Following our recent article focused on employer branding from an organisation perspective, we now consider the implications of this from a job seeker’s perspective.

In today’s competitive job market, it’s becoming increasingly vital that applicants have the best possible experience throughout a recruitment process. Organisations need to consider that the ideal candidate experience should reflect the high expectations of the ideal customer experience. In both digital and real world environments, job seekers should be treated as customers by recruiting organisations. Any applicant should be treated in the same way that recruiting managers would like to be treated. Employer branding plays a significant role in achieving this.

Done well, employer branding serves to demonstrate an organisation’s recognition of an applicant’s potential value, as well as giving them confidence in joining an organisation and the way they do business. In our experience of assisting organisations to achieve employer brand excellence, we’ve found that a simple and streamlined application process gets the best results. Key to the success is acknowledgement of application and regular feedback at all stages of the recruitment process. Professional and knowledgeable recruitment specialists, who show a genuine interest in the candidate and their success is also an important aspect. Ensuring that information and updates are provided regularly will allow a job applicant the opportunity to make an informed decision as to whether an organisation is the right fit for them.

I truly believe the ultimate candidate experience goes beyond the recruitment process, right through to onboarding and induction. All of these touchpoints and experiences are hugely influential in terms of a successful applicant building up a picture of who an organisation is and how they operate. This is critical in ensuring a new employee settles in well and, importantly, wants to stay for the long-term.

Being a job seeker is an experience, and naturally, candidates want it to be a good one. Organisations must bear in mind that applying for a job and living through the recruitment process can be a stressful situation. It’s therefore important to try to make the experience as enjoyable as possible, whilst still achieving the same outcome. Providing clarity, open dialogue and setting expectations for all applicants, whether successful or not, allows candidates to learn from the experience and hopefully feel positive about the process they have been through.

Creating a great candidate experience cannot be a one-hit strategy. It’s developed over various interactions with an organisation, which typically include:
• Research
• Application
• Interviewing
• Acceptance or rejection
• Onboarding

A candidate will frame their overall experience from whether they gain a positive, negative, or neutral impression in each of these stages.

Strong employer branding has a number of proven benefits to both retention and cost of hire. As mentioned in my previous article, it’s been shown to reduce employee turnover rates and can significantly reduce hiring costs.

The recipe is actually pretty simple; the better an organisation is in developing, implementing and maintaining a strong employer brand, the more likely they are to attract and retain the best talent.
The fact is that employer branding exists whether you like it or not. The job seeker’s external perception of an organisation forms their employer brand and this will happen regardless of whether it’s managed actively or passively.

Strong candidate experience allows employers to maintain a relationship with both successful and unsuccessful applicants. This helps to retain their interest in an organisation and it’s important to remember that if a candidate is unsuccessful for a particular vacancy, they may be suitable for future positions and therefore may become an employee at some point in time. From a candidate’s perspective; if an organisation doesn’t take the time to create a great first impression during a recruitment process, then it’s unlikely that a strong employer relationship will be nurtured in the future.

Employer branding and the candidate experience sit hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other when you’re looking to attract the best talent for the business. Once an organisation has created a strong employer brand, the next critical steps are to ensure that there is a streamlined application process in place. Messaging must be clear within the business to gain buy-in from a recruiting team and training must be implemented to ensure interviewers know how to conduct a fair interview and are well informed about how the organisation wishes to present itself during their interactions with candidates.

The process of aligning an employer brand and the candidate experience will ensure that the two are working in partnership towards the same goal; to attract, recruit and retain the best talent who will play a critical part in the future success of an organisation.

Contact our team to see how we can help you to evolve your employer brand!

“Candidates have the pick of the bunch.” That’s what we’re hearing almost every day from our clients right now at Evolve. With an array of pharmaceutical and healthcare job opportunities opening back up over the last few months, it’s accurate to say that this is indeed the case. The present challenge for our clients is finding the best way possible to secure the highest quality talent against tough competition. There are some fantastic organisations out there within our sector, each with their own unique signature. Now, more than ever, a company’s employer brand must be a key priority.

