More and more medical sales (including pharmaceutical sales) companies are requiring Job Candidates to have a  phone interview with the Hiring Manager as the first step towards being granted a “face to face” interview.  In some of the larger companies the Human Resource Department will conduct the first phone interview and then schedule you for a second phone interview with the Hiring Manager.  If you pass all the phone interview exercises, you are granted the opportunity to meet with the Hiring Manager for the first “face to face” interview.  Add on top of this process the phone discussion or pre-screen you had with your recruiter and you could have up to three barrier points of entry before you get to the real stuff; the actual “person to person” live interview!

What does this mean?  As this practice becomes more common place, understanding how to conduct yourself and present yourself via the phone becomes critical.  A first impression in a phone interview is limited to really two things: audio impression and the printed word (your resume) to the interviewer. 

Emphasis on the first impression is shifted from the visual to the audio in a phone interview.  Most Job Candidates do not realize that this really changes the entire playing field!  In any game, you must understand how to prepare yourself and which skills will be needed to make it a win.  Many top tennis players know the skill differences needed to play on a slow clay court vs. a fast grass court.  Clay courts take away most of the advantages of a big serve, much like a phone interview taking away the advantage of “The Dress for Success” impression of the interview!  So how do you play the phone interview?  By understanding what works and what does not work. Read the rest of this entry »

 

 

Have you been offered a job you’ve truly desired only to be disappointed with a low offer?  Your potential employer knows your current salary and generally feels that a 10% -15% pay increase is completely fair and will be acceptable to you, especially in this economic downturn. 

 

By Anissa Neubauer

Former District Sales Manager in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Sales

Founder of Kick Consulting.

www.kickconsulting.com

 

You on the other hand, are leaving your current position because you feel you should have been making at least that much money for the past year or so.  How do you make the negotiation process a win-win?  Let’s use this example.  Your current base salary is $60,000.  You feel you deserve $85,000.  The offer on the table is $70,000.

1.       First, I would thank them for the offer and reconfirm your desire to work for their organization.  Then I’d explain that you had expected a base salary of $85,000 based on your experience and proven sales success.

2.       I’d then say to the hiring manager, “If this is the only thing coming between us working together, I am confident that we can come up with something that will work for us both.  Would you mind if I ran some ideas by you on how we might work this out so that this is a win-win for everyone?

 

Some people recommend providing the hiring manager with your bottom dollar, but I wouldn’t do that.  I’ve been in this situation when interviewing for a District Manager position and I asked the VP if he had any wiggle room on the base salary and gave him suggestions on additional incentives that could be added to the package to offset the lower salary. By the way, we met in the middle on salary and I received a relocation package, signing bonus to cover my loss of stock and commission and a three month guarantee which overall netted me more income than the base salary I’d initially requested.  

 

 Also, as a hiring manager, I would not be offended that you ask to run some ideas by me.  I’d actually be intrigued and impressed that you were a good negotiator.  Of course, you might even consider pointing that out as one of the reasons you are being offered the sales position, tactfully, of course.  It isn’t always what you say or ask, but how you present yourself. 

Ok, you’ve put your price out there, but if the employer cannot meet your requests, where else can they bridge the gap?  I would offer the following suggestions:

If the hiring manager or HR manager pushes back on your $85,000 request, explain to them, that you understand that they may not be able to meet your expectation of an $85,000 salary, however you’d like to see if they could get a bit closer to your number and if there are other incentives that could help bridge the gap.  Ask if they could help with any of the following: 

1.       Relocation expenses (if there will be any)

2.       Signing bonus to cover lost commissions or stock awards from your current employer

3.       Three month commission guarantee

4.       Additional vacation

5.       Company stock

Another request you should consider is to ask to have your base salary increased after six months if your performance is exceeding their standards.  Six months is key because you should be eligible for a pay increase after one year and you want that to be based off your new salary.  Of course, find out upfront if any of these incentives are already in your offer before using them as negotiations tools.  

By Anissa Neubauer of www.kickconsulting.com   anissa@kickconsulting.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, we know that Blogs are considered, well…. sort of Geeky to many and even though Cooper Anderson may be mentioning his every night after his TV news program…well how many people really go there to read them, right?  Well with that in mind,  We have been upgrading and adding to our RecruitBUZZ Blog style and content over the weekend and realized that we should really offer some suggestions and tips on how to best use our Medical Sales Blog. 

Yep, Blogs may still be considered Geeky, but let’s face it…..Anderson Cooper does not have a program every week on what us folks in the Medical Sales Industry are interested….jobs and career interests specific to our field.  RecruitBUZZ only has those interests in mind, your medical sales career interests and our Blog is the best way for us to give you information specific to our industry weekly; We have constructed this blog to provide free advice and resources specific to our industry (Medical, Pharmaceutical, Dental, BioMedical and related industries).  A place where our previous and extensive Medical Sales Hiring and Medical Sales Recruiting experience could be shared and possibly be of some benefit to our Job Seekers.

So expect this article to be like, well you know, like that Geeky Science Teacher you had in 7th grade who kept pushing his glasses back up his nose.  These instructions will help you utilize our growing blog to be a resource for you as you stay up to date in our industry with our daily news feeds, our current job openings, or all the interviewing and resume career articles, links and etc. that we are beginning to pack into this site!  So shoot down a cup of java to stay awake and lets see if we can give you some geeky blogging tips to help you maximize the career information on this site and any other Blog you may visit!

With that goal in mind, you will see our young BUZZ BLOG (1 year old in February of 2009), blossom and unfold as we learn more about your needs and as we get better at blogging!  As of today’s writing you can utilize the following RecruitBUZZ Tools to enhance your experience with us:

Blog Search Button Added

The Search Button was added to help you find articles within our Blog using “key word” search and can be found in the upper right hand corner just under the “Job Honeycomb Portal”.  As an example; if you wish to find an artcile about Brag Books or Field Visits, you would merely type in those words and those articles or reply comments to an article would appear. Read the rest of this entry »

So you read my last article on how to build your own Gorilla Career and Social Networking Machine, but alas, you have not kept track of your previous medical sales managers or medical sales co workers.  Worse, you are interviewing and you need at least two previous hiring manager references and you need to find them NOW! Now what? 

 

Well, as in theme with our Gorilla Job Search Tactics series, I am about to give you the secrets to quickly getting to multiple FREE web resources to track down people that you need to always have in your Medical Sales Career Networking Machine:

 

USE these tools to FIND: 

• Past Medical Sales Managers that were your immediate boss
• Former Co-Workers that you once knew well
• Former Co-Workers that you said hello to at meetings and new casually (they can help you find a job too)
• Previous Customers still in your industry that loved you as a Sales Person
• People you worked with and knew, but they were in other Departments (Marketing, Clinical Managers, Clinical Reimbursement Managers, Product Managers, even Medical Sales Engineers and Regional VP’s, VP of Sales and the President of your former company IF they knew you even slightly). 

All these people are crucial to your future employment insurance plan!  These people may not be easy to find, but here are your quick Free Web resources to kick off your Gorilla Hunt to track down your old contacts: Read the rest of this entry »