A lot of people want to know what I think about CafePharma. Here goes: I think that it’s a great source of relevant headlines for those of us in medical and healthcare sales, pharmaceutical sales, laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics sales, DNA sales, medical supplies sales, medical equipment sales, imaging sales, and pathology sales. However, beware of the chat room. There can be a lot of negative information from people who have their own specific axe to grind. No company is as bad as they… Continue

So, the other day I was talking to someone I thought would be a great candidate for laboratory sales–high-energy, great people skills, knowledgeable, everything. She was interested in the opportunity, too. Her only concern: with all the traveling involved, what does she do with her dog? My answer: doggie day care. Many dogs don’t do well when left alone, even with a dog door. Doggie day care facilities dogs them with socialization skills, so they’re a happier dog when you pick them up and you… Continue

E-mail thank you letters after job interviews in medical sales, healthcare sales, biotech sales, medical equipment sales, DNA products sales, clinical diagnostics sales, laboratory products sales, medical supplies sales, or pharmaceutical sales are perfectly acceptable. But what do you do if you happened to leave without getting an e-mail address?

Google them: *@thecompany.com. For instance, *@phcconsulting.com would get you mine, and everyone else who works here.

Don’t underestimate how important thank you letters are in the job interview process. Everybody “knows” they’re critical, but unbelievably, not everyone writes them. Thank you letters accomplish several things:



1) They get your name in front of the hiring manager one more time.



2) They are your last chance to package yourself as the best, most qualified person for the job.



3) They are polite, and manners count.



4) They help you land the… Continue

If you’re looking for a job in medical sales, clinical diagnostics sales, laboratory sales, DNA sales, medical supplies or equipment sales, pharmaceutical sales, or biotechnology sales, marketing, or tech support (or you will be soon), it would help you tremendously to have a brag book.



A brag book is a list of your accomplishments (stories for behavioral interviews, right here), new skills and training, stack rankings, performance reviews, e-mails or letters from satisfied… Continue

Salary negotiations can be the most stressful part of the entire interview process in medical sales, laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics sales, biotech sales, molecular products sales, cellular products sales, medical device sales, pathology sales, imaging sales, or pharmaceutical sales.







The video below is designed to help you navigate your way through.







So: How do you answer questions in the interviewing process that have to do with your… Continue

Recently, I had a candidate who was going to get an offer–it was all over but the references. And that’s where it all went wrong. We began calling to check (yes, we really do that) and two days later, only one was done. It wasn’t even a matter of them trashing my candidate…they just wouldn’t return our calls.



If your references don’t even think enough of you to call back, it doesn’t reflect well on you. It cost my candidate a job.



Choose your references wisely. The best… Continue

Hey, look! I’m being watched in Ireland! (My videos, anyway.)



Paul Mullen, a career coach in Ireland, has highlighted my online videos as offering excellent advice (I have to agree…). Turns out, Paul offers some excellent advice, himself. His Measureability website offers psychometric testing (ability and personality assessments) and career coaching. It includes a career blog, with a post I like on Reasons for Interview Failure. He also has a Careers and Jobs blog focused on jobs in… Continue

I get a lot of great comments from my readers, which I love. One of these was a response to MySpace Killed the Candidate…critical job interview tip, in which I told the cautionary tale of one of my candidates leaving too much information on her MySpace page and losing a job opportunity: avoid such issues by ”setting your social networks to private.” I agree that it is best to set your social network sites to private, and be careful who you accept as a friend.



Still, there are things… Continue