When recruiting; as well as potential employees selling their skillset, it’s just as important nowadays that companies sell their organisation to applicants. In today’s job market, there’s more to selling a business than meeting applicants’ needs on paper. Successfully attracting, placing and retaining the best possible talent, in a market where candidates have greater choice, has never been more important. It’s valuable to remember that your company’s employer brand may not actually speak for itself and neglecting this is likely to lead to the loss of great people.

Like any good marketing campaign, the success of any recruitment process starts at ensuring that the messaging is correct. Even if a company has a great culture and happy employees working there, if this is not evident to those on the outside, then it’s not a selling point. Applicants need to be able to tell an organisation apart from alternative employers with perhaps less attractive reputations. Any candidate who is taking their job search seriously is going to do their homework. As a potential employer, making it easy for them by being as transparent as possible helps to increase trust in your company, which is invaluable to applicants who are deciding to take a risk on your business. In short; reputation can make or break an applicant pool. An employer with great branding can attract enthusiastic applicants to an otherwise less attractive job, while an employer with poor branding can struggle to attract any applicants at all.

At Evolve, we’re finding that employer branding can have a huge ripple effect throughout a pharmaceutical and healthcare business. It doesn’t just impact the initial impression and talent pool; it has a significant influence on employee retention. In a competitive job market, this means employer branding is something that needs proactively managing and it cannot be put to the bottom of the priority list.

There is no one size fits all solution that makes up an individual employer brand. No two brands look the same, but when you break it down, it’s possible to get a better understanding of how an individual company looks from the outside. Employer branding starts with identifying the main objectives, both short and long-term. Building a strong employer brand doesn't happen overnight. Not only are there a number of different moving pieces involved, but it’s important to get colleague buy-in so that the team are on the same page.

Companies can cultivate and guide their employer brand through messaging. They can influence it, but they cannot totally control it. An employer brand boils down to what other people think and what employees say about the business, outside of the boardroom. Employer branding is generally reliant on 4 aspects:

Company culture – the mission, shared values and general personality of your workplace. It’s the collective behaviours and thinking that unify an organisation.

Employee opinions - How employees feel about working for the company and what they are saying to each other at work, or when they go home.

Candidate opinions - Job seekers’ first impressions when they go through the application process. Even if a candidate doesn’t end up working for a particular company, they will still talk about their experience going through the application process and whether they were treated with respect.

Corporate brand - A corporate brand is made up of consumer perceptions of your company. People who think a company treats its employees well, may give them more business and will likely choose them over their competitors.

Done well, employer branding can help organisations stand out against competitors and gain a competitive edge, attract higher quality candidates and boost their credibility and trust in the applicant base. As well as this, a successful employer brand will lead to a reduction in overall recruitment costs, improve employee retention and ultimately will create an internal team of ambassadors who will naturally promote an organisation.

Employer branding can of course seem like a minefield and it’s often difficult to know where to start! Evolve has successfully partnered with companies, each with their own individual branding requirements. We’ve seen some great impact from a recruitment campaign perspective as well as longer-term positive benefits, which make the investment in employer branding a worthwhile exercise. From our experience, a transparent employer branding strategy that positively and accurately reflects what it’s like to work for a company will attract higher quality candidates, lead to higher retention, and ultimately contribute to growth.

Contact our team to see how we can help you to evolve your employer brand!

An excellent CV will help to get you noticed in the ever more competitive jobs market, so you need to ensure that your CV accurately reflects your experience and abilities.

At Evolve, we can provide advice as to what you should put in your CV and what employers are looking for in particular. Most employers prefer a CV to be well structured, clear and concise. If your CV is well presented and easy to read, it is more likely that the recruiting manager will want to read it. It is important that your CV is an accurate history of your career, and it should show measurable successes and achievements in previous positions. These achievements can then be expanded on when you reach the interview stage of the recruitment process. 

Step 1 - Prepare

To keep your CV clear and easy to read you should keep it well structured. Write out a basic outline and start from there;

• Personal Data

• Personal Profile

• Key Achievements

• Work Experience

• Education & Qualifications

• Interests & Activities

• References

If you are a recent graduate, please read our graduate guide here as the layout will differ to highlight your degree.

