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Main Subject - RX Interviewing an Insiders View of the Hiring Process
"Gallup research over the past 30 years has shown that top producers in every role have substantially different talent profiles than average or poor producers in the same role." - "The Right Fit" - The Gallup Organization.
Most managers agree that hiring the best person for the job is perhaps the most important step they will take in ensuring their team's long term success. In the pharmaceutical industry each company receives 500 resumes a day from those seeking an opportunity to be hired on within the industry. In fact looking at these numbers from a percentage point of few, you have a far better chance of being accepted to one of the nations most prestigious advanced degree p
Most managers agree that hiring the best person for the job is perhaps the most important step they will take in ensuring their team's long term success. In the pharmaceutical industry each company receives 500 resumes a day from those seeking an opportunity to be hired on within the industry. In fact looking at these numbers from a percentage point of few, you have a far better chance of being accepted to one of the nations most prestigious advanced degree p
According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product
rograms that to be hired as a pharmaceutical sales representative.
If your resume has been one of the hundreds reviewed and you are now preparing for a series of interviews, we are here to help. Most pharmaceutical companies either interview candidates right out of college, or are looking for candidates who have sales experience with another company. Which ever group you fit into, if you are like most people, you don't go through interviews every day. Whatever your background, you will benefit from the coaching and training we can provide you regarding what pharmaceutical managers are looking for and how they go about the interview and hiring process. This advantage will grea
If your resume has been one of the hundreds reviewed and you are now preparing for a series of interviews, we are here to help. Most pharmaceutical companies either interview candidates right out of college, or are looking for candidates who have sales experience with another company. Which ever group you fit into, if you are like most people, you don't go through interviews every day. Whatever your background, you will benefit from the coaching and training we can provide you regarding what pharmaceutical managers are looking for and how they go about the interview and hiring process. This advantage will grea
; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.
Examples of combination products may in
Examples of combination products may in
tly enhance the likelihood that you will land one of the most coveted sales positions in the country.
Understanding the Process of the Interview Hiring the wrong person can a costly mistake for an organization. It is estimated that it costs a company up to $200,000 to replace a representative that leaves the company after only 6 months of being on the job. These costs include the cost of advertising, time interviewing, salary, bonus, training, travel, etc…. Obviously, a company wants to do everything they can to avoid making such costly mistakes. They can reduce mistakes and improve the chances of hiring the right person by clearly identifying what the key capabilities are
Understanding the Process of the Interview Hiring the wrong person can a costly mistake for an organization. It is estimated that it costs a company up to $200,000 to replace a representative that leaves the company after only 6 months of being on the job. These costs include the cost of advertising, time interviewing, salary, bonus, training, travel, etc…. Obviously, a company wants to do everything they can to avoid making such costly mistakes. They can reduce mistakes and improve the chances of hiring the right person by clearly identifying what the key capabilities are
lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.
for a sales representative and hire candidates who can demonstrate they have those capabilities.
By capabilities we mean what are the key skills, knowledge, behaviors and motivators of successful pharmaceutical representatives. Later in the program we will review in depth what most pharmaceutical companies have identified as the key capabilities associated with success as a pharmaceutical representative. Although each company has different names for these capabilities, the generally are something similar to these:
Work Ethic or a Drive for Results
Planning and Organizing
Initiative and Perseverance
Decision Making
Communication or Influencing Skills
Te
By capabilities we mean what are the key skills, knowledge, behaviors and motivators of successful pharmaceutical representatives. Later in the program we will review in depth what most pharmaceutical companies have identified as the key capabilities associated with success as a pharmaceutical representative. Although each company has different names for these capabilities, the generally are something similar to these:
Work Ethic or a Drive for Results
Planning and Organizing
Initiative and Perseverance
Decision Making
Communication or Influencing Skills
Te
here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe
chnical Knowledge
Customer Service Orientation
Problem Solving
Impact or "Presence"
Market Knowledge
Teamwork
Motivation
Values
Because these key capabilities have been identified as vital to sales success in the Pharmaceutical Industry, they will be an important focus during the entire hiring process, from reviewing resumes, telephone screening, interviews and making the final decision. Because of this your whole focus during the process should be to demonstrate that you have these essential capabilities that will lead to success in Pharmaceutical Sales. All throughout the process if you focus your energies in finding ways to demonstrate s
Customer Service Orientation
Problem Solving
Impact or "Presence"
Market Knowledge
Teamwork
Motivation
Values
Because these key capabilities have been identified as vital to sales success in the Pharmaceutical Industry, they will be an important focus during the entire hiring process, from reviewing resumes, telephone screening, interviews and making the final decision. Because of this your whole focus during the process should be to demonstrate that you have these essential capabilities that will lead to success in Pharmaceutical Sales. All throughout the process if you focus your energies in finding ways to demonstrate s
d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.
