Breaking into Pharmaceutical jobs - advice for trainees
Breaking into Pharma Jobs - Advice for Pharmaceutical Trainees
From the outside, the 'Pharma jobs world’ correctly looks an attractive place to further your sales career – Pharma jobs carry generous salaries, interesting products, an educated client base, exceptional training and plenty of choice. If you’re currently employed in selling FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), financial services, IT or recruitment, a Pharma role could be the right move for you. So how do you go about setting up an interview?
The Pharma jobs industry is looking increasingly outside of its traditional areas of recruitment from life science graduates, nursing and the like. As the NHS has evolved into more localised decision making over prescription drugs, so the industry has broadened its pharmaceutical recruitment options– looking for a greater variety of backgrounds and industrial experience.
This is a diverse business – from household name brands to generic (off patent) products, and from specialist hospital-only drugs to products sold over the counter in retail pharmacies. Pharmaceutical companies themselves sit in the wider sector of ‘healthcare’ and this title can cover everything from medical devices, equipment, to biotechnology and private hospital services. Make some choices – decide which customers you’d prefer to sell to, what environment you’d prefer to work within, and what products you’d like to promote.
Do your research
Every company is different – people in Pharma jobs can call on GPs, hospitals or PCTs and sell drugs, but they will differ in how they approach virtually every aspect of the work and the career paths they can offer. Talk to your neighbourhood chemist or doctor if you know them (introduce yourself if you don’t!). Try and make contact with some local people in Pharma jobs and meet with them and visit company web sites – they’ll all lay out products, customer care, careers etc.
Choose an agency
Many companies use the services of specialist Pharmaceutical Recruitment agencies to help fill their Pharma jobs – don’t just sign up with the first one that you come across – check them out too. Ideally look for these characteristics in any consultant or agency –senior industry experience, a track record in placing people from outside the industry and aim to get an idea of their relationship with your ‘target’ company.
For more information on breaking into the Pharmaceutical industry, please contact us