A brag book is a binder with professional documents to support the statements a candidate makes during the interview process. A medical sales brag book is necessary requirement for those pursuing a career in healthcare sales.
What Is A Brag Book?
Simply put, a brag book is a prop a candidate brings to interviews. It backs up the statements made during the interview process with data. During the interview process for a professional sales role it is expected that a candidate will have a brag book. While it may not be needed all of the time, it demonstrates preparation. Plus, it serves to reinforce the candidates qualifications and background.
For example, the hiring manager may not be familiar with the candidate’s previous company or role. At the surface level, the manager may have some doubts about the performance numbers stated during the interview. Was the candidate really the top rep four years in a row? Well, a brag book is an easy way to solve this problem.
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How To Make A Brag Book For Medical Sales Job
What should be included in a sales brag book?
Making a brag book starts with gathering important professional documents. These are the types of files that should be securely stored away and backed up.
- Educational Accomplishments
- Previous Sales Performance
- Documentation Of Large Orders
- Performance Reviews
- Encouraging Letters From Customers
- Brochures Of Products Represented
- Copies Of Resume
- 30-60-90 Day Plan
- References
- Awards
- LinkedIn Recommendations
Related: How To Prepare For A Medical Sales Interview
Professional Brag Book
The next step is to purchase a three ringed binder and 3 hole punch sheet protectors. Arrange the documents in chronological or logical order. The candidate will need to be able to find specific pages during the interview discussion. Once a brag binder is created, it is easy to add pages and maintain over time.
Brag Book For Interview
It is important to understand how the brag book gets used during the interview process. First off, an interview is not show and tell. Second, a candidate does not need to back up every statement made. An interview discussion should have a natural flow to it. When the timing is right, it can help reinforce certain points by highlighting previous sales experience or performance data in the brag book. Again, I like to think of the brag book as mostly a prop. I have had many interviews it which I never felt the need to open it.
After the interview, the interview candidate should take the brag book back. I have seen a candidate bring two copies of their brag book, so one can be left with the hiring manager. I think this is overkill. No one has the time to go through all these documents. I would only leave it behind if asked to do so. But this would be an unusual request. Another option, is to have two copies of each document in the sheet protectors. In this case, a candidate can leave behind a specific document if the manager is interested in reviewing further.
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Brag Book Medical Sales Interviews
According to the 9 To 5 Project, a brag book also serves as a confidence booster. It is a prop to help a candidate navigate challenging interview questions. Ideally, it should be 10-25 pages and easy to navigate. The documents should be in a logical order and include a table of contents if necessary. Last but not least, the documents need to be proofread. After all this is being used for a professional presentation.
Digital Brag Book
In the current era, it is likely that part of the interview process will take place over Zoom. In this case a physical brag book is not going to do much good. I recommend scanning the same documents from the physical brag book and putting them in a virtual presentation. Keep it simple with something like PowerPoint. Not only is it good to have these types of files backed up in the cloud, it provides versatility to use them in a virtual environment.
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