What is your perception of a typical day for a pharmaceutical representative?

SAMPLE ANSWER: I have an idea of what the day is like for a pharmaceutical representative and I think it parallels some of what my normal day is like. As a representative I would see as many of my assigned physicians as possible and sell them on why they should use my drug over the competition. I know some physicians are difficult to reach, so I would try to catch them early (6-7AM) in the hospital or after hours, like I have to do with some of my customers. Some days I would utilize a lunch to better impact difficult to see physicians. After 5:00 PM I would enter my calls in the computer (or after each call) and pick up e-mails. At night I would look over pre-call planning for my next day. I dont know if you entertain physicians like I do with my customers currently but I would do some entertaining at night (restaurant) or on the weekends, (golf, hunting, fishing)-whatever it takes to beat my numbers. What do you think is the most challenging aspect of a pharmaceutical representative? SAMPLE ANSWER: Well number one, I think its probably getting quality time with the physician to impact prescribing behavior. Another challenge I think you would face is there are physicians that dont see representatives. You have to be creative in finding a way to gain access to them. If you are currently in sales and face these obstacles in your present job, be sure to add this to your answer. You are given a territory and a list of physicians to call on. How would you organize and prioritize your call schedule? SAMPLE ANSWER: I would analyze my territory, and determine the accounts that have the greatest sales potential. I would quickly work to determine my most profitable 20 percent of my clients. Once they have been contacted and I feel comfortable with my relationship with these clients, I would then work the rest of my customers and develop new clients. Tell me about your last manager. Did you like him/her? If I was your manager, what is the best way to coach/mentor you to success? What qualities should a successful manager possess? Describe the relationship that should exist between the supervisor and those reporting to him or her? SAMPLE ANSWER: I liked my manager and we had a positive working relationship. We had similar thought processes on how to run my territory and how to best manage me. The best way to manage me is to give me all the tools (training, funding) necessary to be successful. Then let me run my territory in a way to exceed expectations. I would like a manager who periodically rides

with me so he/she can understand my account and provide open constructive criticism. I view my territory as my own business and take accountability for its performance. I feel the successful qualities in a manager are as follows: high expectations, openness, honesty, excellent communication skills and the ability to assist me in my career development and goal attainment. I want an open and candid relationship with my manager. How do you think you would get a Physician to switch to your drug? SAMPLE ANSWER: First, I would NOT expect the physician to make a sudden change to my drug if he is happy with the drug he is currently prescribing. I am going to have to start small and expand his usage (nibble away market share). I would determine what influences his behavior: reprints, speaker programs, peers, and formularies. I would use a combination of the appropriate tools to gain physician agreement on my drugs effectiveness. After this, I would gain commitment from him to use the drug on a specific patient type. After the physician has tried my drug on this patient type, I would get him to notice the success on this patient when the patient comes back in for a follow up visit. When the physician admitted efficacy, I would then gain commitment for use in other patient types. This is comparable with my current business.

How would you like your ideal sales manager to be - to get the best out of you? Some pharmaceutical interview questions like this one are tricky. But you would certainly like a helpful sort who equips you with all the tools and knowledge, tips and other forms of support. You need one who can assess your potential and set you realistic goals based on a well-analyzed sales plan. One who actually sees you in action and tells you how to get the best strategy in place. One who can drive you, who supports and believes in you, who is open, honest and who can use his knowledge and yours to bring about a synergistic result. One who can add value to both your personal and career goals. What are the qualities of a medical representative? 1- should be able to read the doctors mind. 2- should be punctuality . 3-should be ready to learn new things anytime anywhere. 4-should be smart. 5- should have technical as well as practical knowledge.
Some Additional Questions:

