What the Heck Do I Do?

Just when they say there is nothing new under the sun. Well, actually everything changes so why wouldn’t the job search tactics used to get into a Medical Sales postion? For those of you following this blog, you know I don’t rehash old stuff; we won’t be talking about networking in this article or the latest resume-scanning processes – we’ll be talking about something entirely new.

Here’s the scenario. You’re an older sales rep. You’re in pharma. Pharma is going, well… enough said. And you want to move into Medical Sales. But you’re worried – too many medical sales reps to compete with, no medical sales experience, etc. If we all thought about the hurdles we face each day none of us would get out of bed. So – something more than words of encouragement here; there is a new way for you to get hired by a medical device/equipment company and you “ain’t” heard it elsewhere.

The idea is a 6-month contract. You propose to the prospective employer you are willing to “prove yourself” to the employer over a period of 6-months. The T&C’s (terms and conditions for all of you non-contract folks) are laid out in this contract. Bear in mind the biggest challenge you face as an “older” sales pro making a change: ROI. The employer knows you are a performer – but they typically have to convince themselves (or their boss) that you are a safe bet as an ROI. So – instead of simply hiring you as a “permanent” employee (the term “permanent” is losing its meaning these days, isn’t it!) and hoping for the best the employer gets to “kick the tires before they buy”.

Here is what you need in your contract. And I am not a laymen here; my background is in F500 HR where I wrote and edited hundreds of employment contracts – and I do stay up on the labor laws.

a.) Have the employer state in writing the specific start date and stop date of the contract.

b.) Have the employer state in writing what sales-performance will be measured. Will it be % increase vs. last year? Will it be % increase of a given geographic market? (If so – define what the “market” consists of – X number of accounts – a geographic region?). Will it be a given $ figure? If so, what is that figure? Most sales reps are given a specific $ figure over a specific period of time – and they are to achieve a % of that $ figure; so what is that %? (100% or better?)

c.) Have the employer state in writing “how” the performance above will be measured. Who will be doing the measuring? When will they be doing the measuring (you might want status reports at quarterly progress points to assure you are on target). What specific tools or processes or reporting will be used to determine your performance? This is actually the most important question of all as it is easy for you to perform up to spec and not get credit for it! (I won’t mention the term PODS here as I know someone will strike me hard with a stick).

d.) You’ll want to list – with the employer’s agreement – what options are to be considered if you do perform “up to stec” I.e., what happens now? This is really a powerful positon for you now because you will either have in writing what your compensation will look like (because you determined that up front in the contract – including car, expenses, salary, bonus), or you have now “proven youself” and are in a very good – at least much better – postion to demand what you want. And further icing on the cake here: you built relationships with potential customers – so don’t sign a non-compete clause on this 6-month contract. And further icing on the icing on the cake: you bought time in your job search to consider other (now open) career opportunities.

Don’t tell any HR folks about this article. BTW, I’m married to an HR exec. and I’m not going to tell her about this article.

Go get ‘em. And please tell me your success stories so we can share with the whole group; my direct e-mail is director@WhatTheHeckDoIDo.com

There are certain things in life you just don’t want to experience; e.g.

a.) Coming across your wife and mother-in-law carefully going over your will,

b.) Your son asking you, “Dad, why do I look so much like the Schwan’s ice cream man?”

This week we’ll cover something else you don’t want to experience: a really bad job search experience. To be specific, there are 2 “Silver Bullets” that are anything but. . .and these 2 relate to an old way of thinking, to “rules” of the job search game which are now obsolete.

1.) Expecting recruiters to be Silver Bullets

2.) Expecting resume distribution systems to be Silver Bullets

Expecting recruiters to be Silver Bullets. In the good old days you could send your resume to a recruiter and be expectant of a returned call and some interest in your resume. But everything changes. Look around and you will notice a trend: recruiters are disappearing as quickly as real estate agents. Which is sad because there are some great recruiters out there. But we live in a capitalist market – this is all about supply and demand. And the demand from employers for “outside” aka contingency recruiters is waning. Why? The economy: employers are trying to save money.

Gone are the days when recruiters could charge 30% of your first year’s salary. About 5 years ago, we started to see a trend to slashing recruiter fees – from 30% to 20% to 12%-15%. Ask any medical device/equipment or pharma company what they pay outside/contingency recruiters – and you’ll find this is today’s “fair-market” value. You’ll also find these employers are going elsewhere to get talent. The fastest growing areas? Professional associations, their own corporate website, and LinkedIn. So don’t give up on recruiters just yet – just be aware of this transition. As they say, everything changes but change itself.

