Dear Cindy – Breaking into Pharmaceutical/Medical Sales

I am a retired Air Force veteran with 20 years experience in healthcare management, human resource management, and customer service. I am currently enrolled in graduate studies and pursuing a Master's degree in Health Care Management online. I am currently seeking a position in either pharmaceutical sales or medical device sales. If you can provide me with any other helpful advice regarding breaking into these career areas, I would greatly appreciate this.

Sincerely,

AC

Pharmaceutical sales and medical sales are good fields to try to break into, because they're those that are open to people with varied backgrounds. Many companies are willing to train fresh grads with Bachelor's degrees, and they'll take people with degrees who have a couple of years of experience in the medical/pharmaceutical sales field and/or in customer service (particularly with a background in medical supplies, wholesale distribution, etc.), and/or in a clinical medical/healthcare area.

Even if you don't have experience, the key to breaking into any field is to have a relevant educational background and/or transferable skills and/or soft skills that would allow you to do well in the new field. And you have to be able to "sell" these in your cover letter and résumé, in order to get yourself to the interview stage.

So check a few job descriptions and see what companies are looking for. Usually in medical/pharmaceutical sales, you'll have to show that you're energetic, self-motivated, organized, entrepreneurial, and people-oriented. You'll have to show that you're able to build and maintain relationships, and that you have strong verbal and written communication skills. The best way to do this in your cover letter and résumé (and later in your interview) is to apply what you've done in the past to the sorts of things they're looking for.

Good luck!

Also see our earlier queries: Dear Cindy – I Want a Pharmaceutical Sales Job and Dear Cindy – Is There Big Money in Pharmaceutical Sales?.