This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Deb writes: I am a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree, currently working on my master’s degree. I am interested in a career in pharmaceutical sales. However, all the ads state previous sales experience required. My question is whether my RN degree would carry enough weight to offset the previous sales requirement? Secondly, would it be best to apply to the companies directly or to go through a recruitment agency? Thank you for your time in replying.
First, in what field are you pursuing your master’s degree? If it is nursing — and you know you don’t ever want to work as a nurse again — I would seriously consider withdrawing from graduate school. But before you make such a major decision, I would suggest conducting several informational interviews with sales managers in pharmaceutical companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Eli Lily, and GlaxoSmithKline, among others, to better understand what these managers want in the field representatives they hire.
Second, you need to identify the skills that make salespeople successful. Obviously, they need superior communications skills — especially persuasive communications skills; they need to be “people” person — able to build and maintain relationships; they need to be highly-motivated self-starters; they need to be well-organized. You’ll be able to glean all this information from looking at job postings and from your informational interviews.
Third, you’ll need to develop a resume that portrays your mix of medical and sales skills and experiences in such a way as to identify you as an ideal candidate for a pharmaceutical sales position. You may want to try a chrono-functional resume. Read our article, Should You Consider a Functional Resume? Be aware, though, that many employers dislike any kind of functional resume, so have a chronological version ready if the chrono-functional isn’t working for you.
Best of luck in achieving your goals.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Jill writes:
I recently graduated with a BS in social psychology at 41 years of age. The past 10 years I have been in the clerical field and now more than anything want to work with teenagers. In my cover letter and resume how do I relate my past experiences with the changing career choice I would like to make? Any information would be appreciated.
There are a few keys to making the successful transition. In terms of your cover letter and resume, you need to sit down and think about the skills you have learned and used and how they can apply to your new career field. For example, organizational skills are extremely important in the clerical field, and working with teens requires organizational skills as well. Read more about the topic by visiting Quintessential Careers: Transferable Skills.
The next key to success is to review the job descriptions of the types of jobs you are considering. How does your education and experience match up with the requirements? Can you position yourself to fit these requirements? If not, you may need to take some additional courses or look at different types of jobs.
Finally, I would encourage you to talk with people who currently have jobs that are similar to what you want to be doing or are supervising people who are doing the type of job you want to be doing. We call these informational interviews, and they are an extremely valuable resource for gaining knowledge, making contacts, and networking. Get the scoop by visiting Quintessential Careers: Informational Interviewing Tutorial.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Jill writes:
I recently graduated with a BS in social psychology at 41 years of age. The past 10 years I have been in the clerical field and now more than anything want to work with teenagers. In my cover letter and resume how do I relate my past experiences with the changing career choice I would like to make? Any information would be appreciated.
The Career Doctor responds:
There are a few keys to making the successful transition. In terms of your cover letter and resume, you need to sit down and think about the skills you have learned and used and how they can apply to your new career field. For example, organizational skills are extremely important in the clerical field, and working with teens requires organizational skills as well. Read more about the topic by visiting Quintessential Careers: Transferable Skills.
The next key to success is to review the job descriptions of the types of jobs you are considering. How does your education and experience match up with the requirements? Can you position yourself to fit these requirements? If not, you may need to take some additional courses or look at different types of jobs.
Finally, I would encourage you to talk with people who currently have jobs that are similar to what you want to be doing or are supervising people who are doing the type of job you want to be doing. We call these informational interviews, and they are an extremely valuable resource for gaining knowledge, making contacts, and networking. Get the scoop by visiting Quintessential Careers: Informational Interviewing Tutorial.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Deb writes: I am a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree, currently working on my master’s degree. I am interested in a career in pharmaceutical sales. However, all the ads state previous sales experience required. My question is whether my RN degree would carry enough weight to offset the previous sales requirement? Secondly, would it be best to apply to the companies directly or to go through a recruitment agency? Thank you for your time in replying.
First, in what field are you pursuing your master’s degree? If it is nursing — and you know you don’t ever want to work as a nurse again — I would seriously consider withdrawing from graduate school. But before you make such a major decision, I would suggest conducting several informational interviews with sales managers in pharmaceutical companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Eli Lily, and GlaxoSmithKline, among others, to better understand what these managers want in the field representatives they hire.
Second, you need to identify the skills that make salespeople successful. Obviously, they need superior communications skills — especially persuasive communications skills; they need to be “people” person — able to build and maintain relationships; they need to be highly-motivated self-starters; they need to be well-organized. You’ll be able to glean all this information from looking at job postings and from your informational interviews.
Third, you’ll need to develop a resume that portrays your mix of medical and sales skills and experiences in such a way as to identify you as an ideal candidate for a pharmaceutical sales position. You may want to try a chrono-functional resume. Read our article, Should You Consider a Functional Resume? Be aware, though, that many employers dislike any kind of functional resume, so have a chronological version ready if the chrono-functional isn’t working for you.