Expecting resume distribution systems to be Silver Bullets. These systems work long-term, but they are not the silver bullet everyone is seeking. In reality your resume is usually going into a database of a contingency recruiter – not an employer. Very rarely do resume distribution systems go direct to employers – and employers almost never read resumes sent to them that do not indicate a specific job posting. The reason: HR simply doesn’t have the time. Is this changing? Good news; yes, but slowly. Relating to the recruiter issues above, employers are paying more attention to what is in their database. But, again, HR is a non-profit center, which means they are overworked and understaffed. Go to any SHRM meeting and you will get 100% consensus on that statement.

There is some false logic at work here, and we human beasties tend to not always be so logical. So let’s express this in a story: you go down to the shooting range. You see the target. You pick up a shotgun and fire. Nothing. Didn’t even hit the target. What to do? According to our current logic, we pick up the shotgun and keep trying. Wait – isn’t there an old definition of “insanity”: something about trying the same thing over and over and yet expecting different results?

The wise stop, realize the shotgun isn’t working to achieve their goal, and they select a different weapon. Say a rifle. With a really great scope. . . They fire some shots off. Oh – now we’re close. Let’s adjust a bit. Closer still. Obviously resume distribution systems are not your best “weapon” for your immediate goal: hitting a bull’s eye with your job search. You NEED TO DO WHAT OTHERS ARE NOT DOING. See all those guys still using shotguns – and note all of them are still missing the target? Yes – time to pick another weapon.

An interesting thing about change. It creates opportunities. Our mothers always told us there are “silver linings” in every cloud. So don’t be discouraged. Just realize that everything you knew about job searches has changed. And those that master the “new rules of the game” win the game. Which is what this blog is all about: learning those new rules. Playing the game to win.

Just when I thought there was nothing new under the sun. I just had a conversation with an HR exec for a $1B company. I was asking her opinion of photographs on resumes. Have you ever seen someone with that expression that they just ate a very bad pickle? Turns out, with our economy now facing 10%+ unemployment, people are “desperate” and when it comes to having their photos on a resume – these folks are taking legal action against employers who do not interview them – claiming discrimination based on their photo on the resume!

The backdrop is the EEOC (some call this the EOC), which stands for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. For this is where the desperate go to file their claims of discrimination – I’m the wrong age, sex, race, color of hair; I have a T-shirt that says Go Mets and the employer is a Yankee’s fan. . . you get the picture.

So – how do we get around this issue – simply stop using photos on resumes? No. The trick is when you have not yet met an employer do not use a photograph to present yourself. Think Joe Friday of Dragnet fame: “Just the facts, mam.” This means social networks as well: nice to show AFTER you have met the employer. You can show up with a resume with a photo on it – but what’s the point?

Does that mean FaceBook and Linkedin? Yup. For now, if you are using those tools to promote yourself BEFORE meeting the employer, don’t have a photo in place. I think Linkedin  urls on a resume are a great idea – but if you want to do that, the latest wisdom is hold off on the Linkedin photo.  

For networking, a photo on Linkedin, FaceBook or your resume is fine – for promoting yourself to an employer, stick with the old-style of resume: no photo. Do I like this idea? Heck no. I’d rather see who I’m dealing with. But my opinion doesn’t count here; we’re all about “real world” help  for you- and this is the latest.  Just a short blog today; I have to go to the photographer.  I have these two photos I want him to merge into one photo of me. Yes, I know, I look a great deal like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.  I get that comment all the time; I was just blessed with handsome parents.

We live in a world of paradoxes: of things that seem absurd – yet are true. Who do we take our sex advice from? Dr. Ruth – who looks remarkably like Radar O’Riley in a dress. Who do we take our weight-loss advice from? Richard Simmons – who is always 20 pounds overweight.

Paradoxes extend into the world of job searches. If you asked any job search coach or professional resume writer, they would share the following with you. One of the biggest mistakes people make in their job searches and resumes is to try to be all things to all people, and they don’t know who they are.

Which leads us to dating. Imagine going on six dates. And you tried to please each date, i.e. you changed who you were for each date. How would you feel at the end of that road? Tired? Frustrated? Yet this is exactly what the great majority of people do when it comes to their job search and resume: they try to be all things to all people – and, in the end, they have fogotten who they are today.

So, before we go out on that date, we stand back from the mirror. And ask 2 very critical questions:

a.) As a sales professional, what are my “Top 5″ areas of expertise?

b.) How would that list look if ranked in order of my current passions?

We need to build the job search and resume around that newly ordered list. If we don’t? We’ll probably end up in interviews for jobs similar to the one we currently hold. If we do this exercise? This is consistently the tried-and-true way to land interviews for positions you are excited about!