1. Why did you decide pharmaceutical sales would be the right career for you? First tell them that you love selling and site examples where you have done this even if you havent been employed as a salesperson. Mention instances where you persuaded someone to buy in to your ideas, etc. That is selling! Mention that you have always been highly motivated, energetic, and enthusiastic. Successful sales

people have all of these qualities as well as being creative and resourceful. Be prepared to cite examples where you displayed these behavioral characteristics. Next, expound upon why pharmaceutical sales would be right for you. This is a good time to pull out the information that you have collected during your research. You can explain how stable the industry is, how exciting it would be to be part of such a dynamic field, and one where the opportunity to help thousands of people is a reality. State that this would give you tremendous job satisfaction. Also let them know that you realize the opportunities for personal and professional growth are tremendous with pharmaceutical sales companies. You will thrive on the daily challenges of performing a pharmaceutical sales representatives job. (This would be a great time to mention the field preceptorship and how much you enjoyed your day in the representatives territory!) The research you have done on their company and the industry, and the extra effort you have put forth to spend a day in the field to see for yourself what a pharmaceutical sales representative does will give you tremendous credibility. You will be viewed as a serious candidate! 1. What is your current occupation? Give an honest answer, but highlight any area of responsibility that you may have which would be seen as a benefit for someone in pharmaceutical sales. This would be a good time to show the Career Comparison information that you have placed in your Personal Presentation Binder. You will have already compared your job responsibilities to that of a pharmaceutical sales representative. Were you responsible for marketing a product or idea to others? Have you analyzed a buyer to determine that buyers potential? Do you have daily contact with physicians or other medical personnel in your day-to-day activities? These are excellent job responsibility areas to compare with pharmaceutical sales job responsibilities. Be careful not to make a negative statement. Always expect to be asked to prove any statement that you make! 1. I see you have held several different positions over the last five years? Can you explain why? The obvious objective in this question is to determine whether you are a jobhopper. Training and educating pharmaceutical sales representatives is very timeconsuming and expensive. A bad choice would yield an ineffective pharmaceutical sales representative and one that would potentially leave the job undone because that person has again decided to do something else. The district manager will attempt to ascertain whether you are a dependable person and whether you do indeed really want a career that offers upward mobility. He must be convinced that you will stay and work smart. If you have changed positions in order to increase the challenge of your job and allow upward mobility, then that is an excellent reason for

changing jobs. Career transitions or job transitions made to increase compensation for your work is another good reason. 1. When did you decide to pursue a pharmaceutical sales career position? You might reply that after your extensive research into this career field including actually going on a field preceptorship, that you believe this a perfect career for you. Then you must explain why it is perfect for you. It is perfect because you thrive on the type of challenges faced by pharmaceutical sales representatives! You want to make a difference at a job you are certain you will love. Pharmaceutical sales is a perfect match for your personality and work experience. Then supply proof for your statement. 1. How long having you been seeking employment in the pharmaceutical sales industry? Your answer here will be important. You have the opportunity to make yourself look good with the right answer. If you have been looking for a position for a long time, six months or more, then you need to present yourself as a tenacious person who never gives up because you are absolutely certain that you are the right person for the job. Whether you have been granted interviews will matter, because the district manager will wonder why you didnt gain the position if you interviewed. On the other hand, if you didnt gain an interview that means you failed the first sales test. Perhaps you turned a position down because of location. Thats a good reason to decline. If youve just started looking for a pharmaceutical sales position and youve already gained interviews, its because you are impressive, on paper and in person. 1. How does your current or former job experience compare to pharmaceutical sales? 2. What was your rating on your last Performance Management Review? 3. How would you describe selling? 4. Name five reasons why you believe you would be a good pharmaceutical sales representative. 5. Have you interviewed with other companies? 6. How do you feel about working on your own most of the time? 7. Why should we hire you over other candidates? Here is a list of the top ten interview questions. 1. Tell us about yourself and what you have done so far in your career? Briefly describe your education, career path, jobs and position held and any relevant highlights and achievements. Substantiate the content in your resume (instead of repeating what it says) such as giving examples of leadership situations, being part of winning teams or doing some original work.

