Pharmaceutical Sales Jobs

If you truly want to land the pharmaceutical sales career of your dreams then you have to ace the interview. You can’t just show up mind you, you have to entice the interviewer and make them really and truly want to hire you. After all you’re likely vying for a limited position and there are lots of qualified candidates out there, perhaps they may even have similar educational backgrounds or work histories. But, an interview is your time to shine. It is your time to let your qualifications flow through.

You can’t view the process with trepidation. Instead you have to take it head on. Consider it your one opportunity to truly let the hiring committee know why you are perfect for the pharmaceutical position. Your time to let them first hand, your persuasive selling skills. Sell yourself and prove that you are indeed suitable for the job.

In this article, we’ll discuss how to get the most out of your interview.

1. First of all, you have to prepare for the interview. You certainly don’t want to show up without a plan. Instead learn all you can about the firm beforehand. Conduct some online and offline research about the company. Find out about the type of pharmaceutical products they sell, their assigned territories, last years sales revenues, etc. In a nutshell, find out everything that you possibly can about the company before you go on the interview.
2. Second, make sure that you know why you’re qualified for the position. Know your resume and cover letter in and out. Know why you’re qualified to land this pharmaceutical sales position. Be willing to discuss your past work history and prove what a great salesperson that you really and truly are. Don’t be shy about how you exceeded sales quotas and how knowledgeable you are about pharmaceutical sales.
3. Third, practice interviewing. Take some time to rehearse your answers to possible questions. Practice being poised and relaxed and answering questions intelligently. Pharmaceutical companies usually think in terms of profits generated and bottom line. Use similar language when highlighting your skills.Be prepared to discuss how you solved challenging situations or overcame obstacles. To prepare yourself, ask yourself these questions:
   • Why did you choose pharmaceutical sales as a career?
   • Why have you held different positions in the last three years?
   • For how long have you been trying to seek a pharmaceutical sales job?
   • What do you understand by “selling”?
   • Give three reasons why you think you can be a good pharmaceutical sales representative.
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4. Fourth, be creative in your preparations. Being a great salesperson is more than establishing positive relationships with clients. It is also a business of numbers and proving that you are that much better than the next person. Prepare to prove yourself with concrete proof or your sales ability. For instance, feel free to use graphs and charts to demonstrate why you’d make a great member of their sales team. Create a Power Point presentations so that you can make a truly lasting and positive impression.
5. Fifth, dress appropriately for your interview. Choose a professional business suit. Fix your hair, get a manicure and make sure that you look great. Always display a positive demeanor.
6. Sixth, plan on making a good impression. This means bringing a professional copy of your resume and cover letter and showing up on time. In fact, you should plan to reach the company at least 15 minutes early so that you can review your notes beforehand.
7. Seventh, conclude the interview on a positive note. Make sure that you sum up your positive points and tell them how much you enjoyed meeting everyone. Make sure that you follow up by sending a thank you note the next day. This not only shows great manners but also leaves a positive impression in everyone’s mind.

Just remember that in order to get hired, you’ve got to prove yourself and the very best way to do this is to sell your skills. The interview process is the perfect time to do this! Just remember that you can do it if you prepare yourself, practice interviewing, creatively prepare, dress appropriately, make a good impression, and remain positive.

There are lots of smart people languishing in the lower echelons of companies and one of the main reasons may be their lack of understanding the importance of image, personal presentation and effective communication skills.

Companies place a premium on dress, manners, effective body language and the subtle rules of knowing precisely what to say and do in any given situation.

As companies scramble to break into new markets and win global contracts, image has become the key that opens the door. The demand for skills that enable executives to perform appropriately in business and social circles has skyrocketed.

Key players in the corporate arena are masters of communication and corporate vision. The truly successful are aware that everything about their personal presentation and their corporate trappings must be coordinated and polished to project a message of congruency.

Professional posturing and positioning is taking place at all levels within companies. Employees need to be aware that they are company ambassadors.

Companies spend millions of dollars packaging their products. Packaging can make the difference between success and failure. Each package must say something special about the contents and each product must be packaged appropriately for the target market. This same concept applies to each of us as professional speakers and trainers. When you step onto the platform, think of it as a product launch. You may have more talent than anyone else in your field, but unless you have packaged yourself effectively, you may be limiting your success potential. Successful people generally look successful. They wear clothing that looks attractive on them. They are well groomed, speak well and carry themselves with confidence. There are three styles of power: authority, knowledge and power. We have been given the authority to share our message with our clients and we have the knowledge to make a difference in people’s lives. Personal power is the responsibility of the individual and can be enhanced with effective packaging of you, the “product.” When you walk through a door, you create what social psychologists call the “threshold effect”. In that decisive moment, people will make assumptions about you in the following areas:

• economic level
• educational level
• trustworthiness
• social position
• level of sophistication
• social and educational heritage
• success in previous and current endeavors
• moral character
• and even if they like you

You are the product and the best and most obvious form of advertising your services. Either you will be bought by your client or your competition will. We form a negative impression much more rapidly than we form a positive impression.

We all have an image, whether we design it consciously or not. How we look and feel about ourselves is heavily influenced by our childhood experiences and our self-image as an adult.

