There are a lot of articles on how to prepare for the interview, but knowing what not to do is often as important as knowing what to do.
Our team of medical recruiters see these 7 mistakes over and over. Make sure you do not make any of these blunders during your next medical sales interview.
1. Not dressing for the job
2. Not bringing copies of your resume
3. Texting or picking up a phone on a ride along
4. Not having good questions for the hiring manager
5. Talking about salary/ commission before the interviewer brings it up
6. Talking negatively about your old company/boss
7. Not asking for the job
1. Talking about salary/commission before the interviewer brings it up. We all know medical sales representatives should be money motivated and commission driven, but do not make the mistake of just talking about money and how much commission you can make. Never bring up money before the interviewer does. Sales Managers want someone who is going to drive the sales and wants to make great money, but more importantly they want someone who has a proven track record of success, knows products, the territory, culture of the company and can be a team player. Let the hiring manager find out about you and lead the money conversation.
2. Not having good questions for the hiring manager. Have you ever been on an interview and they ask “Do you have any questions?” Do not blunder here and say no. If you have read our article Top 7 Interview Questions When Applying for a Medical Sales Job and Why They are Asked you would know you need to make sure you have good questions for the hiring manager. Asking well thought out insightful questions show you are a prepared, intelligent candidate.
3. Texting or picking up a phone on a ride along. I am including a ride along as an interview because it’s an important part of the process. Unfortunately many sales representatives are not taking this step seriously and blow their chances at landing the job. A common mistake medical sales representative’s make is texting or picking up their phone while they are on a ride along with a sales representative from the hiring company. The sales representative you ride with is part of the interviewing process and will be giving feedback to the hiring manager. Be professional on the ride along treat it like an interview. We have seen many people knocked out at this point for being too casual.
4. Not bringing copies of your resume. A few years ago when people applied for a position they sent a nice copy of their resume by mail to the hiring manager. Today the most common way of applying for a position is to upload your resume to a job board or email your resume to a recruiter. For that reason candidates often overlook the need to print their resume on nice paper and bring a few copies to the interview. This can be a blunder. When you first sit down to interview one of your first questions should be do you need a copy of my resume? The second impression of you as a candidate after your attire is your resume presentation. Make sure you have your resume printed on high end paper. Also bring a few copies, in case another person unexpectedly joins the interview.
5. Not dressing for the job. This is common sense but for some reason many people do not dress to impress. What you wear to the interview does matter and it is the first impression a hiring manager has. While many go for business casual, it is not OK to be business casual on an interview. Men should a wear neutral colored suite, always wear a tie and have your shoes shined. Women should wear neutral colored suite or business style dress.
6. Talking negatively about your old company/boss. Another question that always comes up on an interview is “Tell me why you are looking.” At this point do not blunder and say anything negative about your current company or boss, even if that is exactly why you are looking. Managers will be wary of you and think you do not get along with others and may even be concerned you will speak badly of them in the future.
7. Not asking for the job. Sales 101, always close the interview. Sales managers are going to think you will not ask for the business if you cannot ask for the job. Always close the interview by letting the hiring manager know you are interested. More candidates are knocked out of the interview process for this blunder.
Now that you have read our Top 7 Blunders during a Medical Sales Interview, you will be sure not to make them on your next interview and be well on your way to you dream medical sales job.
