Don’t Send Your Cover Letter As An Attachment to Your Resume
Just a quick heads-up:
When you send your resume to a recruiter by email, don’t send a cover letter as an attachment. For the most part, it’s a waste of time. A busy medical sales recruiter doesn’t have time to open extra attachments, and expects that you’ll say what you need to say in the body of the email. Do what you can to make life easy for the person reading your documents.
BTW: A resume objective is a great way to summarize who you are and what you want, too.
Sales Interviews Are About Sales! Quantify Your Experience.
A sales rep’s job is to make the sale. So if you’re looking for a new sales position in laboratory sales, medical device sales, or any other health care 
sales arena, the best way to get a medical sales job is to make it your mission is to demonstrate that you can ring that cash register, and do it well.
Start with your resume. Your resume is your marketing document….your “brochure” that’s going to draw them into calling you for an interview. And a sales resume is all about the numbers. That’s what hiring managers (and medical sales recruiters) are looking for. What kind of numbers can you pull down? What’s your sales ranking? Did it increase? What does your customer/units sold/profit growth look like? What was your budget? What kind of revenue have you generated? (Either in actual dollar amounts, or percentage increases.)
Be prepared for the interview. There’s a good chance that you’ll find yourself in a behavioral based interview (also called BEIs, or Behavioral Event Interviews). The reason hiring managers like these so much is that they get a better picture of what you’re like in everyday situations, as well as in difficult situations like the ones you’ll surely be in on the new job. They want to know exactly how you’ll represent the company in every circumstance. The best way for them to get an idea of that is to see what you’ve done before, because past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. And, any sales rep worth his or her salt can talk a good game, but only a few can back it up. SO: When you’re thinking about possible behavioral interview questions in a sales interview and coming up with outstanding examples of your fine selling and customer skills, quantify them as much as possible.
Pack Your Resume With The Right Keywords to Get That Medical Sales Job
If you want your resume to actually be a marketing document for you, and get a recruiter’s or a hiring manager’s attention, you must pack that resume with the keywords that are relevant to the career area you want. Recruiters, hiring managers, and Human Resource departments use computer searches and applicant tracking systems to flag resumes worth looking at, and that means they use keywords to search for the ones they’ll be interested in looking at further.
But what if you’re new to the area and don’t have much experience? Well, then you have to be a little more creative in your mission. That does NOT mean you should lie on your resume. That’s always a bad idea, and you’re sure to be found out eventually. What I mean is that you should highlight what is relevant to the potential employer.
So, for example, if you want a job in medical sales, medical device sales, laboratory sales, biotechnology sales, or other health care sales area, here’s a few ideas for you:
- If you’re in real estate, but you sold to a group of doctors, you might want to list them as one of the accounts you sold to.
- If you sold copiers, maybe you sold to clinics, day surgery offices, etc. Not only does it help with the keyword count in your resume, it lets us know that at least you’ve been in the environment.
- By all means, go ahead and join professional organizations. So for a laboratory sales rep job, you could join AACC (American Association of Clinical Chemistry), CLMA (Clinical Lab Manager’s Association), or various other organizations where you’d find people in that profession. Then you can put them on your resume, and elaborate on your association with them, which gives you more keywords for your resume.
- Carefully read job descriptions and ads to see what keywords they use; then see which ones you could legitimately incorporate into your resume.
- Don’t forget keywords for sales skills.
Need some more resume help? Research resume writing skills using keywords online, or check out the Extreme Sales Resume Makeover Kit available from Career Confidential.
Resume Objective Statements: Tell the Hiring Manager Why He Should Read the Rest of Your Resume
Don’t be fooled by people who tell you that resume objective statements are optional, or that you shouldn’t have one at all. Their reasoning is usually that objective statements fence you in and limit your job-seeking focus.
I’m here to tell you that you need an objective statement on your resume. Why?
- An objective statement tells me why I should keep reading the rest of your resume.
It’s advertising, basically. It’s the teaser that will draw me in to reading the rest of your resume. (The cover letter won’t do it. Recruiters don’t generally have the time to read a cover letter–we go straight to the resume. So, make sure the first few lines of your resume make me want to read more.) Read about how to craft a compelling objective statement. At it’s core, it’s about creating a statement that fits your capabilities to fulfilling the needs of the organization. What are a few of your key qualities that will make you a good fit for this job? Be careful that you don’t make this too generic (boring).
