Medical sales and 8 quick ways to loose your job

To this date it baffles me why people squander their career opportunities through the most simple of errors and misjudgements to loose their job, and with it their opportunity to build a career in pharmaceuticals beyond medical sales.

Here's some of the simplest ways to loose your medical sales job.

Speed traps. In one well publicised case recently a man was caught doing 174 mph in a Porsche! It doesn't matter how you arrive at your driving ban, but once banned, you cannot do a field based sales role. In this case, you may be the best medical rep in the world, but your employer will not hang on to you, as you cannot do the job you are employed to. If you are worried you are a little 'quick', either buy a snooper or slow down, preferably do both!

Lie at interview. It doesn't matter if you see it as a harmless bit of embellishment to add a couple of £k's to your salary at interview, but once your P45 arrives, if they spot it, you're history. Any form of untruth told at interview is a complete 'no' and will nearly always surface at some point. Don't set yourself a time bomb, say it how it is.

Fail your training course. It may be the first time you've stayed in a posh hotel for free with a load of other new employees, but don't have too much of a good time, you are their to work and are being paid for it. Not only do you need to pass, first impressions last, so make sure you put your best foot forward.

Get drunk at company meetings. Yes, I know you are often provided with copious amounts of free drink, and I have even know this successfully used as a job saving defence having been found drunk at company meetings in social time and behaving badly. However, even for the lucky chap concerned, his career stopped there. By all means enjoy a drink, but be measured, use occasions like this to network to develop your career, not destroy it.

Fake sickness to go shopping with your family. Yes I've bumped into my own sales staff in supermarkets, whilst off work 'sick'. This particular chap felt sicker within 24 hours after a meeting in HR.

Falsify Call reporting. Almost everyone in medical sales is under pressure at some point to generate higher activity. The temptation add a couple of calls here and there is always there. It only takes one count of dishonesty in reporting to be uncovered to end it all. If you want more calls on your call report, visit a few more customers.

Fail your ABPI. Okay it's a tough exam, but in my experience as a manager, 'all' those who do the work and keep up do pass, those who don't, no matter how bright, frequently fail. Fail to pass within 2 years are you are looking for a new career.

Take up golf....during working hours. Medical sales is an incredibly flexible role. I expected my pound of flesh as a manager but frequently gave a nod to finishing the odd day a little early for a parents evening or perhaps an early kick off to the family holiday. But don't be tempted to go part time, it's a slippery slope and you'll be rumbled when it's too late to change.

Medical sales presents a great career opportunity that can be squandered in just a few moments with the wrong decisions. All of the above are real scenarios that do happen, nest make sure it doens't happen to you!

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Good luck.