You see where we’re going here. See that person in the mirror? That’s not the same person you saw 5 years ago – you have changed. And you need to know how you’ve changed – in order to understand who you are today – in order to know your unique value (this is Marketing 101). The result? You now only date someone who appreciates who you are today – and understands your unique value = no more bad dates.

Which brings us to your job search and resume. Be sure you “brand” yourself for who you are today; this means you may be getting into areas of interest that you are not yet an expert on – that’s OK. And it means you know – without hesitation – what your top 2-3 areas of expertise are – for which you have a great passion right now – today. Remember – there is a whole cottage industry of “tests” now given by employers to be sure they don’t hire you for things you are good at, but burned out by. That’s smart business: it helps the employer hire right and retain the best talent.

But it’s a free country. You can always go back to trying to please all your dates. Here’s a tip in that regard, when they ask if you are a democrat or a republican, state “Yes”. And keep the wine flowing.

Being the sort of fellow who hates theories – and loves real-world intel fresh from the field, here’s the latest of the “Cool New Stuff” you are really going to enjoy: IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER.

Let’s be brutally honest (you’ve figured out by now I am that sort of fellow who says it like it is), what was one of the greatest classes you ever took? Which classes do you use nearly every day in your life? I can think of 2 classes. One is typing. Come on – admit it; one of the best classes you ever took. Second (for me) was a Kepner Tregoe Decision Analysis course. This is “Great Stuff” that really works in our everyday lives.

So – we’re starting a new series – I’ll report to you great – can’t live without it ”stuff” – you try it out, and tell me what you think. We report back to the group regarding what works and what does not work. This is sort of like the theme of the “secret shopper” who provides retailers with brutal candor regarding their experience buying in the retailer’s store.

First up: you are flying from where to where? Now do you see that crazy- looking woman waddling down the aisle and probably suffering from a.) tourettes, or b.) a nervous bowel disorder? Where do you think she is going to sit? Yup – you just know it, don’t you. Sort of like when the toast with jam falls to the floor – which side will it land on? To protect yourself from this sort of scene, consider this great service (which is free): Seat Guru.  

And do you remember, as a kid, discovering a cool new place – a cave – a place in the woods that no one else knew about (obviously I didn’t grow up in NYC)? Check this out: Click Here 

As products come off that assembly line and get FDA approval, employers (many of whom you may have never heard of and who don’t yet have an HR group) are seeking. . . you got it: top Medical or Pharma sales reps. You definitely want to approach these companies BEFORE they start posting for jobs. Get on the phone and call them today – before someone else does.

Happy hunting – I’m reviewing more “Cool New Stuff” for my next report. Let me know what you find.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water – we reviewed a sample resume from a major resume-writing firm and found 22 errors in the resume.

What is most interesting: those 22 errors are not subjective – they are undeniable and relate to four areas: grammar, punctuation, typos, and non-parallel sentence structure. Does anyone but that forever single and starchy English teacher of yours really care? Well, yes. In this day and age you must be pretty much flawless with your resume; you are competing against 300+ other applicants in many cases, so the difference between “good” and “great” is the difference between landing an interview and not landing an interview.

So, how do we find a great resume writer? I won’t bore you with the usual dribble (find a specialist, check references, etc.); here’s the “new stuff”:

1.) Make sure the resume writer has either an ACRW certification (Academy Certified Resume Writer; this is considered the hardest certification to get) or a NCRW (Nationally Certified Resume Writer; also very hard to get this certification).

The person who wrote the above-noted resume? She had no ACRW or NCRW. There are “other” professional resume associations and I think they are worth, well, warm spit. They need to be sterilized – you get the picture. I can’t imagine why they don’t send me Christmas cards. . .

2.) If we don’t get the reader to whisper “wow” in the first 15 seconds or so, we ain’t gonna get an interview. I am using the word “ain’t” here to see if any non- ACRW/NCRW’s call me. How do we get the “wow”? Here are some thoughts:

Challenges – show a challenge you overcame that is something similar to what the reader (an employer) is facing. Use terms like “Faced with. . .” or “Challenged by. . .” and DRAW UP THE MONSTER. This will resonate with a reader facing a similar monster today. They figure if you overcame this beast once you can do it again. 

Take the test: want to scare yourself? Take a look at your current resume; I bet you’ll find your current resume is 90% action statements, 10% results, and 0% challenges – this means we’re missing 1/3 of a story!

Another wow-inducing concept: numbers/stats. You should have at least 3-4 sales achievements that are so awesome the reader whispers wow. Don’t bury those stats in the resume; put them near the top – put them where the reader will spot them in the first 15 seconds.