Step 2 - Write

Personal Data

When submitting your CV for a job application or to a recruitment company, it is always important to include your personal details. These include;

• Your full name

• Current address

• Home and mobile number

• Email address; make sure this is a professional email

Personal Profile

The profile is your CV introduction; a simple statement that highlights your career aspirations, ambitions and your current skillset. This should be a short summary of your career experience within the Pharmaceutical/ Healthcare Industry including; Number of years in the industry; Current role title if relevant, Territories covered if you are field based; Key customer groups; Therapeutic areas worked in, focusing on most relevant for the roles you are applying for; personal competencies and finally the type of role you are looking for.

Key Achievements

Bullet point major key achievements. These must be measurable and specific key achievements only really necessary within the last 5 years. It’s always important to not only talk about your achievement but to also write down how you did what you did and what skills were implemented. To give potential employee’s a better idea of your successes include;

• Rankings within current team

• Formulary success in which hospitals and for which products?

• Call rates

• Key relationships gained

• Awards/ Prizes/ Nominations

Work Experience

When highlighting your Work Experience start with your current/most recent position highlighting your responsibilities and achievements. It is important to include the start and end date with every company including the reason for leaving. For roles within industry also include; Therapy area, Key Customers & Products.

If you wish to keep your ‘Key Achievements’ with each of your roles, do this underneath the role responsibilities and remove your ‘Key Achievement’ section.

Should you have had any career breaks, make sure to include this in your CV. Make sure you include the start month and year to the end date and keep it in order with the rest of your previous roles. It’s important to be upfront and honest as to why you have had a career break, but also useful to refer to should you have picked up any life skills during this time.

Education & Qualifications

Your education and achievements should be listed in reverse chronological order - this is the easiest way to read. If applicable start with your professional qualifications, then move onto your further education ending with your higher education achievements. You should include; Years attended, Level of qualification, subject area and grade.

Interests & Activities

Make your CV personable. The aim is to offer a well-rounded view; the work side and the human side. At the end of the day, you will be spending considerable time with your employer and their new teams and you must easily adapt to their culture. Include any memberships/associations you are involved with followed by a concise range of interests. You should mention here whether you are keen to relocate if the role location does not match your address.

References

References aren’t a requirement on your CV. It is best to write a simple sentence ‘References available upon request’.

Step 3 - Review

Always check your CV thoroughly. Here is a checklist of things to keep an eye out for;

• Spelling and grammatical errors – use spell check but make sure it checks for English spellings not American spelling.

• Is everything uniform? Are you using the same font throughout in the same size?

• Layout; Keeping the same layout for all of your previous roles, will make your CV look crisp and professional.

• Capitalise key customers such as Consultants, Doctors and Nurses’

• Capitalise therapy areas I.e. Cardiovascular or Urology

Finally, the last thing to check, is your CV an accurate representation of who you are and your capabilities? 

If you require any assistance with writing your CV, get in touch so we can help! If you are thinking of moving into your first position within the Pharmaceutical or Healthcare sector or looking to take the next step in your career, we are more than happy to help every step of the way to secure your dream job. We have the expertise and experience to ensure that you get the very best position for your abilities. Feel free to contact us for further information.

It is the time of year where many are currently graduating from university, and wondering in which direction they may take their career. Many will envisage embarking on a path in pharmaceutical or medical device sales. As a leading independent recruitment agency and CSO, Evolve have put together a comprehensive summary of how best to break into the medical sales industry.

So; you’ve got your degree, you’ve done some research about getting in to the industry and you’ve realised that it’s not going to be a walk in the park! However, there are some essential steps which you can take to ensure success and to aid you in securing your move into medical sales.

If you follow the below guide, it ensures that you are set apart from peers in a very competitive market, and will put you on the path to a hugely rewarding career!

Research

Research is key, when it comes to breaking in to the industry!

First of all, it shows your interest in the industry, it proves that you have spent time on finding out more about the key elements involved in your chosen career. Secondly, it means that you will be prepared at the time of applying for positions and attending interviews; recruitment agencies will want you to be able to demonstrate your knowledge into the medical sales arena, as will hiring managers! Not only must you research the duties of sales reps, you must also research the NHS in terms of Primary Care, Secondary Care and CCGs. 

Other areas which are of importance when it comes to research are the ABPI (Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry) and NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence). 

Shadowing 

This is another key element which will help you secure your dream role!

