How You Could Plan For A Successful Pharmaceutical Sales Career

Are you aware of the difference between a career and a job? It does not matter if you are in Pharmaceutical Industry or another type of industries, a simple way to define the difference is by looking at the ‘lifetime value’ (and hence possible cash value). Here is what I mean:

My Oxford Minireference Dictionary and Thesaurus (Oxford University Press, 1997) defines those two terms as follow:

Job n. 1 Piece of work. 2 Paid position of employment. 3 Function or responsibility
career n. 1 Way of making one’s living, profession. 2 Course through life. 3 Swift course

Can you see it? The stark difference between those 2 words is in the ‘lifetime value.’ To put the thing in layman’s perspective, I find the analogy of my own pharmaceutical sales rep job does help. My job is selling tools that help healthcare providers to come up with a better diagnosis and allow them to make a lot more with automation.

My career in health care – making sure that other peoples’ health is taken care of. And I can do that without promoting my current company’s high-tech analyzers. I can recommend your lifestyle changes, and by doing that alone, you can control your stress level and blood pressure.

Now can you see the difference?

Since I am in a good mood now, let me use another example. If you have a friend who works with the bank, when you ask him or her: “Hey, what is your job?”, You might get this answer, “I am a Teller” or “I am the Manager” or “I am the Financial Executive” and that is their job. Their career is managing your finance – your money, your cash flow, your debt, etc.

Hopefully, these 2 examples have done the job of differentiating pharmaceutical sales careers and pharmaceutical sales situations for you.

Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Careers

Pharmaceutical Companies either local or Multinational will appoint people to promote their brand of products, and these guys and girls are known as Sales Representative or Sales Rep in short. These jobs are almost unheard of a few decades back but lately, they have become one of the most sought after and dream jobs in the market.

I have written a short intro about pharma sales rep basic and I believe that is enough to cover all the ‘need to know’ info. Since many people become aware of the lucrative nature of these jobs, the competition begins to brew, and it is getting stiffer every day.

And that makes the jobs more attractive.

I have been a pharmaceutical sales rep for over a decade now, and I cannot imagine doing another kind of job after my graduation. The best thing about this job is – it put me on a track to a brilliant career.

I often read in a forum or hearing people on the street wondering what I actually do for a living. Judging from my lifestyle, they often think I am doing some form of business. But when I told them what I really do for a living, they lift their eyebrows.

I know that what I told them is too much to absorb at one time. And there is some who are interested in joining in especially those who already have a job and they are looking for ‘upgrades.’

They often ask, “Where do I start?”. And my answer is always, “You start at the beginning…your resume.”

Pharmaceutical Sales Careers Resume

When was the last time you update your resume? 3 months? 6 months? 12 months ago?

When is the best time for you to update it?

Some experts suggest twice a year as ideal. That means every 6 months. Now, if you have not done this for a while, just update it right after you reach the end of this sentence.
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You did update your resume did you not? If you did not; why? What is holding you back? If you want to follow my proven CV and Cover Letter winner, you can download them for free (the link is at the right sidebar under Free Pharmaceutical Sales Careers Resources)

Your great resume is your ticket to land you on robust pharmaceutical job recruitment. The rest is about pulling off during the interview. And that something we can work towards with simple strategies and steps.

You can also submit your resume to pharmaceutical sales recruiters. These are often companies who are looking for potential talents to fill in job vacancies as they arise. But I have found that individual recruiters, i.e., staff or employee of a pharmaceutical company to be the best source of the job opportunity.

Why?

Reason number one: If you pull through, they often get rewarded for bringing you in. I remember getting an extra 500 bucks right after my friend whom I recommend got his confirmation letter. Of course, if they stop halfway, your referee gets nothing. Well, that is how the system works.

How Do You Know If There Is An Opening For Pharmaceutical Sales Job?

The fastest way is to register with an online job board. A few names which are famous over here are JobStreet and JobsDB. Find similar services in your locality and sign up for it. You will be asked to create an online resume, and with the development of technology, some even allow video where you talked briefly about yourself. You must also define the parameters for your job search, and if they find a match, an e-mail will pop up into your account Inbox (which goes without saying that you must have an e-mail account. A free one would do).

Go here for more tips on pharmaceutical sales jobs search.

How Much Should You Ask?

I do not know you personally, but if I just want to get my feet into the pharmaceutical industry, a reasonable pharmaceutical sales career salaries that I will ask for depends heavily on my current and previous competencies. Some quick background company research will reveal the kind of match my skills with the company’s expectation. If it is a perfect match, for example, my field of study and my job role, I will put a high-end price tag on my expected salary figure. Otherwise, I just play the average.

And what is the average?

I assume this equation will work in your country and area: Increase your demand in the region of low 100% and high 200% from your current figure. Let’s say you currently have a basic salary of 1000, economical 100% means you ask for 2000, and high 300% means you asked for 3000. Just remember to put ‘negotiable’ in your resume.

Read Tips for negotiating a higher basic salary for medical reps.

Progress In Your Pharma Sales Careers

Your first sales representative job will set the stage for what to come in your careers progression. Like I mentioned earlier, your job is promoting your company line of a product, but your career is taking care of other peoples’ health.

Azlan is a friend of mine who started off as a sales representative. After being in a local generic company promoting an antihypertensive line of products for 6 years, he now finds himself as a spokesperson for a local Multilevel Company that helps ionized water that claims to restore person health in a natural, non-invasive way.

And he gets better remuneration package now compared to his previous company, and if I hear him correctly, he is still on the lookout for higher, better remuneration. That is how he chooses to walk his career path.

You could too.

The first is always the toughest, but once you get inside, you will know how to make it through. And that is how you build your careers in pharmaceutical sales.