2. What do you know about our organization and the industry? This should be easy if you have done your homework. You must be familiar by now about the companys main business areas, products, research activities, geographical presence, turnover, profit etc. Reel off the information you have gathered about the industry from the internet, industry journals, reports etc to validate your statements. If you are aware of the latest developments state it to substantiate the fact that you are indeed abreast of industry trends and that you are a valuable asset to the company. 3. Why have you applied for this job? Be clear about the value the job adds to your career and the value that you bring to the job as well. It obviously has mutual benefits, economically, personally and socially, that affect both you and the company in the short and long term. 4. Why should we select you? Be prepared for this question because this answer will sell your story. Know lucidly, what you bring to the organization such as personal qualities, knowledge and skills that will add value to the company. If you can qualify these with quantifiable records you have achieved in previous jobs or assignments, it adds credibility. 5. What are your career goals and where do you see yourself five years from now? Spare some thought for this because your prospective employer is interested in knowing how clear you are at this moment about what you want to achieve. 6. Why did you leave your last job? Focus on the positives such as your career path and how you needed to further your career and long term interests. Do not get stuck in how bad the organization was etc. 7. What are your strengths and weaknesses? A good question, answers to which you must certainly know job interview or otherwise. A candid conversation with a friend helps in listing the same because an outsider can be more objective. Focus on your strengths. Acknowledge weaknesses and restrict them to professional traits. State how how you counter them. Better still, convert it into a strength. For eg. The positive side of taking time to work on a proposal could be that you are meticulous and produce quality results. 8. What is your salary expectation? Research is important so you dont quote too high or too less. Be in the range or even better, quote a range and leave it tactfully open for negotiations. There is no one way, but prepare for all circumstances with tactful answers, leaving this answer

out open for negotiation later. 9. How do you handle a situation such as a conflict or management situation? Your real life experiences are your greatest teachers and it helps to draw lessons from similar experiences. Apply your real life situation to the one cited in the example and address the problem using your experience, creativity, instinct and sensitivity and in all circumstances keeping the organizations long term goals in view. 10. Do you have any questions? Yes. Any question that you would like an answer for about the organization, the job and related areas may be asked now.

11. Why should I select you? There are n numbers of reasons but to be very specific my usp is "hard work and enough passionate to do work" which matches with your job profile. 12. What is marketing? Marketing is the creation of strategy for selling of products and service. 13. What is the role of a frontline manager in pharmacy sales? Target achievement. Management of absence. Launch of new products. People recruitment. feedback to medical reps. Collection of outstanding. Sales forecast. Vacant territory management. Standard tour plan. Budgeting. Stockiest management. 14. How will you sell your product? Tell only the positive features,and highlight the extraordinary features of the product and tell about the offers and best price comparing with other products which he feels more advantageous, with a pleasing manner.

15. Why do you want to join pharmaceutical as a medical representative? First of all this is the best option to grow personality & interaction skill for the B.Pharm Graduate and really it is the fast growing industry which is always untouched from recession. For the person of Pharma background, field is good option to learn & continuous growth of your knowledge & also improve the knowledge of drugs. Secondly as it is a never ending industry. As per my knowledge the GDP of this industry is 14.5 percent. And in this profession there is lot of openings instead of govt. sector. And in govt. sector it is much more time taken & money matter. 16. What is the role of a medical representative? Medical Representatives role is convincing doctors and generating prescription in favour of the companys products. And to get the prescription from the doctor to maintain the sales reports send it to higher officials. So we can say overall MR is a owner of the product in his territory. 17. What do you mean by pharmacy and fmcg? Ans : fmcg means fast moving consumer goods like biscuits ,etc while pharmacy deals with medicines. 18. What are the functions of a body system?

Keep in mind that every interview is based on three underlying questions: What makes you the ideal candidate for the job? What is it about the role that interests you? Why do you want to work at our company? Tips and preparation: Reread your CV before the interview - you need to make sure you can demonstrate your areas of expertise with live examples Practise your technique and get feedback from friends - this will also help with the nerves Think about your attitude - be positive, enthusiastic, natural and honest The key to a successful interview lies in preparation: Find out as much as you can about the company before your interview If you're new to the pharmaceutical sector, find out about it by reading newspapers and looking online Try and anticipate the questions you may be asked and think about how you'll answer them Have a few of your own questions ready to ask Check the format of the interview - will there be any personality or skills testing? At the interview: First impressions are vital - make the most of them Guide the interviewer towards a discussion of your strengths Show you've done your research - mention the facts you've discovered If you're asked a difficult question, don't feel you have to answer immediately Take your time and think about your response .Keep your answers concise and be confident

Tell me about a conflict you had with a coworker and how it resolved. Give example of time where you turned a negative into a positive