Here's my top tips for interview preparation for medical sales jobs.
Look online at the company website. Of course most people will do this, even if just to say they have done it when asked. Try to focus on absorbing some key details such as mission statements, company turnover figures, top products, product pipelines and anything that look like a defining feature of the company. A candidate who says they've looked at the site but can't reel off any details is either spinning a yarn, or doesn't really have the work ethic to employ in medical sales, either way, it's a poor result.
Try and speak with present customers of the company. Not only will this give you vital background about the company's products and sales strategy, but it may also give the added bonus of being able to reveal at interview what it would take to get named certain named customers to use more of their products. This demonstrates a level of pro-activity that will be attractive to medical sales managers.
Try to speak with present medical sales reps in the company in question. Unless you are unlucky to choose the managers 'right hand man' or someone who has been primed by the manager, you should get good information about the company, it's products and strategy, and also, perhaps more importantly, what they are like to work for.
Find out about the interviewing medical sales manager. When I say find out, learn as much as you can about them, their interests, social style and demeanor face to face. It will help you prepare mentally for the meeting by knowing what to expect as well as increase your chances of presenting yourself in the right way to appeal to their style. There are various sources who may be able to help here. Your recruitment consultant should be able to help. Also, if you are able to get hold of a present medical sales rep in the company, they will also be able to supply good detail to help out here.
Find out why others have failed with the recruiting manager. Any recruitment consultant who regularly deals with the recruiting manager will have had feedback from many candidates who have failed, and from this it should be able to form a good picture of likes and dislikes to avoid putting your foot in it and construct a strategy for you meeting.
Try to enjoy meeting your interviewer. Medical sales jobs are about meeting people, all day everyday. If you don't enjoy meeting people who are otherwise strangers, then maybe medical sales is not for you. When you present to the sales manager, he is seeing what customers will see if you are offered a role. To be successful you need to present as happy an cheerful, and indeed as someone who is enjoying the encounter, even if you are a little nervous.
I won't bore you with cliches about planning and preparation, but you can't really turn up for an interview for medical sales and be 'over prepared', and as I began above, the vast majority are under prepared, which will make it all the more easier for you to stand out if you do it properly.