Referrals/Endorsements. We no longer buy things the way we used to: we don’t buy a car because we saw a car commercial (that interrupted our evening) on T.V. We buy a car because we talked to someone who owns that car. Referrals are everything. As is trust. Just ask marketing guru, Seth Godin.

One of the best ways to get a “wow” is to put a very brief endorsement of yourself by either a Dr. (preferably a specialty Dr.) or a sales rep (who works within the industry niche you are targeting, e.g. Ortho) on your resume – probably up in that 15-second “window” at the top of the first page of your resume. Something like, “As a medical professional, I know what it takes to be an elite sales rep – Jane Doe has the traits of those elite performers and I know she’d be a great asset to your sales team.” – (Dr. XYZ).

Go kick some butt.

And I should say a “retained” recruiter. Let’s talk about the difference between retained and contingency recruiters as they are two different animals. You want to zero in on retained recruiters. These are the folks who typically sit physically with the HR group at larger employers (e.g. Medtronics). They are paid a salary – sometimes a commision based on performance as well. They are often 1099 contractors who represent a certain function – in our case, medical or pharma sales.

Contingency recruiters: some people are going to shoot me for what I am about to say, but what do I care – I live 10 minutes from my MIL so I like to live life on the edge. Contingency recruiters are much like travel agents. Remember travel agents? They were a middle man between you and the airlines. Now travel agents are pretty much gone from the scene – likewise with contingency recruiters – employers see them as middlemen who are cutting into their profits.

So, with our focus on getting found by retained recruiters, how can we get their attention? Here are 2 Great New Ways. 

1.) If you are submitting a resume for a posting at a major employer’s website, you will likely have your resume scanned into an HRIS system – this converts your Word document (which you probably sent by e-mail) into a digital form. So – in your cover letter – in the first bullet point of reasons that employer should consider you, write a 100% customized reason mentioning at least 3-5 very specific key words that are found in the job posting you now pursue.  Why? Because some poor person in HR will be handed the job description by their boss and told to go find candidates in the HRIS system. (By the way, I’ve done consulting on buying these systems with 2 major employers, so, yes, I really am a geek). That poor person in HR (let’s give them the moniker of PPHR), will plug in key words like: ortho, neuro, cardio, medical devices; perhaps names of major customers the employer is targeting; and “always” will be seeking someone based on a geographic element.) So, here’s a head’s up: if you live in Granville, OH, mention “Granville, OH (greater Columbus)” in your address because no one will likely put in “Granville” as in an HRIS key word search.

2.) Scratch my back and I’ll . . . Imagine being a recruiter seeing resumes come in all day when suddenly one resume comes in via e-mail with the subject header: “Seeking your Ortho Sales Role in NYC; can also help you find candidates” Would the recruiter notice? Yup; and they do – we’ve tested this. Get a group of people you are not directly competing against, and have them in your portfolio of potential “star” candidates to provide to the recruiter. You will get noticed; follow up with a phone call to the recruiter, “Yes, I am that 1 person in the last 3000 e-mails you got who offered to actually do something for you.” The word ‘altruistic’ comes to mind here – but, this is actually just smart relationship building.

Happy hunting. And remember: if you follow the rules of today’s job search, you will be invisable. Time to break the rules.

I always find it interesting to read “How To” articles, but often wonder if the theories in the article hold water in the real world. So – keeping with our theme of being mavericks – I’ve decided any “How To” articles will be actual interviews with real people who have achieved the “How To” goals themselves.

Enter Cindy H.

Situation: she was a staffing professional. No medical or pharmaceutical sales background. She landed a job in medical sales. I asked her 6 questions, as follows. Her answers revealed the keys to her success.

Q: What job did you land?

A: Hospice Services – a huge market. This is for people who are at the end of their life. I call on physician’s offices, directors of clinics, Aids/Cancer clinics. The geographic area is in the Twin Cities – MN.

Q: How long did it take you to land the job?

A: About 30 days. I was surprised at that – I had expected to be longer in the job search. I have friends who have been looking for 6-months and only now landing interviews.

Q: How did you find your job?

A: CareerBuilder. I saw an ad. I submitted my resume. There was no response. I then did two things: I had my resume professionally done, resubmitted it; I then followed up to make sure the company received the resume. They did – they called me in for an interview (phone interview first), and made me an offer.

Q: Any suprises in the job search?

A: Yes – the value of Linkedin. I, probably like many other people, was a member of Linkedin, but always put off really using it actively to network. Once I did, it really performed for me – a great (still somewhat unknown) tool.

Q: Any advice for job seekers?

