True, times are tough, particularly in medical and pharmaceutical sales, but there may be opportunities for you to move up due to realignments, mergers, acquisitions and the like. 

Consult with your friends in the medical sales field, it’s important not get caught up in the emotional component of a new “gig” and to consequently fail to evaluate the opportunity fully as a true business/family decision. Unless you deem your sales position to be in immediate peril, evaluate new opportunities as you have in the past with “due diligence.”

Make sure you’re not making a lateral move and that you are truly advancing your career. Many medical sales jobs vary tremendously relative to how the compensation packages are derived. Determine what your qualifier will be in terms of financial reward. Is it an additional incentive of 10 or 15% above your current base pay? Will it be an annual bonus incentive? Whatever the qualifier for your next medical sales position, try to keep it as objective as possible and of course, make sure every important element is defined in your written offer.

Assuming you really want this new job or advancement, you must also make sure it is the right move relative to monetary gain and your career stability. Consider basing your next opportunity on strategic and objective planning, particularly if you consider yourself to be in the latter part of your medical sales career.

Companies are now realizing that there are countless individuals that have spent a tremendous amount time and effort training and educating themselves for this sales environment. How did they do it? By putting their time in selling in the b2b environment promoting copiers, cell phones, rental cars and a host of other “tough sales” products. Selling pharmaceuticals isn’t always a picnic, there are a multiple responsibilities and a pharmaceutical rep must quickly learn the ability to get past “gatekeepers.”
As we are all intimately aware, many of our friends and colleagues have either lost their jobs or are threatened with this potential reality. These folks deserve our respect and have earned a shot at their next sales gig based on what they can and have produced.
Yes, the stereotypical model of a pharmaceutical sales rep is changing and still needs to change. However, hiring managers must realize that every person is an individual and as such has his or her own unique talents and abilities.

Pharmaceutical candidates today need to prove their abilities in today’s job market with proven sales achievements just like they’ve done in the past to get beyond stereotypes.

Downsizing has now become a common word for our generation. We hear about it everyday in the news. It seems no industry is immune right now, even healthcare.

If you have been downsized recently here are a few tips to help your situation: 
Network! Network! Network! Try these ideas:

Social networking sites (Facebook, My Space, Linked In, Tagged etc.) are great ways to find old co-workers and reconnect.

Find a medical or pharmaceutical sales association in your area.

Email your resume to recruiters- we recommend Resume Action.

Spend time developing your resume and “brag book” materials. Ask yourself if your resume sells you in a couple of seconds. If you not look like a “winner” on paper, you will not get interviews. Make sure your resume is a sales tool and not a job description.

Read current trade magazines and books. Many interviewers today ask what books you are reading. It is great to know the latest sales process strategies.

If you apply for a job, keep a record of how you heard about the opportunity and when you applied. This record will be helpful when you are working with multiple recruitment firms.

Avoid discouragement. The famous serenity prayer works well. It goes like this “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.” ~ Reinhold Niebuhr.