Shadowing is crucial, as not only does it support your case in proving your interest and determination to a hiring manager, but also to yourself! It is the only way to truly appreciate the day to day expectations, duties and realities for medical sales reps! It isn’t always the easiest thing to arrange, but there are ways! 

• Firstly, tap into your own network; do you know of anyone who currently works in the industry? Ask friends, relatives and acquaintances. 
• Another option is to contact pharmaceutical or healthcare companies. You can usually find contact numbers for HR on the internet. 
• Alternatively, you could call into your GP surgery, usually reps will drop business cards off, or you might be lucky enough to bump into one on your visit!

Another point to note with shadowing, is to include it on your CV. Summarise your findings and link your skill set to this.

Skills

Coupled with everything mentioned above, it is essential that you have the relevant skills to succeed in a career in medical sales. Some of these will be skills which you have already embraced, others may be taught on the job. It’s a great idea to start thinking about these, and to think of past scenarios where you have had to adopt these skills to achieve a positive outcome. Competency based questions usually always come up at interviews! 

Essential skills include: Great communicator, the ability to build professional relationships with people, effective organisation and prioritisation, team and individual working ability, a drive for achievement and being results orientated is also essential. 
If you have previous sales experience from another industry, also demonstrate that you have the skills which can be transferred across to the medical arena.

Work with the right agency

Working with the right agency is essential to ensuring your success in gaining a position in medical sales. 

In the majority of cases, working with a recruitment agency will up these odds for you hugely. This is due to many reasons…

• Having inside knowledge and insight into what a particular company or hiring manager is looking for,
• Offering a variety of roles and guiding you in the direction of the most suitable ones, often positions which are only released to preferred suppliers,
• Relationships already established with hiring managers, allowing us to effectively sell you in as a candidate for consideration, 
• Provide you will assistance and guidance throughout the whole process, including comprehensive preparation for interviews. 

If you are thinking of moving into your first position within the pharmaceutical or healthcare sector, trust the Evolve team to help you every step of the way towards getting your dream job. We have the expertise and experience to ensure that you get the very best position for your abilities. Feel free to contact us for further information.

It isn’t always easy to gain your first position in Medical Sales! However, there are numerous things which you can do as a new graduate to help your application stand out from the crowd! It always begins with research! 

The industry can be challenging to understand, especially from the perspective of a new graduate, therefore, research prior to applying for any vacancies is key. We would recommend gaining a sound understanding of the following areas which we have summarised, but would also advocate further, more in-depth research.

ABPI Code of Practice

ABPI stands for The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.
The ABPI Medical Representatives Exam needs to be taken by Reps which promote medicines to Doctors and other prescribers with in the UK. Upon commencement of employment in the industry, the exam must be sat within 1 year and passed within 2 years.

NICE

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is responsible for providing guidance and advice on a national basis in relation to health and social care, to improve patient outcomes. 
NICE carries out research to provide evidence-based advice and guidance to practitioners.

Primary Care

Primary Care is healthcare which is provided in the community. It is there to provide care for the entire population within a community, who are making an initial approach to receiving healthcare. Usually, it is provided by GPs, but also covers Dentists, Pharmacies and Opticians. 

Secondary Care

Secondary Care is medical care which is provided by a specialist, after being referred form Primary Care. Usually, Secondary Care is provided within a hospital, but can also be a specialist clinic or centre. Secondary care accommodates both elective and emergency care.

CCGs

Clinical Commissioning Groups are clinically led statutory NHS bodies, who are accountable for the planning and commissioning of healthcare services for their local area. CCGs have many members, including GPs, Nurses, Consultants, Pharmacists and lay members. They have responsibility for about 2/3 of the NHS budget. The majority of Secondary Care services and some GP services are commissioned at CCG level.
Currently, there are 195 CCGs in England. 

Formularies

Formularies are a drug prescribing list. The Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee is responsible for hospital formularies, made up of Physicians and Pharmacists, and sometimes Nurses. For a product to gain formulary status, there are many factors which must be considered. This includes: safety, effectiveness and cost.

NHS England

The National Health Service (NHS) is run by NHS England, an independent body. 
NHS England is the main commissioner for Primary Care services, including GPs, Dentists and Pharmacists.
In October 2014, NHS England published the 5 Year Forward View, which sets out priorities and visions for the NHS moving forwards to ensure that it is financially sustainable and able to meet the needs of patients.