Clothing and appearance are among the most important criteria we use to judge people. Clothing in a business environment covers ninety percent of the body, so it is inevitable that it makes a very powerful statement.

Successful people generally look successful. They wear clothing that looks attractive on them. They are well groomed, speak well and carry themselves with confidence. The message that comes across is that they feel good about themselves.

If you feel confident about your clothes, hairstyle and personal presentation you will send out a positive and confident message.

Clothing and presence is a silent and powerful language, a visual shorthand. Is your personal presentation a true reflection of you at your best? Your personal image is your calling card to success.

Always remember the Communication Rule of Twelve: The first twelve words out of your mouth, the first twelve steps you take into a room and the first twelve inches of your body. Packaging matters but style without substance just won’t work. You can’t just create an identity; you must constantly reinforce it.

Gain the competitive edge and the raise in salary, benefits and positioning that comes with the knowledge of outstanding personal packaging. Commit yourself to excellence. Image Sells!

I have a pharmaceutical sales ride along, what course of action should I take? Sit back, be conservative, observe, and take good notes or be assertive and show I want to be involved? What’s the standard or is there one?

It’s important to remember that, for all practical purposes, the ride along (a.k.a. field preceptorship) is simply an extension of the interview. It serves two purposes. First, it gives the company a chance to see how you interact in the real world. Up to this point they have only heard you on the phone or seen you in the abnormal environment of an interview. The day to day aspect of a pharmaceutical sales job involves your interactions with many different [types] of people. Second, the ride along is also meant to give you a better idea if this job is for you. Like most jobs, it is very different from its outward appearance. The ride along gives you a look at the job from the inside. Be sure to be observant and try to picture yourself in the role. Then, be honest with yourself when it comes time to decide if this is really what you want to do. You (and everyone around you) will be much happier in the long term if you are honest with yourself in the short term.

If you want to know how you should act in a ride along, ask. Ask the rep during the ride along what would be comfortable for him/her. Priority ONE for the representative is to sell – you come second and you don’t want to do anything to change that.

These are a few more points to consider.

1. If this ride-along is NOT part of an interviewing process, then you need to treat it as such and be on your best behavior. No off-the-wall jokes, no swearing, don’t talk about your dating/married life in any intimate details. Sounds like common sense, but you would be surprised about what reps hear on ride longs. DO NOT flirt with the rep if of the opposite sex and do not flirt with the office staff either. After all, it is the rep’s sales call and his/her reputation at stake. STAY PROFESSIONAL at all times.
2. Not to beat a dead horse but remember this little bit of advice: the rep is essentially interviewing you during the ride along, whether the ride is part or not part of an actual interviewing process. He/she will make mental notes on the type of questions you ask, how you handle yourself in social situations, if you would be pleasant to work with, whether or not you would be a good team member and a dependable one, and if you have the drive, passion, and determination to be successful in this very competitive industry. The rep has the power to kill your candidacy with their company or provide a very strong referral to their manager. Never, ever underestimate the power of a ride along, whether or not it is actually a part of the interviewing process.
3. If you are comfortable with the rep, it’s sometimes ok to bring up pay and benefits at some point during the ride along. Do not, however, make this the focal point. Most reps will not want to get into too much detail about this anyway, so keep this line of questions to a general, 50,000 foot level. “What is the typical starting salary for a rep with XYZ Pharmaceutical?” is ok. “So, what kind of bling do you pull?” is not.
4. If you do lunch (and you will if it is an all day ride along), make sure you use your manners. Keep in mind that as a rep you will occasionally sponsor/participate in dinner speaker programs and provide lunches to the doctors and their staff. The rep will be analyzing your manners as well as your social graces. Do not order the most expensive thing on the menu, order items that you can use silverware (no finger food), do not order anything that could mess your clothes, and NO ALCOHOL no matter what!!
5. Finally, be yourself. Be friendly, outgoing, ask pertinent questions relating to the job: how to be successful, doctors prescribing habits, the market research reps are provided, the training program, use of laptops, the management style of the DMs or RMs in the area, etc. Ask the rep what he/she has to do to prepare for their sales calls and what is required before hitting the road and the end of day paperwork. Ask what kind of special projects they have to do above their normal job duties. Find out what the career path options are and the typical timing involved in each. It’s also a good idea to try to learn a bit about the rep him/herself. A large part of the job is about the relationships you can build. Show the rep you are good at this. People buy from their friends. Make a friend on your ride along.

The ride-along is the single most important learning experience you will encounter regarding what the job of a pharmaceutical encompasses. Make sure to really take in everything and take some notes for yourself about what happened when you get home that evening. Note what docs you visited, how the sales call was handled, and what objections were raised during the sales presentations. If this is part of an interviewing process, it would not hurt to send the DM a summation of your day, how much you enjoyed it, and how you are more excited than ever to becoming a part of their team (if true, of course).

Also make sure to then put on your resume that you were involved in a ride-along (you do not need to name the company). It is always a good conversation vehicle in a job interview.

Finally, be prepared (interviewing process or not) to ask the rep who gave you the ride along for his referral to their manager (i.e. closing the business).

Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your day in the field. It is the greatest learning experience prior to the actual job. What you will see and experience in the field no book or website can teach or show you.

Originally posted by in the