Readers: Dr. Randall Hansen, a nationally recognized career expert, is the Career Doctor.
Discover more about Dr. Hansen, read about the purpose of this column,
and find previous issues of this column at the home of The Career Doctor.
Dr. Hansen writes this column on a biweekly basis. If you have any college, career, or job-related questions or comments that Dr. Hansen could
provide valuable assistance with, please
feel free to email him at: careerdr@quintcareers.com.
Natasha writes:
My name is Natasha and I graduated from college at end of 2003 with a major in biology.
I am interested in landing a job in pharmaceutical sales (its proven to be very difficult
to even get an interview) and if that's impossible, then I would like to work in
marketing and advertising for companies that work with pharmaceutical companies.
I have a little over a year sales experience that is not pharma related, so I would be
looking for an entry level position. I already have a resume and cover letter for this
position, but I may need it to be redone. Your thoughts?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Pharmaceutical sales remains one of the hottest career choices of college
students and recent grads. Real estate has been gaining ground, but recent
interest rate hikes and a cooling market may signal more folks back to pharmaceutical sales.
I don’t want to get your hopes up, but your background is really perfect.
Pharmaceutical companies want someone who has a science background
(so you can understand and explain what you’re selling) and proven sales experience.
But you have to be able to sell yourself first. And in job-hunting terms, that
means you need to have a record of accomplishments recorded on your key
marketing document, your resume. Sales is all about success, conversions.
So, your resume needs to showcase specific (quantifiable) results.
Two more obvious credentials are also necessary: passing a drug test and
possessing a good driving record.
The best way to break into the business is through your network. I would contact
your college’s career or alumni offices and get contacts for alums who work in
pharmaceutical sales. If you have doctors in your network (including your personal
physician), ask them for contact information on the reps that call on their offices.
Of course, you could also apply directly to the pharmaceutical companies through
their corporate Websites, and there are also a number of science-related sites that
contain job postings.
Find lots more detailed tips and suggestions, including tips from current pharmaceutical
reps, in this article published on Quintessential Careers:
So You
Want to Get Into Pharmaceutical Sales...
Q:
Anonymous writes:
I am facing a dilemma. I just lost a job due, according to the hiring manager,
to my references. I had not yet provided this firm with any references other
than two letters of references I had on file. The problem is that two of my l
ast jobs were highly political and one for a politician who many of the remaining
governmental employees do not regard favorably. My question is how to purge
these bad experiences from my resume. Is it possible just to remove them, and
start looking in another field? Can I group them as consultancies, and ask that
they not be contacted? I made some terrible decisions in taking these jobs
and unfortunately, they have followed me around, and my reputation is now
linked to these experiences. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
It’s always a little more difficult to job-hunt when you have worked for
one or more controversial organizations, unless of course you are looking
for employment with organizations with the same political or religious
affiliation. Hiring managers are always sensitive to the dynamics of the
work environment and are looking for employees that will fit in rather than
stir the pot.
Of course, just because you worked for a controversial organization does
not mean you are branded for life, and since you are getting interviews, it
shows that having these jobs on your resume is not totally affecting your job-search.
I believe your problem lies with your view and use of references, not your job
experiences… though you may also be overly sensitive to the fact and that
may also come across in your interview. So, besides taking my advice about
references, I would ask this interviewer to honestly tell you how you performed
in the interview itself.
Now to references. First, forget letters of recommendation. Might as well throw
them away or frame them for keepsakes. No employers wants letters -- because
someone who is going to write you a letter of recommendation and hand it to you
is never going to say something negative about you. Employers want references --
people they can talk to about your accomplishments and performance on the job.
References do NOT need to be former bosses, although if you had good working
relationships with your bosses use them. References can be co-workers, other
managers, even major clients -- anyone who worked with you and can attest to
your skills and abilities. And you always want to use people who will say favorable
things about you.
Sheryl writes:
I was reading your article that was on the internet, about
Fighting the
Overqualified Label: 10 Tactics for a Successful Job-Search. I wanted to ask a
question that pertains to my situation. I was a director at a major healthcare
organization until 2004, when I was outplaced due to an organizational
downsizing. At the beginning of 2005, my dad took very ill, so I went to
care for him (leaving the state) until his passing late summer. I just began
looking for a position within my area of expertise. My challenge is that I
made in the upper $80's as a salary, looking to stay within the area where
I live, and feel that whatever I apply for, looks like they cannot afford me, or I
am overqualified. My question is how can I get noticed?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
I think you are going to face multiple challenges. You are limiting yourself to a
specific and limited geographic area, you were downsized, and you have been
out of work. What kind of jobs and in what industries are you looking? Was h
ealthcare a passion -- or was the job of directing it your passion?
The first thing you need to do is deal with the gap. Have you been doing any
kind of consulting or volunteering? Taken any classes? Because we are talking
two years here, you want to show that you have been still active at some level.
If you have not done any of these things, now is the time to do so.
The second thing is to evaluate the types of jobs, companies, and industries
that interest you. Since you are looking at a specific geographic area, this
should be an easy task. While doing so, you should be reconnecting and building
your network. At this level, your network is crucial to getting good job leads.
I would also suggest talking with at least one executive recruiter who
specializes in your geographic area.
The third thing is to work on your job-search techniques. Your resume is going to
need work, and because you are open to mid-level positions as well as senior
positions, you should work on your interviewing skills as well. You should
appear open to opportunities, but not desperate.
Q:
Sasha writes:
Hello Dr. Hansen, I came across your website with career advice as I was
doing some research on optometry. I have just recently been accepted to
an optometry school in Florida. I have been shadowing an optometrist for the
last 5 months and I really enjoy the work. But I am apprehensive about the
career choice because I have heard so many negative things from different
people. What I mostly here is that there is a saturation of optometrist, and
that finding a job is hard. I've also heard horror stories about retail practice.
All this really scares me because as you know optometry isn't short nor cheap.
Being that you are a career adviser, I wanted to know if you had any information
about all this. If you could help me out I would really appreciate it being that
I was accepted and need to make a decision soon.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
First, I have to give you major kudos for doing as much research as you have
completed on your potential career field. Yours could be a case study for
other job-seekers… it’s important to ask these kinds of questions, shadow
someone already working in the field, and research all angles, especially
where additional education is required.
The best source for your answers would be the optometry schools you are considering.
Ask them the tough questions about placement of their graduates -- and about the
placement assistance they offer. Ask to speak to one or more of the faculty about
their views on the future.
My brother Wes, another Dr. Hansen, is an optometrist in Atlanta, and has been for
quite a few years now, so I asked him to comment on your questions -- and here is what he said:
Optometry has always been a medical field with a retail side to it, but unfortunately, the
retailers like Pearle, LensCrafters and the big box places like Sams and Costco have
really pushed things into the hard sale, retail arena. The retailers have taken over what
was traditionally the optometrist's business and have now taken control of a good part of
the sales in the optical market. That said, there are still plenty of opportunities for
private practice either in a solo or group or hospital setting. A small percentage of
optometrists go into research or go into public health. I'm not sure what the Florida job
market is like, but here in Atlanta, where there is a somewhat saturated market, a full time
optometrist can still find a full time job or do fill-in (locum tenens) work for other
established doctors and make a decent living. The going rate for fill-in work is in
excess of $400/day in my market.