NHS Scotland

NHS Scotland is the healthcare system in Scotland, which is publicly funded.
Scotland has 14 Health Boards, which have the responsibility for planning and commissioning Healthcare across Scotland.

If you are thinking of moving into your first position within the Pharmaceutical or Healthcare sector, trust the Evolve team to help you every step of the way towards getting your dream job. We have the expertise and experience to ensure that you get the very best position for your abilities. Feel free to contact us for further information.

Writing your Curriculum Vitae (CV) can often be a time consuming and stressful task, especially for new graduates whom are writing their CV for the first time to gain a position in their chosen profession, however, it’s essential that you get it right! After all, your CV is the first impression which a recruiting manager gets of you and then decides if to invite you forward to interview.

Your CV is an outline of your professional and educational history as well as a summary of your core skills and competencies.

Your CV should convey your personal details in the way that presents you in the best possible light. Always remember that your CV is a marketing document in which you are marketing something… yourself! Your CV should be clear, easy to read and, most importantly, accurate.

You need to "sell" your skills, abilities, experience and qualifications to potential employers. It’s therefore essential that you tailor the content of your CV around the vacancies for which you are applying. If you are applying for different types of positions, which your experience and skillset lends themselves to, it’s not uncommon to have more than one CV which is focused around a certain type of role.

Below, we have detailed the key points to aid graduates with producing a professional, polished CV.

Structure & Layout

Personal Details 
Always put these at the top of your CV. You need to include the following:

• Name
• Contact number
• Email address
• Home address (If you’re looking or willing to relocate, include this information under your current address)

Personal Profile 
This is your chance to sell your self and stand out from the crowd! Ensure to tailor your personal profile towards the role which you are applying for. (Use the job specification to do this). Remember to include some personal competencies and what you’re looking for.

Shadowing Report 
Shadowing a Medical Representative will give you a head start in helping to gain your first medical sales position. 
You should write a paragraph to include what you observed, what you learned from the experience and why you feel that your skills are transferable to this type of career.

Achievements 
We recommend that you bullet point at least 5 key successes and achievements. This section needs to be as specific and measurable as possible. Try to include dates wherever possible. (Achievements can be listed here in one section, or, can be included under each relevant role in the Career History section).

Career History 
We recommend your CV is laid out chronologically, with your latest employment being first in the employment history. We recommend that you include the following information regarding each position:

• Dates (From – To format)
• Reason for leaving
• Company
• Role
• Responsibilities
• Achievements

Education & Qualifications 
Usually, your education & qualifications section would come under your career history, however, if you are a new graduate with a relevant degree or have a specific qualification which is required for the role which you are applying for e.g. PhD, MSc, ABPI etc. consider swapping these sections around. You need to ask yourself: What is most relevant and likely to gain me a position in medical sales? In a lot of instances for graduates, it will be their educational background. 

Interests & Hobbies 
These make your CV more personable and give managers an insight into your personality. 3 hobbies and interests are enough. 

References
We would recommend simply putting ‘Available upon request’.

CV Length
2 sides of A4 is the ideal CV length. Don’t worry if you run slightly over this though. If your CV is running on to being 3 sides or more, you need to be careful that what you are writing is concise and succinct, and that you aren’t writing for the sake of it! Less really can be more! Imagine that a hiring manager will have a lot of CVs to read through; yours needs to be ‘to the point’, to keep the manager engaged.

Font/ Spacing
We always recommend using a professional looking font and single line spacing. Font size 10 or 11 is best (You can change the font size depending on how long your CV is, to aim for 2 sides).

Checks
Finally, you need to complete the following checks – This will ensure a grammatically correct and polished document:

• Spell check (Ensure your proofing language is set to English United Kingdom)
• Replace any double spaces with single spaces (If using Word; use the replace function on the top right-hand side)
• ‘Iz’ checks – Use the ‘Find’ tool to search for any ‘iz’ spellings which should be ‘is’
• Finally, ask someone else to read and check your finished document. It’s true what they say…it’s often difficult to spot mistakes in your own work!

If you are thinking of moving into your first position within the pharmaceutical or healthcare sector, trust the Evolve team to help you every step of the way towards getting your dream job. We have the expertise and experience to ensure that you get the very best position for your abilities. Feel free to contact us for further information.