Best of luck in achieving your goals.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Jill writes:
I recently graduated with a BS in social psychology at 41 years of age. The past 10 years I have been in the clerical field and now more than anything want to work with teenagers. In my cover letter and resume how do I relate my past experiences with the changing career choice I would like to make? Any information would be appreciated.
There are a few keys to making the successful transition. In terms of your cover letter and resume, you need to sit down and think about the skills you have learned and used and how they can apply to your new career field. For example, organizational skills are extremely important in the clerical field, and working with teens requires organizational skills as well. Read more about the topic by visiting Quintessential Careers: Transferable Skills.
The next key to success is to review the job descriptions of the types of jobs you are considering. How does your education and experience match up with the requirements? Can you position yourself to fit these requirements? If not, you may need to take some additional courses or look at different types of jobs.
Finally, I would encourage you to talk with people who currently have jobs that are similar to what you want to be doing or are supervising people who are doing the type of job you want to be doing. We call these informational interviews, and they are an extremely valuable resource for gaining knowledge, making contacts, and networking. Get the scoop by visiting Quintessential Careers: Informational Interviewing Tutorial.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Jill writes:
I recently graduated with a BS in social psychology at 41 years of age. The past 10 years I have been in the clerical field and now more than anything want to work with teenagers. In my cover letter and resume how do I relate my past experiences with the changing career choice I would like to make? Any information would be appreciated.
The Career Doctor responds:
There are a few keys to making the successful transition. In terms of your cover letter and resume, you need to sit down and think about the skills you have learned and used and how they can apply to your new career field. For example, organizational skills are extremely important in the clerical field, and working with teens requires organizational skills as well. Read more about the topic by visiting Quintessential Careers: Transferable Skills.
The next key to success is to review the job descriptions of the types of jobs you are considering. How does your education and experience match up with the requirements? Can you position yourself to fit these requirements? If not, you may need to take some additional courses or look at different types of jobs.
Finally, I would encourage you to talk with people who currently have jobs that are similar to what you want to be doing or are supervising people who are doing the type of job you want to be doing. We call these informational interviews, and they are an extremely valuable resource for gaining knowledge, making contacts, and networking. Get the scoop by visiting Quintessential Careers: Informational Interviewing Tutorial.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Jill writes:
I recently graduated with a BS in social psychology at 41 years of age. The past 10 years I have been in the clerical field and now more than anything want to work with teenagers. In my cover letter and resume how do I relate my past experiences with the changing career choice I would like to make? Any information would be appreciated.
The Career Doctor responds:
There are a few keys to making the successful transition. In terms of your cover letter and resume, you need to sit down and think about the skills you have learned and used and how they can apply to your new career field. For example, organizational skills are extremely important in the clerical field, and working with teens requires organizational skills as well. Read more about the topic by visiting Quintessential Careers: Transferable Skills.
The next key to success is to review the job descriptions of the types of jobs you are considering. How does your education and experience match up with the requirements? Can you position yourself to fit these requirements? If not, you may need to take some additional courses or look at different types of jobs.
Finally, I would encourage you to talk with people who currently have jobs that are similar to what you want to be doing or are supervising people who are doing the type of job you want to be doing. We call these informational interviews, and they are an extremely valuable resource for gaining knowledge, making contacts, and networking. Get the scoop by visiting Quintessential Careers: Informational Interviewing Tutorial.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
LaVerne writes:
I am preparing to send a letter requesting an informational interview. However, I was wondering if it would be appropriate for me to enclose my resume with the letter?
Would you be kind enough to let me know what is proper professional etiquette?
The Career Doctor responds:
Informational interviews are the ultimate networking technique, so I applaud your efforts to not only conduct one, but to do so properly and professionally.
Informational interviews are meetings you request to gather information and expand your network of contacts. What kind of information? The information you need to choose or refine a career path, learn how to break in and find out if you have what it takes to succeed. It’s the process of spending time (usually about 20-30 minutes, but sometimes much longer) with someone at a more advanced level in their career in a highly focused conversation that provides you with key information you need to launch or boost your career.
The letter you send to a potential interviewee should be short and to the point. It is similar to a cover letter, but instead of asking for a job interview, you are requesting an informational interview. Do NOT send a resume with your letter, but DO bring a copy of your resume to the interview in case the interviewer asks to see it. Remember, an informational interview is NOT a backdoor method of gaining a job interview.
Your letter should include a brief introduction about yourself and why you are writing to this particular individual. Be specific about your career interests and request an interview to gain his or her insights into the field. The last paragraph should include a sentence about how and when you will follow-up with this person.
Get a much more detailed overview of everything you could possibly ever want to know about informational interviews by going to the Quintessential Careers Informational Interview Tutorial.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
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