: pharmaceutical industry careers".
She interviewed well–known industry figures like Riaz Abbaz and Matthew Britland and asked them, "What advice can you give to graduates to try get in?"
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Many of her interviewees sympathised with the tricky situation faced by new graduates – there were no easy answers, but Lizzie found the podcast a way to network and learn more about the industry.
Meanwhile, the newly minted podcaster spent most of her time working with horses at Leneva Park in Longwood East.
Lizzie grew up on a farm in New South Wales, attended a French high school in Canberra and after graduating, moved to France to study science at University of Bordeaux and then neuroscience at University of Poitier.
Her parents moved to Euroa in 2017 and Lizzie would stay with them for two to three months every year during summer holidays, while also working at Leneva Park.
She realised while at university a career in scientific research was not for her – it can take up to 20 years for a molecule being researched to end up in a drug, and the faster, more social and more dynamic environment of the pharmaceutical industry appealed to her.
She left France in June 2022 and has since been living in Euroa.
In March, Lizzie finally cracked the code and got her first role in the pharmaceutical industry as a GP sales representative representing an AstraZeneca product.
To her surprise, the job she found was in Euroa – her employer had for years been looking for someone to visit GPs throughout North East Victoria.
She is enjoying the job and being "constantly on the go", driving long distances to visit GPs around Shepparton, Benalla and Kyabram, as well as Albury–Wodonga and Wangaratta.
She is continuing to work on her podcast, but now she is busier she uploads episodes less frequently.
Her advice to young people who are not sure what career path to take is to stay open–minded.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself to have a set idea of where you want to go and what you want to do – explore your options," she said.