Interviews can be daunting, especially for a new graduate undergoing the process for the first time!
The key to interview success, is preparation… Fail to prepare; prepare to fail!

Evolve, as a leading graduate recruitment organisation have composed some top tips for interviews, to help you succeed in gaining your first position in Medical Sales.

Preparation will depend on the type of interview which you are attending. It could be: Telephone, Face to Face or Virtual. 

Employers use interviews to confirm that an applicant has the required knowledge, skills and willingness to contribute and fit into the organisation’s culture. They also want to see if your career goals are in line with opportunities available with their organisation. They are looking for the potential in prospective employees to become valued, trusted, productive team members of their organisation. 

Preparation
Company Research
Allow as much time as possible for pre-interview preparation, don’t leave it until the last minute!
The more preparation you carry out will undoubtedly heighten your chance of success. Good research will be expected of you, but by going above and beyond this, it shows the interviewer how keen you are on being successful in gaining the position.
Identify as much as you can about the company and the interviewer. 
Be sure to learn the company values and link these into your answers in the interview.
You can do this by utilising the following sources:

• Company website
• Do a Google keyword search on the company name for any related news articles
• Try to identify the company competitors
• Research the company therapy areas and products
• Speak to anyone you know who works in the industry to gain their insight; even better if you know someone who works for the company which you are interviewing with
• LinkedIn – You will be able to look up the interviewer and familiarise yourself with their background 

Interview Type

Once you have ascertained what the type of interview it is, you can tailor your preparation accordingly and equip yourself for any eventuality.
Practice your interviewing skills as much as possible. Get a friend or family member to interview you. Try to treat it like the real thing. You could ask them to record your answers to enable you to listen back to them and make improvements and amendments where necessary. It should also help you to identify your weak spots, so you can particularly focus on these areas. 

It’s a good idea to research commonly asked questions and prepare answers to these in advance. Look at the job specification and identify any key competencies. The chances are that some questions you will face in the interview will focus on these. 
Obviously, it’s impossible to know for certain what you will be asked on the day, but over-preparing is better than under-preparing! Your recruiter should also be able to give you a good idea of what questions to expect. 
It is equally important to learn the content of your CV! It may sound silly, but you would be surprised about how many people are not able to comfortably and confidently talk through their CV and achievements!

Competency Based Questions
Most organisations will analyse a role by breaking it down into key competencies – for e.g. planning & organising, innovation, personal drive, motivation & team work. (The specific competencies are usually mentioned in a job specification).
You will be asked to give an example of a previous situation or task which led you to take a certain course of action.

Prepare answers using the STARL format detailed below. Answers should typically take between 30-45 seconds. 
Situation - when did the example occur? (Specific example e.g. last week) 
Task - what did you have to do? (Specifically) 
Action - how did you approach the task? 
Result - what happened as a result?
Learn – what did you learn from the experience and how will you adopt this in future? 

On the day
Dress appropriately in business attire! Ensure you have a clean and smart appearance. 
Take a few copies of your CV with you, along with your qualification certificates.

If travel is required, ensure to reach the venue at least 40 minutes prior to your allocated time. This will give you chance to park or locate the correct building. It also gives you chance to cram in last minute prep, such as re-reading your notes, re-familiarising yourself with the company website or taking a last look at the job specification.
You should aim to be in the reception area 15 minutes prior to your start time to ensure you are relaxed and have had time to familiarise yourself with the surroundings; it should help you get a feel of the culture. 

In the Interview

• Sit up straight and consider your body language
• Maintain eye contact and smile
• Include everyone in the room. Engage with your full audience
• Good listening skills are critical to understanding what the needs of the company are and the individual doing the hiring. Allow the interviewer to finish asking the question before beginning to answer. It’s good to repeat part of the question back to them to demonstrate that you understand what you have been asked. Equally; ask for clarification if you do not understand the question
• Ask insightful questions. This shows that you have a keen interest

Once the interview is complete, you should try to gain commitment from the interviewer. Try to close the interview by asking questions such as:

• Have I demonstrated everything which you are looking for to take me through to the next stage?
• What does the next stage of the process entail?
• Do you see me fitting in with your team?
• Also, tell them how keen you are to become a part of the organisation

If you are a recent graduate and looking to move into your first position within the Pharmaceutical or Medical Device industries within Sales or Marketing, it’s imperative that you work with the right agency who can help to guide you through an interview process. Evolve's Graduate Academy is designed to help you every step of the way.  We have the expertise and experience to ensure that you get the very best position for your abilities. Feel free to contact us for further information.