- An objective statement makes it easier for me to figure out who you are and what you want.
Don’t be vague: Think of your resume objective as a Personal Branding Statement (thanks, Phil Rosenburg of reCareered). It’s not only saying what you want, but it’s also indicating what problems you can solve and how you can bring value to the organization. In that way, it’s tailored to the job you’re applying for. Jessica Holbrook’s article on Career Rocketeer agrees: Don’t start off by telling the hiring manager what you want, tell the hiring manager what you can do for the company.
Don’t worry: a well-crafted, tailored objective statement won’t stop you from being considered for other jobs. For instance, as a medical sales recruiter, I’m always looking for the best candidate to submit to my clients for consideration for jobs in medical sales, laboratory sales, medical device sales, health care IT, and more. If your objective statement has led me to read the rest of your resume to see what you can do (and what you have done), I’m going to think about you for any job you might be a good fit for because that’s what’s in the best interests of me and my client companies.
Career Coach does CPR on Job Seeker’s Search! Listen to the job seeker here:
Jennifer M. tells all about how a career coach (that would be me) made her dream job come true (even in this economy)!
I worked with Jennifer mid July. We fixed her resume, worked on her social media skills, helped her target hiring managers (and gave her the secret of what to ask for when she contacted them), and smoothed out her rough interviewing edges (don’t say “I hope”, “I believe” or “Hopefully”, or other negative statements). And within 6 weeks, she called me to say that she had landed the job of her dreams.
Here is her version of the story:
If you want someone in your corner that really has the inside scoop, go check out my custom career coaching page.
Life is short and you will only get one run through it (as far as I know), so why would you wait to grab your dream job?
Get a proven 30/60/90-Day Sales Plan here.
Health Care Sales Reps: How to Handle Illegal Interview Questions
Picture this: You’ve put together a fantastic resume, you’ve lined up your references, you’ve got an impressive brag book, you’ve researched your 30/60/90-day plan, and you’ve landed an exciting interview in medical sales, laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics sales, biotechnology sales, medical device sales, or pharmaceutical sales. But: What do you do if you run into a question during your interview you think doesn’t sound right, or that you know just isn’t allowed? Maybe your interviewer asked it deliberately, maybe not. Either way, you need to walk that line between avoiding an answer that might hurt you, and not offending your interviewer. Here’s some advice you need:
Handling Illegal Interview Questions
By Heidi M. Allison, Managing Director, JobReferences.com
Jim, 48, is sitting in an interview, which has been going well. He’s confident that his qualifications match those of the position, and he believes he’ll fit into the corporate culture. As the interview is winding down, the interviewer casually asks: “Will your family mind the relocation from New York to Texas?”
How should Jim answer this question?
There are several questions that employers may not legally ask applicants. Federal law attempts to ensure that candidates are hired on job qualifications and not by prejudicial criteria. Questions structured to obtain information on race, gender, religion, marital status, age, physical and/or mental status, ethnic background, country of origin, sexual preference, or any other discriminatory factor are generally illegal as grounds for making employment decisions.
With few exceptions, these factors contribute nothing to your ability to perform a job, and an employer must substantiate those cases where a direct relationship is thought to exist.
Anything that is not a bona fide occupational qualification may not be covered directly, although the interviewer may seek the information indirectly.
So, how do you handle an illegal interview question?
First it is important to assess the intentions of the interviewer.
Most illegal interview questions are asked in true innocence — or, better stated, in true ignorance: ignorance of the law, ignorance of what questions are proper, and ignorance of how the information could be used by others in a discriminatory way.
Ironically, most illegal questions are asked when the untrained interviewer is trying to be friendly and asks a seemingly innocent question about your personal life or family background.
Therefore, any attempt by the candidate to assert his or her constitutional rights will merely throw up the defense shields and put an end to any future consideration for employment. Warning lights go on, sirens sound, and the interviewer begins backing down from what otherwise may have been a very encouraging position.
So what is the proper response?
Any response depends on the particular situation and the personalities and motives of those involved, but overall you have three basic options:
(1) Answer truthfully if you feel your response will not hurt you;
(2) Inform the interviewer that the question is illegal and risk offending them and ending your chances for the position;
(3) Base your answer on the requirements of the job and your ability to perform it.
