Medical sales Science degree or Arts

The standard requirements are at least ‘A’ level sciences or preferably a science degree, or you may be a nurse or a paramedic. At least this is what you would likely find on the company’s job specification provided by HR, and therefore this is what is likely to be recited to you by your recruitment consultant. So does this mean if you have an Arts degree, perhaps English or Psychology you are not eligible?

Well in my first year as a recruitment consultant interviewing for medical sales jobs I remember one occasion where I interviewed a lady with an English degree from a good University, she had achieved a 1^st class honours. Since University she had a 3 year sales track record, consistently achieving 1^st out of 60 representatives, this lady could sell! I submitted her immediately to a pharmaceutical company, and without so much as a phone call or question, she was rejected upon the grounds of not having a science background? I was bewildered. Although I was now a recruitment consultant, I had spent many years previously as a pharmaceutical sales manager. I was in no doubt that this lady would be superb.

The issue here is that the medical sales role requires people to be able to take on technical and scientific information very quickly and retain it to a level such that you are able to hold a conversation on the topic with top Doctors. In addition, the industry exam, the ABPI, must be passed within two years to keep your place in the industry, if you fail, you lost your job, and they’ve lost their investment in you. For this reason, they seek the science background as an insurance policy. If someone has the science background clearly they have the capacity to take on the technical stuff, but also they will likely have a head start with the base of their knowledge.

Of course this doesn’t mean someone with an English degree can’t learnt he technical stuff, but they haven’t proven it in the way someone with a science degree can, and therefore the risk is greater.

So if you don’t have the science background and you want a career in medical sales, what can you do? Well, in the scenario above, not a lot. If a company is this dismissive there is little you can do, although I would suggest this is short sited and they may be missing good opportunities. What you need to do is build up other areas of your CV to compensate. If you can demonstrate that you really can sell a good sales manager will listen. If you are straight from your degree, this may mean taking some telesales jobs to develop a track record, but it will stand you in good stead. Then you need to find some other example of where you have had to learn technical information quickly. If you can show the ‘aptitude’ to learn the technical stuff, even if not a direct example then you are half way there.

In summary, if you are to be successful in medical sales you will need to be resilient. Don’t be put off by one recruitment consultant, or one pharmaceutical company rejecting you because you don’t have a science background. Work hard to demonstrate your aptitude to learn. Develop other areas of your CV to make you attractive, such as sales experience and research the role thoroughly before interviews.

Persistence will pay off!

Good luck