I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
I've suddenly gotten a bug up my ass that I want to be a pharmaceutical sale's representative. I have 3+ years of college majoring in molecular biology and minoring in chemistry (thinking about switching to nursing so I have something more profitable to fall back on but it means a few more years in school for me so idk). Anyway I've only applied to 3 companies with my crappy resume (I need to get a professional to write one for me), but I don't think I'm going to hear anything b/c most require you to have your 4 year degree (except the 3 I applied with) and some business to business sales experience.
So since all I have is an extensive background in the science/medical field I sent my (still crappy) resume to a few business to business sales companies and got invited for an initial interview to two of them :)
Question 1: Do you tell anyone your a stripper? I'm debating because technically I HAVE sales experience.....but most people look down on what we do :( Or should I just tell them that I feel that I have an aptitude for sales b/c I work well with people and extremely motivated and results oriented/driven.
Question 2: Should I suck it up and finish school in 2 years with my BS and maybe go very very part time to get my nursing degree so I have something better to fall back on should anything happen while getting into my desired line of work faster, or wait to become a PSR for another 3+ years while I finish with a more profitable degree?
Sorry so long I'm just very confused right now with a life changing path and of course SO just says do whatever I want and he'll support me :biting: While that's sweet it's not very helpful ya know.
Re: I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
I would definitely NOT tell a major corporation that you have worked as a stripper. Sales is a hard job, and these companies are not going to take kindly to you relating stripping to selling pharmaceuticals, if there are other candidates that have relevant sales experience. There are co. that hire new candidates and want to train them "their" way, so all hope is not lost. You can still get a job without the experience.
Re: I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
I don't want to discourage you, but this is an extremely tough field to get into right now. I was told that all you needed was a 4 year degree, so I tried to become a pharmaceutical sales rep when I graduated. I went to 2 job fairs and they wouldn't even talk to me because I didn't have sales experience. I now have over two years of business to business sales experience and I still can't get a company to call me back.
Definitely don't put dancing on your resume. Play up the medical experience you have- that will help. :)
Re: I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
Definitely do not mention dancing when applying for a sales position. Related work experience only. And while I see your case that it could be related, no sales person in the world is going to believe that you have experience at their job cause you stripped.
You can only disingratiate yourself to the interviewer. Even if the person you talk to seems cool enough to handle it, several people (including women) will review your application. Each of them will weigh in on your candidacy and 99% of people in a corporate setting will not support hiring you if stripper is on your resume, talked about in your interview, or anywhere on record.
Re: I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
An idea or two: finish your relevant degree; get into legitimate sales part-time like in cosmetics or something to bolster your sales. Work on your resume concepts; read some manuals and study some examples; study the pharm field outside of classwork; learn about various pharm companies business (like annual report info, brands vs generics, company specialties, patent expiration, etc.); learn about how a Drs practice works, maybe some part-time or summer work in an office. But they want to definitely know you can hold up your own in contact with physicians, psychiatrists, etc. and know how to schmooze with them (or the companies' sales practices, whatever). I'd think some physiology classes would be part of that curriculum.
If you can get into the field, it pays well.
Re: I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
Pharm sales reps are being laid off left and right. I'm currently in sales in a different industry and one of our Account Exec's just got out of pharmacuetical sales within the last year. Luckily she left on her own will when she got the job at my company, b/c her old company (a big player in the industry) ended up laying off 25% of their sales reps shortly after.
The industry has declined terribly due to new laws about dinners and gifts, etc to doctors and other pharmceutical customers. It used to be that you can offer (for example) football tickets to the dr and their family. Now the laws are such that you can only take the dr and other direct customers. That goes for dinners, drinks, etc. Most dr's you would be selling to dont' get to spend much time with their family to begin with, they no longer want to go out with their reps one on one or with employess only. Everyone I know that was or currently is in pharm sales has said that the new laws enacted over the past couple of years have severly hurt them. The money is nowhere near what it used to be.
I know this didn't really answer your actual question, and I'm sorry for just butting in with it, but I'm just looking out for you.
Best of luck though ...if you go for it I wish you much success.
Re: I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hello_Kitty27
Pharm sales reps are being laid off left and right. I'm currently in sales in a different industry and one of our Account Exec's just got out of pharmacuetical sales within the last year. Luckily she left on her own will when she got the job at my company, b/c her old company (a big player in the industry) ended up laying off 25% of their sales reps shortly after.
The industry has declined terribly due to new laws about dinners and gifts, etc to doctors and other pharmceutical customers. It used to be that you can offer (for example) football tickets to the dr and their family. Now the laws are such that you can only take the dr and other direct customers. That goes for dinners, drinks, etc. Most dr's you would be selling to dont' get to spend much time with their family to begin with, they no longer want to go out with their reps one on one or with employess only. Everyone I know that was or currently is in pharm sales has said that the new laws enacted over the past couple of years have severly hurt them. The money is nowhere near what it used to be.
I know this didn't really answer your actual question, and I'm sorry for just butting in with it, but I'm just looking out for you.
Best of luck though ...if you go for it I wish you much success.
I am in sales management and I echo everything you are saying. I hired for a position last year and just finished hiring for one last week. Both positions, I got quite a few pharma rep resumes. They're all looking for other jobs because of the government regulations and how it is hurting what they do. It's going to get worse after the new year when even stricter laws take effect.
My advice...finish your degree and/or get your nursing degree as a backup, and then pursue a pharma rep position, maybe after the dust has settled from all the new laws.
Re: I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
How about just the simple business of informing the Dr of advantages of your company's pharms? Seems like that would be sugfficient as well as efficient, as Drs dont have time to read up on all of the new meds coming out every week it seems.
Re: I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
Quote:
Originally Posted by
threlayer
How about just the simple business of informing the Dr of advantages of your company's pharms? Seems like that would be sugfficient as well as efficient, as Drs dont have time to read up on all of the new meds coming out every week it seems.
That's what they'll be trying to do now, but not with much success, and the sales jobs will go bye bye along with a certain amount of sales that the pharma companies would have had.
Pharma reps also will not be allowed to give out samples either, which doctors often use to give to indigent patients.
Re: I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
^^ This is likely because the pharm salespeople will be more efficient in spreading info to all physicians, since they will be spending less time with each, as if physicians have much time for personal lives anyway. Still they will need salespeople with more knowledge in meds than in how to glad-hand the docs. One would hope that the resultant medicine prices would reflect the lower cost of doing more efficient business. But somehow I doubt that.
Re: I have a couple of interveiws and a couple of q's for you guys
Having worked for a couple of pharmaceuticals over the last 20+ years, here's my two cents:
#1: Absolutely, positively, do not mention anything to do with stripping, ever. As a rule, pharma companies are raving loon paranoids with incredibly conservative internal cultures. Any sales ability gleaned from milking the wallets of pathetic losers will show at your interview, especially if they take you out to breakfast/dinner to see how you interact with people. Do not under any circumstances lie about it, but do manage the conversation so it never gets to that topic.
#2: I'd try for both- getting a job like that will make you appreciate your nursing degree all the more later on. Drug sales rep jobs are brutal- they have extremely high turnover, you're always on the road, most of your coworkers will be complete assholes, and they're especially rough on women (sexism isn't dead, the chicken shits just hide it better). If you do get hired, stash away the money you can to pay for nursing school- your sales rep experience will give you a nice story to tell on your admissions forms. (Admissions people are suckers for a good story).