Here are a few examples of casually asked illegal questions and suggested responses:
Q: Does your family mind the travel required for this position?
A: I am accustomed to significant business travel. In fact, I find being on the road invigorating, and my track record has been very consistent under these conditions.
Q: Are you religious? Will your religion prevent you from working extra hours or on weekends when we have a big project?
A: I suppose everyone is religious in their own way. I do not foresee any circumstances that would interfere with the quality or commitment of my performance.
Q: You have a very unusual last name. What is its origin?
A: It really is a mouthful, isn’t it? I’ve always used my first name and last initial in my business e-mail address, as it is easier.
Q: Are you planning a family in the near future?
A: Currently, I am focused on my career and although having a family is always a possibility, it is not a priority at the moment.
Q: How many more years do you see yourself in the work force (before retiring)?
A: In today’s world people don’t retire like they used to; some can’t. My career and my need to earn an income are priorities that I do not foresee changing in the near future.
How you choose to handle these types of questions depends on the perceived motivation of the interviewer as well as your desire to have the position. However, no matter how badly you want or need a position, always keep in mind that if a company is capable of asking illegal questions before you are an employee, there is a greater potential for mistreatment after you are hired.
Your best bet is to try and keep the interview focused on the qualifications of the position and your qualifications as a candidate.
Blatant discrimination does take place. If it does and you are offended, you have the right to end the interview immediately (”I don’t think we’re a good match. Thank you for your time.”) — You never wanted to work there in the first place!
So, how did Jim in our example above answer the question? He could have said, “It’s none of your concern,” which likely would have quickly ended a promising interview.
But Jim thought about the underlying intent of the company in asking the question, which was “Will relocating an employee who likely has a family be so troublesome that he/she will be unproductive for months?” Considering that, he might have responded, “My family and I are committed to my career, so relocation is absolutely not a problem.”
But Jim’s family of five was used to moving every several years because of his ascending career, so Jim responded: “I’ve moved my family every three years, and they always consider it a great adventure. I’ve talked to them about the possibility of this move, and they’re very excited.”
Heidi M. Allison is the Managing Director of JobReferences.com (an Allison & Taylor Company), the nation’s oldest professional employment verification and reference checking firm. Please visit their site at www.JobReferences.com.or call 800 651 2460 to learn more about this valuable service.
Peggy’s video about your Resume for Medical Sales
I actually go through my 12 inch stack of resumes that did not make the cut (maybe these tips will help you)….check it out:
I can look at your resume for you, coach you on how to get an interview, and coach you on how to ace the interview.
Good Luck.
Peggy
Sales Resume Tips: You must have numbers (#s) on your resume.
When a sales rep has a resume with very few #s on it, I wonder….do they not understand that their job is to ring the cash register? and that is all I am concerned about? or did they stink? or do they not care that their “brochure” doesn’t really sell them? or do they not really want a sales job?
What type of numbers?
Revenue generated -$$ and %
Growth
Competitor Kills
Customer increases?
Units
Over plan or budget or higher than others?
# of demonstrations or customer VIPs (onsite visits?)
What are your thoughts?
Keywords in your Medical Sales Resume
Peggy talks about how to get quality keywords in your medical sales resume (even if you don’t have specific experience). This is a creative approach, that you will need if you are trying to make a transition in your career. Human Resources and Recruiters will not keep your resume or pull it up in their applicant tracking system unless it has the medical sales keywords that are important to them. For example: a laboratory organization would look for resumes like this: “sales and laboratory”. If you have sales in your resume, great! If you don’t have laboratory on your resume you are out of luck. 
Top 10 Ways to Get a Recruiter’s Attention
10. Attend industry-specific conferences. Better yet, speak at one.
9. Write an article for industry newsletters.
8. Write an article on your own blog, or as a guest on someone else’s.
7. Use your network to get an introduction.
6. Use online social networks like LinkedIn or Twitter.
5. Do your part by passing on the names of others. When it’s your turn, they’ll be more likely to help you.
4. DO YOUR HOMEWORK on the industry and the companies involved.
3. Prepare for a sales position: do a ride-along, read sales books, and research the job market.
2. Be a dream candidate: Have a sharp resume, have some previous sales success, have the interview skills, and be willing to relocate.
1. Post your resume with PHC Consulting.
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