As a resume writer, I get a lot of clients who are looking to switch careers into pharmaceutical sales, as well as new college grads who would like to enter the field upon graduation. Do job-seekers with no experience in pharmaceutical sales -- or even no experience in sales -- stand a chance of breaking into this popular but competitive field? The answer is a resounding "maybe." This article will give you some guidelines on increasing your odds.

The pharmaceutical-sales field, often called "recession-proof," is popular because it offers excellent salary potential, great benefits, flexibility, opportunity for growth, and frequently the use of a company car. An aging population of baby boomers, the shift away from clinical treatment of illnesses in hospitals, and the fact that people seek a good quality of life as life expectancies continue to increase are among the factors spurring the growth of the pharmaceutical sector. "The pharmaceutical industry is among the largest, most stable, and fastest growing businesses in the entire world," writes Anne Clayton in her book, Insight into a Career in Pharmaceutical Sales. The industry has grown 300 percent in the last decade, according to the Hay Group, a global organizational and human-resources consulting firm.

The job is also seen as somewhat prestigious. "A pharmaceutical sales representative sells a technologically advanced product to highly intelligent physicians in a very professional environment," writes pharmaceutical sales recruiter Pat Riley, summing up the field's appeal. Riley is author of several e-books on how to break into pharmaceutical sales.

What kind of people are pharmaceutical firms looking for in sales jobs? For starters, the gender split among reps is just about even. While some employers look at a fairly narrow range of applicants, others are open to many types of candidates. Take Pfizer, for example, which states on its sales careers page that the company seeks "college graduates, experienced salespeople, junior military officers and anyone else with the intellect, experience and stamina to take on the challenges of a fast-track career." The company further seeks those with "the technical knowledge and business competencies we're looking for," as well as those who are creative self-starters with an interest in medicine or science, and strong interpersonal skills.

While some pharmaceutical firms will hire inexperienced college students (Riley notes that only larger firms such as Pfizer and Merck hire new grads), it's rare to find a job in pharmaceutical sales if you have no college degree. Those hoping to break into the field without a degree will almost certainly need to have successful sales records to be considered.

Pharmaceutical employers frequently seek those with at least two years of sales experience, preferably business-to-business sales. Previous jobs that offered strong sales-training programs also are viewed favorably. A record of promotions can be a big plus.

Of those with no sales experience, candidates with a healthcare or clinical background may have an edge. A strong record of accomplishments is also important.

Other traits mentioned by experts as helpful in landing a job in this field are being organized, goal-driven, creative, polished, persuasive, motivated, energetic, trustworthy, willing to learn, aggressive, smart, ethical, confident, ambitious, positive, self-starting, patient, persistent, a problem-solver, a team player who also performs well independently, a good time-manager and prioritizer, and a personable great communicator. Additional desirable traits include good listening skills, integrity, negotiation skills, and presentation skills. It's generally OK to be money-motivated. You should have good physical stamina for the long hours and all the driving you will likely do, as well as carrying hefty sample cases. You may be required to travel and relocate.

Enthusiasm for science is important. "If you don't have an aptitude for science, or don't like science, this job will not be fun," writes 18-year pharmaceutical-sales vet Corey Nahman of CoreyNahman.com.

A press release on MedZilla quotes Roz Usheroff, a coach and communications specialist who works with pharmaceutical sales reps. Usheroff has a pharmaceutical firm client that uses an acronym, "PRSAMGH," to describe key characteristics it looks for in an interview. The acronym, Usheroff says, stands for "proactivity, receptivity, stability, ability, motivation, goal orientation, and honesty." Riley adds that pharmaceutical firms hire the "best and the brightest" because they "invest more in research and development than any other industry" and "spend millions of dollars to develop and market new products."

You'll likely need a clean driving record, a good credit report, and the ability to pass a background check and a drug screening.

For college students -- and others looking to break in -- getting an internship with a pharmaceutical firm can provide a boost. Sometimes it helps to already be living in the sales territory you would represent.

Foreign-language skills may be a plus as firms vie to break into emerging markets.

The best way to really get a feel for what the pharmaceutical firms are looking for is to study lots of job postings and ads placed by these employers and observe what qualifications they list.

