The first step in applying for a job is submitting a resume. This is a critical step as you will not get an opportunity to make your case to be hired, if the right things are not done here. I would like to make one note before jumping in. The interview process is not a level playing field. Companies are typically legally obligated to post jobs prior to hiring internal candidates who they may already be considering. Sometimes they may even go through the interview process as a formality or to be thorough when a candidate (external or internal) is already a preferred.

Starting A Medical Sales Representative Resume

Regardless, without connections in the industry there is really no choice but to grind through the interview process. The process does serve as a great opportunity to make connections, learn the industry, and sharpen your interview skills. Ideally, the best manner to find a job in the medical device space is networking with people you have met or worked with previously within the industry. But without experience this is not as feasible. The reality is that it will probably be easier to get started working for a smaller company who is willing to give you an initial shot. I agree with some of the online posts that state “getting one of these jobs is harder than the job itself”. Keep reading to learn how to prepare an exceptional medical sales resume.

Experience Needed For A Medical Device Sales Resume

Let’s assume you have zero sales experience. In this case you will need to get a year or two of outside B2B sales experience prior to focusing on going through the interview process with a medical device company. It is not impossible to get a job without sales experience, but highly unlikely, and probably not where your initial energy should be spent. An ideal timeline would go something like this

• Work for a year or two in a “typical introductory” sales job
• Find an associate or developmental role with a major medical company (these are training roles which I discuss further in my article here)
• Then eventually earn your own territory with the company (the goal all along!)

Talk to other folks and look online, it typically takes three to five years from the moment you decide to pursue medical device sales.

To learn about the different types of medical device sales rep job click here.

Resume For Medical Representative Without Experience

Resume Tips For Those With No Sales Experience:

Tip 1: Focus on shaping your resume to highlight any potential sales like activities you been involved with. Maybe you worked at a gym over the summer in college and were responsible for recruiting new members. Make the descriptions on your resume cater to this experience. Be confident in how you position your experience and skills. I see posts online that hiring managers will see through you not having real sales experience, but that is not the point. The purpose of this exercise is to to leverage the experience you have, position it correctly, and show confidence.

Tip 2: Draft your resume to be relevant to where you currently stand in your career. If you are fours years into your career and have some work experience, get rid of the unrelated college activities.

Tip 3: I think this is nonsensical. But if you were member of a sorority or fraternity include this information. It is not a deal breaker, but the reality is hiring managers like to see this for younger folks in which there is less factors for evaluation. 

Tip 4: Try to understand and be articulate on how you will be able to leverage the experience shown on your resume into skills that are important for medical device sales. Work on this talk track!

Tip 5: Maybe you were planning to go a different direction with your career prior to considering medical sales. If this was the case your resume probably reflects it. Consider glossing over (limiting) some of this experience shown on your resume. No one wants to hire someone for a career that is only a backup option.

Resume Tips For Those With No Medical Sales Experience:

Tip 1: First, look at other medical sales resumes on online. If you already have some sales experience this will give you some good examples of how to effectively format your sales numbers, call points, and the training received. Do not underestimate the importance of formalized sales training! This is an important factor for hiring managers looking at folks with minimal sales experience. Did you learn a sales process? Did you go through a workshop on negotiation skills?

Tip 2: How did you rank in comparison to other reps? It easier for hiring managers to take a shot on someone that performed well and ranked highly at a large company with a reputable sales training program. This is why working at Enterprise Rent-a-Car or selling copiers right out of college is such a good gig. My first sales job out of college was with a smaller company which in all honesty did make the transition slightly more challenging.

Tip 3: Put together a “brag binder”. Yes, there will be interviews in which you don’t need it or the company doesn’t care to see it. But from a career perspective it is an easy way to save rankings, letters of achievement, brochures of products represented in prior jobs, etc.

Tip 4: If your first sales job was somewhat medical related, make sure to play this up on your resume. If you sold scrubs or office supplies to a hospital, great! You may already be familiar with navigating through healthcare facilities in a sales capacity.

Medical Sales Resume Examples

This is really not that sophisticated. But go to google images and search for medical sales resumes. Read a bunch of them! In general, keep your resume minimal and clean. Remember your resume is a narrative that supports how you can be a successful in the role being applied for. It is not a time to laundry list everything you have ever done. Also, search for resumes specific to the job you are interviewing for. If you really not help there are many solid services that provide resume help. But the reality is getting your first job is a numbers game once you start interviewing. The resume can be perfected without expert help.

Medical Sales Rep Resume Skills

As you start building your resume, here are the key skillsets you need to keep in mind. It is important to capture these skills on your resume and be able to demonstrate them during the interview process.

• The ability to work independently
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Project confidence and strong interpersonal skills
• Critical thinking skills and the ability to analyze a sales territory
• Ability to build and maintain positive relationships with peers, colleagues, and customers
• Highly motivated in results oriented environment
• The ability to work with urgency and under pressure