I was asked recently about the National Association of Pharmaceutical Representatives (NAPRx) –specifically, whether or not the training certificate program they offer is an adequate substitute for a 4-year degree if the end goal is breaking into pharmaceutical sales as a sales rep. There are a couple of ways to answer this question, so here goes:  […]

Internships can be tremendously valuable to college students looking for that resume experience, but I recently came across an article about how some college students are paying for the privilege. Bad idea. There are better ways to spend your money…like custom consulting from a recruiter in the industry you’re heading for. You can learn what […]

Every job seeker looking for a dream sales job wants a “secret weapon”—the edge that will make potential employers eager to hire him or her, and willing to bestow high salaries, benefits, and bonuses.  In many cases, that weapon is the 30/60/90-day sales plan:  it’s a written plan that explains to the hiring manager how […]

  For more information on how to get into any area of health care sales (laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics sales, research laboratory sales, biotechnology sales, medical device sales, pathology sales, imaging sales, hospital equipment sales, or pharmaceutical sales), see How to Get Into Medical Sales – Volume I: The Documents.

I just finished up searching for 4 specific jobs where the company wanted to find someone with an undergrad science degree (biology, chemistry, etc.). But really, they could live without the science degree if they found the right person with the kind of personality, drive, desire and presence they needed. So, the upshot is that […]

Can you use a 30-60-90-day plan for non-sales jobs?  Of course.  For instance, I got a call from a candidate going for a job in Marketing Communications.   He had a 30-60-90-day template, but needed help translating it into a document for a non-sales job like the one he wanted.  We spent a few minutes brainstorming […]

A 30-60-90-day plan is a written document outlining what you will do as an employee within the first 3 months of your employment.  It’s broken up into sections:  the first 30 days usually includes training, as well as getting to know the company and customers; the next 30 days are more focused on getting out […]

I had a question from one of my YouTube videos this week from someone who is interested in getting into medical sales and wanted to know if she should invest the time and money into a NAMSR (National Association of Medical Sales Representatives) training program. They (and many others you can find online) offer medical […]

Anita Bruzzese (who has a very interesting and helpful blog on workplace advice called 45Things) had some great comments for my recent post, It’s YOUR turn to ask the questions.  While I stressed the information-gathering and confidence-building aspects of candidates asking questions in a sales job interview, Anita pointed out that a candidate should ask questions in a conversational manner rather than like an interrogation…which makes […]

Every so often, I want to draw everyone’s attention to basic rules and guidelines for a successful job interview.  (This mostly happens when I come across a candidate who I think will be fine, but manages to forget a thing or two in the interview.)  When I prep medical sales, laboratory and clinical diagnostics sales, […]