Medical Sales Jobs ... Interviews

The first stage of applications for medical sales jobs is relatively painless. Simply provide the potential employer, or his recruitment agency, with some personal details, including a CV. You may even be able to do this directly from your computer screen.

In the old days (before Email and the Internet) you could then sit back and wait for days or even weeks, whilst the employer, or his recruitment agency, scrutinised the applications and decided whether or not to interview you. Today, you are likely to get an almost immediate response, particularly if your application was made on-line.

It makes no difference whether this is your first medical sales job, or whether you are looking to progress your career in some way ... there's no way of getting the job without an interview.

Some people just don't seem to get at all wound up, and have no trouble at all with interviews. But for others quite the reverse is true, and they suffer high stress levels. And this, apparently, is not necessarily because they are not, or could not be, successful in medical sales jobs. On the contrary, it would appear that it very likely is a product of the interview situation.

During the interview, which may typically last for an hour or so, a possibly life changing decision is going to be be made. The candidate needs to be on top form so as to make sure the job really is what he wants and, indeed, to try to make sure that he really is offered it. No wonder people find interviews more stressful that the day to day medical sales jobs that they are applying for.

Interestingly, stress produces symptoms that are beyond the mental control of the suffers. Blushing, for example, or sweating. Other examples might be temporarily stuttering, mumbling, or fumbling and being physically clumsy.
A little thought soon confirms that, in such circumstances, the blushing, sweating, etc. are not things that one can simply switch off by mentally taking control of the situation. They seem to be beyond the reach of the conscious mind.

But, for the stress sufferer looking for medical sales jobs, all is not lost. There are other, more subtle ways, of defending themselves against the onset of stress and thus improving their potential interview performance. Eliminate potential uncertainty about your journey (to the interview). Do a dummy run before the big day, and then on the day allow plenty of extra time

Eliminate potential uncertainty about the company. Find out as much as you can about its size, turnover, what their products / services are. The company's web-site would be a good place to start.

Eliminate potential uncertainty about the interviewer. You will have been given a name, so ask your recruitment consultant, try finding and talking to an existing employee. Apply for several jobs all at once. This way each interview becomes less of an "all or nothing" experience. After all, if you lose out on one, there's always the others.

If you're a sporting type, some strenuous physical exercise before the interview might give some temporary protection. Interviews are often in hotels ... see if they have a gym, or a pool that you could use for an hour before the interview if you went early.

And, finally, for many people music can be a source of deep relaxation. If this is you, make time before the interview to spend some time with your favourite music.

There are no guarantees in any of this, of course, but it should all help to increase your chances of performing well at your interviews for your desired medical sales jobs.