Combination pro
Combination pro
trengths in each of the key capabilities you will increase your chances of being hired. This includes writing a resume, preparing for an interview, your performance during the interviews and in follow-up to the interviews. Think of it as if your job during each phase is to be able to demonstrate to the company that you have the capabilities that will make you successful as a representative and will show the company that you can eliminate the inherent risk the company takes when hiring a new representative. Your success will be enhanced greatly if you know and understand what the key competencies are before you go into the interview and have coaching in how to demonstrate these
ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc
competencies in the interview. That is the purpose of this program.
This requires thought and preparation in advance. It means you can't rely on your charm or whit to guarantee success. Nor can you rely too much on one strength such as a solid scholastic record, or good communication skills. It takes preparation in each of the major capabilities.
Obstacles to a Successful Interview
Many candidates never fully realize the reason why they were not successful in the interviewing process. After receiving notice that you have not gotten the job, have you ever looked back at the process and found that you failed because of one of the following most common and critical obstacles
This requires thought and preparation in advance. It means you can't rely on your charm or whit to guarantee success. Nor can you rely too much on one strength such as a solid scholastic record, or good communication skills. It takes preparation in each of the major capabilities.
Obstacles to a Successful Interview
Many candidates never fully realize the reason why they were not successful in the interviewing process. After receiving notice that you have not gotten the job, have you ever looked back at the process and found that you failed because of one of the following most common and critical obstacles
easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi
to success in an interview?
• You answered too much in a way you thought the interviewer wanted to hear
• You focused or relied too much on a few critical areas that you felt were important to the job, but not on a wide range of capabilities
• There were too many varied questions. You were not prepared to provide solid examples of past performance in a variety of key capabilities
• You answered all the questions but only provided theoretical statements of what you think applied to pharmaceutical sales.
• You could not provide enough concrete examples of your strengths in key capabilities
• You tried to steer the interviewer to focus on a set of key
• You answered too much in a way you thought the interviewer wanted to hear
• You focused or relied too much on a few critical areas that you felt were important to the job, but not on a wide range of capabilities
• There were too many varied questions. You were not prepared to provide solid examples of past performance in a variety of key capabilities
• You answered all the questions but only provided theoretical statements of what you think applied to pharmaceutical sales.
• You could not provide enough concrete examples of your strengths in key capabilities
• You tried to steer the interviewer to focus on a set of key
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
facts and capabilities which highlights what you perceive as your best qualities.
• You spent too much time discussing your beliefs without providing concrete evidence that you have particular capability strengths
Overcoming Obstacles to a Successful Interview
If you are lucky you can learn from your mistakes and interview better the next time around. However, you may not have many chances to land that coveted position. Remember, you are in an extremely competitive market and companies will only hire the best. So, how can you increase the likelihood of success the first try?
In order to increase your chances for success it is first helpful to understand the overall sele
• You spent too much time discussing your beliefs without providing concrete evidence that you have particular capability strengths
Overcoming Obstacles to a Successful Interview
If you are lucky you can learn from your mistakes and interview better the next time around. However, you may not have many chances to land that coveted position. Remember, you are in an extremely competitive market and companies will only hire the best. So, how can you increase the likelihood of success the first try?
In order to increase your chances for success it is first helpful to understand the overall sele
and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ
ction process that companies often use to select their representatives.
Typically a company and interviewers will try to gather three types of information before and during an interview including:
• General background information including work history, education and accomplishments. This is the general type of information included in a typical resume.
• Examples and/or stories a candidate can provide from their work or educational history which demonstrates he or she has shown the key competencies which are going to be required of him/her as a pharmaceutical representative.
• Clues that would indicate that there will be a good "fit" with the candidate and the
• General background information including work history, education and accomplishments. This is the general type of information included in a typical resume.
