I am a recent college graduate with a Business Administration Degree with an emphasis in Marketing. I am looking to get a pharmaceutical or medical device sales job in the Lexington, KY/Cincinnati, OH or surrounding areas. I was hoping to get some tips from someone in the business, and hopefully make a contact or two. I have a good resume and cover letter-or as good as you can have fresh out of college-but would like someone to point me in the right direction. Also, I wouldn't mind suggestions for companies to apply to. Some that I have applies to already are Pfizer, Sanofi Aventis, Stryker. http://www.ethiconinc.com/bgdisplay.jhtm...
http://www.jnj.com/careers/global/index....
http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/J...
http://www.diversity-jobs.com/details/jo...
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/g...
http://www.medicalssi.com/job%20postings...
http://www.nrcols.com/
http://www.surgisales.com/Job%20Openings...
http://www.gene.com/gene/about/
http://www.gene.com/gene/about/corporate...
http://www.merck.com/careers/
http://www.hirerx.com/a/pharmaceutical/o...
http://www.napsronline.org/
(the above site has many pharm co's HQ linked on bottom right of page)
http://covidien.com/covidien/pagebuilder...
http://www.bostonscientific.com/Careers....
https://sjobs.brassring.com/1033/ASP/TG/...
http://www.abbott.com/global/url/content...
http://www.allergan.com/careers/index.ht...
http://www.depuy.com/Pages/Careers.aspx
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fort...
http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/fortune/c...
http://www.rocheusa.com/career/default.a...
http://www.roche-diagnostics.us/careers....
http://www.pharmahorizons.com/
Being an inexperienced new college grad, your best shot would be Pharmaceutical Sales because a Pharmaceutical company wants to train you in their drug line with their specific "detailing" style. I have attached the major fortune 500 drug companies in the U.S. If you call the corporate headquarters, sometimes they will give you the address of the regional sales manager in your area that you can forward your resume to. The bigger the company, the more corporate training involved, the bigger the chance that they will hire new grads.
Some companies use Recruiting Firms, the major names can be found in your local yellow pages. Most of the time pharm co's will simply put an ad in your Sunday paper for a open call for interviews. The recruiting firm is often easiest because they will just put a few good candidates up for a position. You set an appointment to meet with them & bring a resume. They will then put you in front of any possible medical/pharmaceutical managers that they feel are a good fit for the perspective employer. The newspaper open call will have you send your resume to a P.O. Box & then someone will call you for a phone interview if you meet their requirements. If that goes well, then they will schedule a face-to-face interview.
Most Pharmaceutical Co's are looking for a good GPA, good organizational skills, any activites that demonstrate team work skills. They are looking for a self-starter who is polished & can speak intelligently about their drugs, studies, etc. Most Pharm Co's have a 2-3 month training at their HQ. You do get a company car, so you must have a clean driving record.If you get a district /regional manager's name or interview follow-up is key. Always write a thank you letter & make a personal call too after any phone or personal interview. Know something about each company, as in major drugs, research news,homework is key in making yourself stand out . Watch & read medical news, if there is a new drug in the pipeline that usually means that the company will be launching it soon. This means new jobs openings in most markets.
Yet another way to get in front of a hiring exec is to use your college placement program. Almost all the Fortune 500 companies do campus recruiting. You can usually coordinate several interviews in a 2-3 day time frame with several companies while they are on campus.
Hopefully this will give you a good start. Get as many resumes out and be persistent.If all else fails,go to a teaching hospital in your area, hang out there on Mondays around noon. You will see at least 10 reps bringing in lunch for the interns. You can always ask for a card or a contact, lots of people used to ask me for info. Almost all wear a company name tag & are easy to spot. Your local pharmacies are also great to get contact names. The head pharmacist at CVS or Walgreens often not only has all of the PSR business cards & contact info but, they usually also have the district mgr's info. Make sure you go during the week around when they are less busy & have some time to talk.
Some drug co's look for a heavy science background but, most don't. Eli Lilly is an example of a company who mainly pulls from science, pharmacy, or medical backgrounds. The others are fine with a business degree. Get to know types of docs too. As a PSR the majority of your duties will have to do with organizing your day, setting meetings with Dr's & detailing them on the latest drug or study info, having educational luncheons, delivering samples, setting up seminars, special events,calling on departments of hospitals, & calling on Pharmacists in your zip coded sales territory area. You need to be computer savy as your daily calls are tracked & presentation info. is contained on your company provided laptop. All of this is very structured and meticulously taught in training but, it always helps to know a bit about what your job would entail when interviewing.
Good luck!
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Just thought of another field that is big for medical sales...homecare sales. Here is a link with all the locations in Ohio & Kentucky. You can give them a call or drop in and get regional or local contact info:
http://www.apria.com/branch_locator1/1,3...
http://www.coramhealthcare.com/
http://www.baxter.com/about_baxter/caree...
(pharm, equipment, home infusion) |
