You have also known a portal where you can scout for new pharmaceutical sales job. All you need to do is to point and click, and in a blink of an eye, you'll be taken to multiple job offers. You'll bound to find one that will suit your need.
Armed with these 2 resources: the loophole and the job portal, you are on your way to land on a job selling for Pharma company.
Let's assume you got a job as a Pharma sales rep, and now after some years pass by, you feel that you're prepared to move on to the next level: the Pharmaceutical Sales Manager.
You like the sound of it, don't ya?
This article will prepare you for what to come if you've decided to give a shot at the sales manager's post. You must proceed with caution though because the process and the consequences are not typical. You'll go through a different experience, but you can use the tips in this article as a guidepost.
During my time, Pharma Sales Manager interview was straightforward.
I mean the 'bad' ones, of course.
What Did I Bring To The Table That Day?
I have been with the company for less than 2 years. First, my team leader 'makes' me apply for the post. The kind of support and believe that he showed for my competencies were just too contagious. Plus, I got the feeling that I stand a better chance because I was going to lead the same team -- the same team members; the same people who drink coffee and eat toast on the same table with me almost every day.
And they want me to proceed too.
I mean who can resist the temptation of having your immediate boss and 'would be' team wanted you to go ahead with the application. In a way, I did not want to let them down, so I proceed. All in all, I bring personal competencies (visible) and support (invisible) to the table. Would that be a requirement before you go into that pharma sales manager interview?
Answer: No...but it's a considerable boost. I can tell you that.
Other Preparation That I Make
Forget the mechanic of how to answer the interview question. In such a situation, I personally feel that the most essential preparation I could make is to prepare myself mentally. Nothing will do me any good if I'm scared to death when entering the interview room and look at the interviewer's faces.
And talking about interviewer...
That day, there were about three people who sit in the chair. Each represents different departments and bring with them diverse expertise. If I recall correctly, one person represents the sales department, another represent clinical research, and the last one represents a human resource. It's essential to have such a mix because every person will look at me from different angles.
For example...
The clinical research representative, while having no direct connection with sales or marketing, the questions that he threw were relevant to what I need to carry out as a manager. Since his expertise is in research, he drilled me with a question about managing information, how to use such information to make a better decision, and in a specific situation, how I can use the data to support me.
It was not evident why his presence was needed back then, but now it's crystal clear.
How Do I Feel About The Whole Process?
At first, I was nervous.
Even with the fact that I was from the same area and team, I somehow knew that I was going to be asked a lot about how to manage my team more effectively, i.e., how to lift them to a new standard from its current one. Such questions were thrown a lot by the sales manager (duh!), and everything was about results -- facts and numbers.
And my current performance, which they brought and queried, just added to my nervousness. I had to justify all my ups and downs for twenty months or so with the company. As if that was not enough, hypothetical questions about specific situations that I probably face, just make things worst.
That's why mental preparation is imperative.
Throughout the interview session, my mental fortress had guarded me against wandering into other areas thus caused me to stay focused on the questions. I did not know how to answer all questions as 'manager,' but once again, my mental imagery made me feel that I was already one...
'I Act As If I Am The Manager'
Thanks to all the reading and bits of the practice of NLP -- Neuro Linguistic Programming; I see myself in the desired outcome, and I did make the experience more compelling with a specific technique. I can't stress enough the importance of building a robust mental fortress.
But right up to this point, I only address the situation in a typical sales manager interview for the same pharmaceutical company.
What About Different Pharmaceutical Company?
Honestly speaking, I had NO experience dealing with such a situation. Even though I had been with more than 3 companies but I had never applied for a sales manager position in another company. I want to try if there's an opportunity, and I knew I have the competencies and capabilities to deliver. Besides, I believe that the process and what I had to go through is fundamentally the same.
I mean; how different could it be?
An interview is an interview is an interview, right?
Up to this point, if you have the intention to upgrade yourself to another level, for example from sales executive to sales manager, what you need to do is to:
- Upgrade your mental first
Paint a clear picture of you getting the desired post and act as if you already got it. That will build your mental fortress faster than a speeding bullet.
- Get moral support
Next, you want to get moral support from people who you trust and who trusted you. This is not a must, but I can guarantee you will provide the boost you need to move forward and upward.
And if you have to deal with 'alien' environment, in other words, outside your company, maintain focus by telling yourself that you have done this before, and it's no different back then compared to now. You already have all the resources you need to succeed in your next pharmaceutical sales manager interview, whether inside or outside your current company.
You are a success!
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