A: Yes. Make sure your resume has the “wow” factor – get it professionally done if you have the money. Follow up with ALL submissions. And, I know this sounds hokey – but – keep a postive outlook. You have to remind yourself daily that YOUR job is out there. But how you find that job is very different than it was in the past – you must be innovative.

Q: Recommended services?

A: I got the resume done at www.HealthcareReps.com; www.Linkedin.com is awesome, and use the advanced search agent at www.CareerBuilder.com

If you are feeling a little distraught about the lack of hiring, you are not alone. The trend is very real. But when will things turn around? No financial wiz can look into a crystal ball and predict the future; however, some common sense prevails here. And there is some good news in that crystal ball. I’ve found 3 reasonably safe indicators for answering the question, “When will they start hiring again?”

There is an old saying from Marketing: “Perception is Realty.” And our perception as employees and employers must be that we feel secure about our financial situation before we will start buying again and employers start hiring again. What do we use to determine our perception of financial security? Answer: the value of our houses, the value of our stocks, and the unemployment rate.

The value of our houses: prices appear to be stabilizing. Pending house sales rose 3.6% in June. Things are still weak. Time to hold our breath.

The value of our stocks: the Standard & Poor 500 index is up 47% since March (the lowest point).

The unemployment rate: on 8/2, Allan Greenspan said “I’m pretty sure we’ve already seen the bottom.”

In the end we still only have our crystal ball. And our common sense and instincts. These later two suggest jobs will come back – not as soon as we’d like. But that the term “job security” will be a misnomer – how we view the employer-employee relationship will change. And we all know that old saying: “The only thing that never changes is change.”

What will the future of being a pharmaceutical or medical sales rep look like? Stay tuned – in future articles we’ll carefully examine what the future landscape may look like – and how you can capitalize on those changes to advance your career. Yes – change is scary. But, hey, think about the first time you rode a bike. Scary? A little. Thrilling? Absolutely.

As you may have noticed, this blog is dedicated to experienced pharmaceutical and medical sales professionals. By “experienced” I mean you’ve been in either of these fields awhile. So, doing the math, you may be a bit older than some of your colleagues. And you may be sensing a potential age-bias in your job search – or at least an additional challenge due to age in your job search.

The numbers bear this out: if you are older, it will take you longer to land your next position; we’ll dedicate an article to this shortly – and how you can speed up your job search. For now, let’s talk about avoiding the circular file because of your age.

According to the U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services, there were 77 million babies born between 1946 – 1964. These are the “baby boomers”. I am one of these folks. Guess what – nearly 3 in 10 Americans is a Baby Boomer.

This constitutes the largest population group in U.S. history. Is there strength in numbers? Well, yes – but we need to work on a uniform message in order for us to prosper. So, I did some research and found 4 new ways to overcome age-bias in our job searches. This is specific to us pharmaceutical sales and medial sales types. God help us.

1.)  Don’t put any pre-1980 dates on your resume. Seriously, due to EEOC regs, no HR person will tell you this, but it’s a reality. You put pre-1980 dates on your resume and there is a calculator coming out to determine how much it will cost to cover you for insurance. Remember, we in pharma and medical sales have to play the return-on-investment (ROI) card – and if we end up costing an employer more in medical insurance due to our age, our ROI better compensate for that.

2.)  Show rising numbers in your most recent 5-10 years of sales experience. If we show you reaching a peak in sales 5 years ago, and you are doing OK now, it’s a bit like a professional ball player who batted .300 5 years ago and now produces a nice .285 average. Ok – but nothing to write home about. Employers prefer the fellow batting .285 now, and clearly on their way to batting .300. Yes, I’m a baseball fan. If you don’t like the baseball analogies, sue me.

3.)  Show a mentoring or training role. You know the drill – someone in corporate realizes you are good with people and asks if you’d like to train others. You either make that face like the in-laws are coming over, or you initiate improvements to training and development. This is big: it shows you are not only staying up on new business technologies and concepts, but want to help develop tomorrow’s sales leaders: music to the ears of any company. It also shows more initiative than your peers who just taking ongoing training courses.

Go way out of your way – now – to ask if you can get involved with the training folks on any kind of new technology based products or services – and get that info on your resume. You especially want to mention any technology catering to the current “hottest 3” call points: neurology, cardiology, or orthopedics.

4.)  When asked if you know the names of all four of the Beatles, pause and ask, “The who?” And when they say, “You know, that group that had Paul McCartney in it”, squint your eyes and ask, “Oh…Wings?” Practice before a mirror so you look and sound sincere.

I remember as a child someone asked me how old I was. I proudly replied, “Five and a half!” Now, when someone asks me how old I am, I have to stop and calculate. Sometimes Ignorance really is bliss.