Your Resume
It's not unusual for a drug company to get hundreds of resumes for every opening, so yours needs to stand out and be strategically targeted not only to pharmaceutical sales, but to the company and opening you're after. Yes, that means you will need to tweak your resume for every pharmaceutical sales job you apply for. The appearance of job-hopping and gaps in employment can be seen as negatives by pharmaceutical employers, and of course, the best way to avoid those on your resume is to have a steady employment record. If you don't, you may want to enlist the assistance of a professional resume writer in de-emphasizing the negatives. In fact, several experts on breaking into the field cite professional resume writers as an essential investment no matter what your job record is like.

All resumes should be accomplishments-driven, but one for pharma sales should especially be so. Noting that he is "continually amazed at how many candidates understate vital aspects of their career on their resume because they are too close to their career or they do not know how to say it with power," Riley recommends a great-looking resume loaded with "accomplishments, accomplishments, accomplishments." See our article, For Job-Hunting Success: Track and Leverage Your Accomplishments.

An effective pharmaceutical-sales resume also must have the right keywords. See our articles, Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume's Effectiveness and especially, Researching Keywords in Employment Ads, which features pharmaceutical sales.

Here's a sample resume that lists lots of good keywords and highlights appropriate sales accomplishments.

Networking
Networking is a huge advantage in getting into pharmaceutical sales because most firms advertise vacancies only when they are unable to fill them by word of mouth. Tell everyone you know you're interested in getting into the field. Talk to doctors and pharmacists and ask them for names of reps. Riley singles out talking with pharmaceutical sales reps and district managers as the absolute best way to break into the business, noting that a referral from a rep to his or her manager is "golden," carrying "more weight than a resume from any other source."

Establish relationships with recruiters who specialize in the pharmaceutical field.

Keep your eye open for pharmaceutical job fairs, as pharma firms frequently use these for recruiting.

Applying through Pharmaceutical Company Web Sites
While networking is the best bet in landing a job in this field, another way in is through applying on pharmaceutical company Web sites. (See our Quintessential Directory of Company Career Centers: Pharmaceutical Companies, updated with dozens of pharmaceutical firms). But as Riley cautions, the rigorous screening process begins at this point because you do not simply submit a resume; you undergo a screening and ranking test. A better strategy, Riley advises, may be to use your networking contacts to obtain names of people to whom to send your resume.

Brag Books
Many pharmaceutical firms expect candidates to bring a portfolio known as a "brag book" to interviews. Since you don't know which hiring managers want to see these books and which don't, you really need to have one ready. You can find more than one anecdote on pharmaceutical-sales discussion boards about candidates with brag books who were hired over those without one. Teena Rose, author of Cracking the Code to Pharmaceutical Sales, writes that a brag book can contain recent awards, recognition letters from superiors, recommendation letters from previous employers, detailed lists of sales achievements beyond what's in your resume, continuing-education certificates, and personally cultivated sales spreadsheets (as long as they aren't confidential). Ask other pharmaceutical reps if you can see their brag books to get a feel for how to do yours.

Interviewing
The drug companies want to make sure they get it right when they hire because they typically invest a lot in training new reps. Thus, interviewing for a pharmaceutical sales position is typically a multi-interview process spread out over several months. We've read reports of as many as 15 interviews before the candidate landed the job. Riley calls the process "probably the biggest series of exams you will ever take." The process often begins with a telephone interview to screen candidates and whittle down a large pool of applicants. See our article, Phone Interview Etiquette Can Propel You to the Next Step in the Hiring Process.

The heart of the interview process is with the district manager who hires for his or her district, and interviews over meals may be part of the mix.

Solid preparation is always advisable before job interviews, but for pharmaceutical sales, you may want to kick your preparation up several notches. Job-shadowing, also known as doing a ride-along or preceptorship, with a working rep can be enormously beneficial, as can informational interviewing. Ride-alongs are also frequently part of the interview process; be sure in that situation to observe everything carefully and ask the rep questions, as you in turn will be questioned by a hiring manager about what you learned during the experience.

Of course you'll scour the employer's Web site for information, but you will likely want to go beyond that by looking for news items about the company and learn what products might be in its pipeline. Look for annuals reports, news releases, and stock-market reports. Find out about competing products and companies. Some good sources for pharmaceutical-industry news include: