HOW DID YOU GET INTO PHARM/MEDICAL SALES

How do you get into pharma/medical sales if you dont have experience in that niche?

I'm currently in a B2B role with a telcom company but, I havent been able to land a gig with pharma/medical sales.

What can you do?

I've applied to stryker, intuitive surgical, zimmer

any help is appreciated

 

Here’s the truth. More times than not you have to know somebody.

If you don’t, go to a hospital with resumes in hand and hand them out to the reps. The reps should be easy to spot.

Pharma reps are overdressed

Equipment reps are in scrubs. Possibly pulling a bag.

But here’s the deal. Think seriously if you want to be in either industry.

Pay is good, sure. Prestige, perhaps, but your private and social life will be eaten up.

Then you have to worry about job security, because there isn’t any.

The stress you will subjected to is Career long.

Fresh out of college I saw the guys in suits and scrubs and wanted to do their job. Now I wish I hadn’t

 

Well said and completely accurate. Retired after 40yrs in pharma. First 25, best job in the world. Rep for first 5 yrs, various positions rest of career. Rep was the best.
Last years it was a miserable grind. No, not burnout. Went thru 3 mergers, 10 managers, ridiculous, childish micro management, reps bumping into each other, back-stabbing. Drs. limited/ stopped access layoffs, etc. I hope you get the picture.
Even if you decide to pursue a job here for the bucks, benes and the car, think twice. Pharma sales on your resume isn’t a positive thing.

 

30+ year veteran of the industry here.

My best advice to anyone is that if you’re not already too deep in then get out and if you’ve never gotten in then don’t!!!!!!!!!

The only exceptions would be those who have a license to fall back on if, or should I say when, you get laid off. Only RNs, PharmDs and NPs etc should get into the business now because you want the ability to be able to walk anytime
somebody tries to hastle you and unfortunately that’s almost a certainty, and you want the ability to find another job at a comparable level of pay or at least significant pay within a matter of days or weeks, not months or years because you will almost certainly get laid off at least once if not multiple times.

Management in Pharma have destroyed the job of sales rep. It doesn’t mattter how good you are, what your sales record is, what your tenure is and the older you get the more at risk and vulnerable you become. You don’t want to be retooling in your 40s or 50s and certainly not in your 60s but all this is quite likely in the pharma industry of today. It doesn’t have to be this way but it is.

To repeat, if you’re not in the business then please don’t get in the business UNLESS you have that license!!!!

 

So true, 30 years in business. 1990-2008 were good.
the last 10 years have been horrible. Layoffs, horrible managers who are full of themselves. Its harder to make good money in the busienss. lots of cliques if you are not it you wont get hired. specially in CNS , same reps go from company to company .
I have notice managers have become power hungry assholes more than ever.
Do it or else" is the motivation line now