If you have aspirations to become a Medical Sales Representative and you feel that this exciting and rewarding career is for you, here are some key factors to consider…

Degree
A science-based degree is ideal. Preferred subjects include: Biomedical Science, Pharmacology and Sport and Exercise Science. Other subjects will also be considered. 

Research
Researching the Medical Sales industry is crucial! 
Some recruiters will insist upon you doing this before they are able to work with you on vacancies, and hiring managers will certainly expect you to have a good understanding of the following at first stage interview so it’s well worth taking the time to understand the following:
•    The day to day responsibilities of being a Medical Rep
•    The structure of the NHS (Primary Care, Secondary Care, Clinical Commissioning Groups)
•    ABPI Code of Practice (Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry) which you can find here.
•    NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) 
•    NHS England 

Shadowing
Shadowing a Medical Sales Rep will definitely increase your chances of breaking into the industry. It will give you a great insight into the role and what you can expect to be doing on a day to day basis. It also shows your commitment to breaking into the industry. 
Lots of graduates think they will enjoy a career in medical sales, but once you have gained the shadowing experience, you can truly say that it’s the career for you! 
Hiring managers usually have a preference for graduate CVs which include shadowing experience for the above reasons. 

“The best way to make your CV stand out from the crowd and to show your enthusiasm for medical sales is to go out on the road for a day shadowing an experienced rep” – Lauren Ward, Graduate Recruitment Manager at Evolve

Sales / Customer Facing Experience
Experience working in a sales or customer facing environment is advantageous, even if it was only on a part time basis while studying. Usually in these environments, you will gain exposure to working to targets and learn skills which can be transferred to a career in medical sales.

Key Skills and Competencies
Do you have the skills and competencies required to be successful in this fast-paced environment…?
Are you target driven and goal orientated?
Are you a great relationship builder?
Do you have planning and prioritisation skills?
Are you self-motivated?
Are you an effective communicator?

If you are a recent graduate and looking to grow your career in this challenging, yet rewarding and fulfilling environment, feel free to contact us for further information, or email graduates@evolvecouk.com to discuss how we can help you.
Evolve’s Graduate Programme is designed to help you every step of the way, from writing your CV, to helping you to prepare for interviews and to securing your first position. 
 

1. Test your equipment

Establishing the quality of your equipment prior to your interview can make the process much easier and make you feel more prepared. Firstly, ensure you have a strong internet connection and setup a test-run with someone you know, in order to adjust the quality of your camera, audio and microphone accordingly. It is essential that there are no technical disturbances so that you and the interviewer are able to communicate effectively.

2. Environment

It is easy to be distracted when on camera. You should make certain that you have professional surroundings, ideally by placing yourself in a room alone in front of a plain wall and sat upright at a desk / table rather than on your bed or sofa. This will create a better angle and enable you to maintain eye contact directly with the camera, so that you are looking directly at the interviewer.

3. Appearance

Much like any face to face interview, your appearance in a video interview is still very much a significant contributor to creating a great first impression. Dressing appropriately in a smart manner will certainly tick the right boxes in the eyes of the interviewer. Although in a video interview you are only likely to have to be visible from the waist up, it is still important to make an effort. If you want to act the part, you must dress the part too!

4. It isn’t a face to face interview, but…

Remember that although this is not a face to face interview, you should print out a copy of your CV so you can refer to it if required. However, you must not let this affect your eye contact. Don’t look away from the camera too often or for too long.

5. Facial and body cues

Don’t forget that in any form of interview, it is vital to maintain positive facial and body cues. Be confident, maintain a smile, make consistent eye contact and speak clearly and precisely. If you prepare efficiently and stick to the key points above, this should come easily.

If you require any assistance with preparation or setting up your video interview, we can help! We can provide guidance every step of the way throughout your interview process and support you with any difficulties you may come across working from home. Feel free to contact us for further information.

Good luck!

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