Pharmaceutical sales representatives do not have typical days. Like many sales jobs, every day depends on multiple external factors. Interviewers know that there is no such thing as a typical day in the field. What they are looking for is another example of how well you’ve done your homework.

Networking is an extremely important part of the pharma sales job search and this question, is one you should always ask your networking contacts. You’ll soon notice patterns forming no matter which company you ask. If you take good notes in your informational interviews with your networking contacts, you’ll be able to deliver the exact answer the interviewer wants to hear.

Through my research and conversations with pharma reps who are currently in the field, I’ve learned that no two days are exactly the same. What I do know, though somewhat counterintuitive, is that by properly planning and structuring the day, a rep can actually make his/her day more flexible. In other words, things like targeting, regular routing, pre-call planning, and clear call notes leave more time in the day (because they’re not done “on the fly, in the car”) which allows a quality rep to make more calls in the day or spend more time with other sources of information in the office - like nursing staff. By talking to other reps in the field, I noticed that the most successful ones structure their day like this [pull the sample schedule that you printed from your briefcase].

• 0645 - pre-call planning worksheet for the day’s targeted physicians & pharmacies
• 0745 - early visits on physicians that prefer to be seen before their patient schedules begin
• 0900 to 1100 - six total calls by 1100
• 1100 - review pre-call plan for lunch appointment
• 1130 to 1330 - lunch appointment
• 1330 to 1630 - five calls after lunch plus scheduled pharmacy visits
• 1630 to 1800 - daily review, sample reconciliation, computer transmission
• *Call notes completed immediately after every call
• *Waiting room time filled by branding the office, studying reprints, or gathering information from other office personnel

NOTE: Do not copy this daily schedule for your sample. It should be developed through your networking and research exercises. This is only an example and interviewers will know if you copied it from here.

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