As a medical sales recruiter, we often times receive feedback concerning the performance of a candidate in the interview process.  Sometimes the feedback is quite specific, but generally we are provided a broad perspective of how the candidate performed. 

Frequently, an interviewer will be truly impressed by a candidate and wish to hire them, but simply cannot due to a lack of experience or a missing skill set.  Many times these candidates are just getting started in their sales career and are truly on the right track by exhibiting the passion and energy for the position, particularly in the interview.   (continue reading…)

New website offers career information and job opportunities for healthcare professionals and medical and pharmaceutical sales representatives.

Press Release-November 7, 2009 – Rogersville, MO. Global Edge Recruiting announces the launch of their newly revised website.  The updated website is based upon 13 years of successful web marketing experience in the medical sales recruiting marketplace.  The new site allows individuals to access current information on how to succeed in today’s tough employment market in either a hiring or job-seeking role.  Although designed for medical sales professionals, many of the tools and information are transferable to any sales or marketing discipline. 

Currently, Global Edge Recruiting.com has over 200,000 hits each month demonstrating the reach of it’s resources on the web.  According to Director of Executive Search, Denise Wilkerson, “The Career Center has always been a popular destination on our site.  It contains information to assist job seekers in learning how to develop their resume, enter into a job search and successfully interview for a medical or pharmaceutical sales job. It is our hope that the information we provide can help make the job search and interview process easier for those experiencing difficulty in this market.”  (continue reading…)

This year, it’s more important than ever to take a respite from all the activities that 2009 has offered in the field of medical sales.  Many have been affected by the tumultuous economy through an actual job loss.  For others, even the threat or worry of an employment loss has caused many to experience an additional level of anguish that we haven’t seen in decades.

So, for managers and representatives in the medical sales and pharmaceutical world, take heed to this advice.  RELAX.  Reflect upon the year, but most importantly spend time with your friends and loved ones.  They are truly the important part of your life!  If you get a little down time, contemplate making some additional acquaintances this Holiday Season.  Find some old friends or past associates on LinkedIn or Facebook.  They might just come in handy for a future employment opportunity.

By doing these things and backing off from the “rat race” for a week or two, you will gain a new perspective and attitude.  By 2010, you’ll be able to face those perceived obstacles of 2009 as opportunity for the New Year.

There’s no question, the competition has increased for a shot at an available position in the medical sales field.  Just a couple of years ago it was much easier to find an opening in medical sales for new representatives and tenured folks.  As the economy has tightened, representatives with several years of experience have found themselves in some unfamiliar territory.  It’s true, closing the deal on that next job after being downsized may require some additional firepower that was not demanded just months ago. 

Here are some things to consider in preparing for your first or next job in medical or pharmaceutical sales.

Let’s use the acronym “EPIC” as an example of four key areas for you to review.  These areas include Education, Production, Initiation and Concentration.
 

EPIC

Education:

If you’ve been realigned, maybe it’s time to take a look at your educational background.  Taking a few extra classes to finish that master’s degree might just give you the slight edge over your competition.  Education is an objective area an employer can review.  Many times when all of the variables are equal, an advanced education can help.  It’s not just the degree, it’s the effort that you put forward to receive these credentials.

Production:

Produce documentation regarding your significant contributions.  Show them what you’ve done.  It doesn’t have to be in an elaborate “brag book”.  Many times documentation of rank reports, president trophy wins, significant contest victories and simply the ability to tie these “wins” to the prospective company’s product line will “close the deal”.

Initiate:

In a word, network.  Initiate contact at all levels.  Talk to your friends that are in medical or pharmaceutical sales, join social networking sites like LinkedIn, cold call on companies to see if they have openings.  Effectively your new job is to find one!  Work to find those openings and then do whatever is necessary to make the interview at the prospect’s convenience.  Yes, you may have to drive 100 miles.  Be excited about the opportunity and show it.

Concentration:

I’ve heard many candidates say, “I’ve sent out 100 resumes.”  I always want to ask, “Why?”  If there truly were 100 legitimate openings, that’s great.  Most of the time these candidates blindly send resumes to simply anywhere.  Doesn’t it make sense to research and come up with a “target list” of companies and contacts that you can concentrate on where you can actually see yourself working?  This high level of detail, follow-up and focus can make a huge difference in your visibility and credibility with a perspective medical sales company.

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The term epic usually refers to something “heroic” or “majestic”.  Maybe you can come out as a hero in your job search by finding the medical sales job of your dreams!

So you don’t have a golden parachute?  Most do not.  Medical sales and pharmaceutical sales jobs have changed dramatically over the last couple of years and will continue to do so into the immediate future.  There’s opportunity, but there’s also hardship.  Face it; we’re not in the eighties or nineties anymore.  Companies are attempting to reinvent their business and are becoming much leaner. 

Major organizations are reevaluating their needs almost daily.  With these changes the obvious occurs.  Good representatives are getting caught in the wake of reorganization and losing their positions.  It’s not their fault (most of the time).  It’s a sign of the times, tough times, the like that most of us have not lived through before.  What can you do as a feet-on-the-street representative?  Work on increasing your worth as a representative.  Be the value added representative by doing a little more, a little differently.  This is really not the time to “fly under the radar.”  It’s time to be noticed and volunteer for projects that can help the Team or Region excel!  Demonstrate new initiative by identifying or inventing new opportunities in the field.  Approach your clients with a positive, inspirational message relative to the attributes of your product(s), and then close them like there’s no tomorrow. 

Above all, don’t fall into the negativity surrounding the current economy.  There’s business to be had and you’re quite capable to pick it up.  Document your successes and increases in your territory and identify what this means over time for the territory, district and region.  Furthermore, make sure along your career path in medical sales that you collect and save every item that demonstrates your strong sales ability.  These could be contest results, rankings, significant meeting awards, performance awards and the like.  Hold on to these in a physical and digital file for access later to incorporate into your interview/presentation process.