• Examples and/or stories a candidate can provide from their work or educational history which demonstrates he or she has shown the key competencies which are going to be required of him/her as a pharmaceutical representative.
• Clues that would indicate that there will be a good "fit" with the candidate and the
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
rganization. These clues would include the likes and dislikes and interests and goals of an individual.
Because it is not uncommon for a single interviewer to miss important information, or interpret information differently depending on their own background and/or internal biases, it is not uncommon for a candidate to be interviewed several times and by different people. These separate interviewers may cover the same questions or they may divide the three categories into sections and each interviewer will cover that section in detail. Either way, in the end they will gather together and review their information in order to make the final decision. This helps the company
Because it is not uncommon for a single interviewer to miss important information, or interpret information differently depending on their own background and/or internal biases, it is not uncommon for a candidate to be interviewed several times and by different people. These separate interviewers may cover the same questions or they may divide the three categories into sections and each interviewer will cover that section in detail. Either way, in the end they will gather together and review their information in order to make the final decision. This helps the company
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.
Following aspects would a
Following aspects would a
ensure that they are gathering all pertinent information related to the candidate as well as helping to eliminate biases they may have and to ensure they are focusing on candidates who demonstrate strengths with all key capabilities and behaviors.
If realizing that each pharmaceutical company is receiving 500 resumes a day has you discouraged, think for a moment of the monumental task each of these companies have in selecting the proper candidate from the thousands of resumes they receive yearly. Understanding the companies selection process may help you to best take advantage of the interview when it get it, whether it is a phone screen, a phone interview or a series of face t
If realizing that each pharmaceutical company is receiving 500 resumes a day has you discouraged, think for a moment of the monumental task each of these companies have in selecting the proper candidate from the thousands of resumes they receive yearly. Understanding the companies selection process may help you to best take advantage of the interview when it get it, whether it is a phone screen, a phone interview or a series of face t
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:
Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
o face interviews.
A companies selection process is like a filter or funnel.. As we discussed earlier the selection process can be an expensive process for a company. Therefore, they do not want to waste time interviewing candidates who are not qualified. Therefore they filter out non qualified candidates. One way of filtering out unqualified candidates is to have someone review resumes for basic qualifications which vary by companies but could, but not necessarily always, include the following:
• Bachelor Degree
• A specific types of degrees
• Minimum GPA
• Prior Sales experience
• Prior Pharmaceutical sales experience
T
• Bachelor Degree
• A specific types of degrees
• Minimum GPA
• Prior Sales experience
• Prior Pharmaceutical sales experience
T
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
his first pass may eliminate 80% of all resumes received. The next step is a usually a phone interview which will eliminate another 60% of those who were originally passed on by the resume review.
A phone interview will be followed up by one or a series of in-depth face to face interviews. Since interviews are the most expensive part of the process these are reserved for those who have already demonstrated in their resume and phone interview that they potentially have demonstrated the key capabilities necessary for success as a pharmaceutical sales representative. The point being that you must right the resume and be prepared for the phone interview in a way to demonstrate that
A phone interview will be followed up by one or a series of in-depth face to face interviews. Since interviews are the most expensive part of the process these are reserved for those who have already demonstrated in their resume and phone interview that they potentially have demonstrated the key capabilities necessary for success as a pharmaceutical sales representative. The point being that you must right the resume and be prepared for the phone interview in a way to demonstrate that
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
you have the proven capabilities. You must also go into the final face to face interviews fully prepared to demonstrate the key capabilities and not "wing it". If you are serious about getting the job, you need to seriously prepare. Individual coaching by industry professionals can greatly enhance your ability to move through this process successfully.
Another way to get through this screening phase is to rely on a recruiter to qualify candidates. When a company works through a recruiter, they are relying on the recruiter to narrow down the list of candidates to a list of specifications provided by the pharmaceutical company. While a recruiter will provide an "in" to the int
Another way to get through this screening phase is to rely on a recruiter to qualify candidates. When a company works through a recruiter, they are relying on the recruiter to narrow down the list of candidates to a list of specifications provided by the pharmaceutical company. While a recruiter will provide an "in" to the int
t?
As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
erview they may not be able to provide the in-depth coaching to help you to prepare to successfully match what the company is looking for.
Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Capabilities and Behaviors
In order to help you prepare for the interview process we defined each of the key capabilities used by most pharmaceutical companies.
Work Ethic or Drive for Results - Exceeds expectations; maintains a high sense of urgency; consistently completes objectives and proactively follows up on commitments
Planning and Organizing - Efficiently organizes and prioritizes time and resources in order to accomplish goals.
Initiative and Perseverance - Starts and pursues an activity or go
Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Capabilities and Behaviors
In order to help you prepare for the interview process we defined each of the key capabilities used by most pharmaceutical companies.
Work Ethic or Drive for Results - Exceeds expectations; maintains a high sense of urgency; consistently completes objectives and proactively follows up on commitments
Planning and Organizing - Efficiently organizes and prioritizes time and resources in order to accomplish goals.
Initiative and Perseverance - Starts and pursues an activity or go
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.
Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
al until it is accomplished despite having to
overcome obstacles, disappointment, adversity, complications and / or rejection.
Decision Making - Considers all available alternatives and evaluates all options when making a decision.
Communication or Influencing Skills - Listens, observes and adapts to the needs and profile of a customer and is able to understand them and respond to them in an articulate, coherent and logical manner in order to gain agreement or acceptance of an idea or plan.
Technical Knowledge - Learns and remembers and is able to apply complicated and complex technical concepts, terminology and information.
Customer Service Orientation - Builds and maintain
Decision Making - Considers all available alternatives and evaluates all options when making a decision.
Communication or Influencing Skills - Listens, observes and adapts to the needs and profile of a customer and is able to understand them and respond to them in an articulate, coherent and logical manner in order to gain agreement or acceptance of an idea or plan.
Technical Knowledge - Learns and remembers and is able to apply complicated and complex technical concepts, terminology and information.
Customer Service Orientation - Builds and maintain
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
s long term relationships and customer loyalty by determining and meeting customer's needs and providing customer service.
Problem Solving - Gathers, interprets and uses a variety of information in order to solve problems and maximize opportunities.
Impact or Presence - Reflects a professional impression through appearance, speech, demeanor and actions at all times.
Market Knowledge - Maintains current information and knowledge about the current state of the industry and local market such as competitors, physicians, hospitals, practices, etc…
Teamwork - Collaborates with others in order to maximize effectiveness of personal results as well as the results and effectiveness of o
Problem Solving - Gathers, interprets and uses a variety of information in order to solve problems and maximize opportunities.
Impact or Presence - Reflects a professional impression through appearance, speech, demeanor and actions at all times.
Market Knowledge - Maintains current information and knowledge about the current state of the industry and local market such as competitors, physicians, hospitals, practices, etc…
Teamwork - Collaborates with others in order to maximize effectiveness of personal results as well as the results and effectiveness of o
.
As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
ther members of the sales team, division, company, etc…
Motivation - Gains personal satisfaction from the day to day activities and responsibilities common to a pharmaceutical representative and are satisfied with the geographic location of the position.
Values - Holds and defends values which are consistent with the culture of the company.
Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Capability Response Exercise
We will now move on to an interviewing exercise. We would like you to approach this exercise as if you were in an interview. Like all interviews, the first step you will need to do before we go forward with the interview is to send us your resume by fax or email.
The next s
Motivation - Gains personal satisfaction from the day to day activities and responsibilities common to a pharmaceutical representative and are satisfied with the geographic location of the position.
Values - Holds and defends values which are consistent with the culture of the company.
Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Capability Response Exercise
We will now move on to an interviewing exercise. We would like you to approach this exercise as if you were in an interview. Like all interviews, the first step you will need to do before we go forward with the interview is to send us your resume by fax or email.
The next s
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.
Companies that provide selfless information through particip
Companies that provide selfless information through particip
tep would be a phone or face to face interview. I have several potential (and actual questions) which have been used in interviews by pharmaceutical firms in the past. They are organized much as a real interviewer may approach an interview. Respond to each question as you think may be appropriate to do so in an interview. Do not try to "out think" this exercise. Remember, if you were in an interview you would not have time to review, edit and rethink your response. Therefore, try to answer each of these questions with your natural response without rewriting or reediting your responses. Write or type your answers after each questions and either email or fax your response back
tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products
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