26 CAREER - Vital cog

I’ve watched too many brilliant executives discover the limits of their LinkedIn connections only after their role has been ‘eliminated as part of a strategic reorganisation’.

The pattern is painfully familiar: twenty years of expertise; a CV that could wallpaper a boardroom and a network that exists primarily on paper.

The numbers tell a sobering story. After shedding 14,010 jobs in 2024, the biopharma industry surpassed 13,000 layoffs by July 2025 alone, according to PharmaVoice. That represents a 31% year-over-year increase at the halfway mark. And the tide has continued to rise.

September brought Novo Nordisk’s announcement that it would cut 9,000 positions globally. New CEO Mike Doustdar framed it as necessary evolution in a “more competitive and consumer-driven” market. For the thousands affected, the rationale matters less than the reality: even the most successful companies are restructuring at pace.

Here in the UK, the picture grows more complex. When MSD cancelled its £1 billion London Discovery Centre in September 2025, the company’s statement was unsparing about successive governments failing to address “the lack of investment in the life sciences industry.” Eight hundred planned jobs evaporated. The message, as one MP put it bluntly in Parliament, was that the UK is “not internationally competitive.”

Against this backdrop, the traditional career playbook feels increasingly inadequate. Keep your head down. Excel at your role. Wait for recognition. These strategies assume stability that no longer exists.

Yet here’s what the research consistently reveals: when restructuring hits, relationships matter more than credentials. A May 2025 survey of 1,000 workers by MyPerfectResume found that 54% landed their current role through a personal or professional connection. Connections outperformed job boards, recruiters and staffing firms combined.

The same study uncovered something troubling: 21% of workers have never asked anyone for a referral. Nearly 60% only reach out to contacts a handful of times during an entire job search. We know relationships work. We just don’t build them until desperation forces our hand.

The gap between intention and action is substantial. Resume Now’s 2025 research found that 70% of professionals believe their network matters more than their CV. Yet 42% have never sent a cold outreach message and have no plans to start. Fear of bothering someone, uncertainty about what to say, worries about being judged: these hesitations keep most professionals from the very activity they know works.

There’s a particular irony for those of us in life sciences. We operate in an industry built on collaboration, that breakthroughs emerge from unexpected conversations between disciplines. We understand that innovation happens at intersections. Yet we treat our own career development as a solitary pursuit.

The executives I’ve seen navigate transitions most successfully share a common trait: they invested in relationships long before they needed them. They attended industry events not to collect business cards but to have genuine conversations. They stayed connected with former colleagues not for transactional purposes but from authentic interest. They built communities rather than contact lists.

This isn’t about becoming someone you’re not. It’s about recognising that the relationships formed during stable times become essential infrastructure during volatile ones. The mentor that helped you think through a challenging project. The peer that understands your sector’s nuances. The founder you met at a conference that shifted your thinking.

If you’re reading this while employed and reasonably secure, consider this your prompt. Identify 15 people from your career whose work you genuinely respect. Reach out not because you need something, but because maintaining connection has inherent value. A brief message. A coffee. A genuine question about their current challenges.

The restructuring wave shows no signs of receding. Patent cliffs loom. Regulatory landscapes shift. Companies will continue to ‘streamline operations’ and ‘reallocate resources.’ Your expertise remains valuable. But expertise alone has never been sufficient.

The relationships that transform professional journeys rarely begin with a sales pitch. They start with curiosity, generosity and the willingness to invest in others before the investment becomes urgent.

Build the connections now. Your future self will thank you.