Medical Sales School Article

Why Don’t I Get Any Responses To My Medical Sales Resume?

By Mace Horoff, President
Sales Pilot Medical Sales Training

Too many medical sales candidates make the mistake of thinking that getting hired into this field is going to be easy. After all, every other job you applied for was just a matter of filling out an application, and when there was an opening you got a phone call to come in for an interview. After a few minutes with the hiring manager – voila, you had the job.

Why isn’t it this easy to get hired for medical sales? There are several reasons. First, it isn’t just a job, but a high-paying career. The selection process is quite a bit more involved.

Second, medical sales is a highly-sought vocation. It offers great compensation and it is a respected, professional position. As a consequence, there is usually much competition for every opening.

Third, the vast majority of job applicants are not really prepared for the hiring process and don’t know how to go about it.

So, you tell me – why aren’t you getting any responses to your resume? Let me help you out. Tell me if any of these reasons might apply:

• You’re taking a non-focused, generic approach, in other words, you’re sending your resume to any company that has an opening.
• You’re using a resume blast from one of the less reputable medical sales recruiter who is sending out your generic resume with hundreds of others
• There is nothing in your resume that makes you stand out from the rest of the herd
• Your resume “screams” a lack of sales experience
• Nothing in your experience on your resume has been connected or framed as a benefit for medical sales
• Your resume looks like you spent all of 15 minutes putting it together
• Your resume could be used for almost any job, that is, it is in no way specific for medical sales

I could go on and on, but the reality is that no matter how impressed you are with yourself and your perceived qualifications, if the person reviewing your resume can’t decide why he or she should take a closer look at you in 15-30 seconds, you’re toast! Where you went to college means nothing. Your extracurricular activities mean nothing unless you can specifically and believably tie them into your sales prowess. Your self-proclaimed leadership and relationship building skills without specific examples are just a waste of good paper.

Medical sales is about sales. Your resume is your lead sales tool. It must specifically sell the benefits of hiring YOU! If you can’t specifically qualify and quantify how hiring you will increase sales for the hiring company, your chances of getting invited to an interview are weak.

Remember, if you’re not getting any calls on your resume, it’s not because there is anything wrong with you. It’s because your resume isn’t “selling” you. You probably need to trash your current resume and start over. Think like the person who is hunting for the next medical sales superstar for his or her company and construct your resume accordingly.

Resume secret: a resume that works is not just about you – it’s about why you are the best choice to help the company meet it’s sales goals without them having to guess how you are going to do it. When your resume and you can tell that story, you’ll not only get called for the interview, you’ll also land the job!


© Copyright Mace Horoff, 2008. All Rights Reserved

Mace Horoff is a speaker, author, and medical device sales trainer. With a 25-year history as an award-winning sales representative and trainer in the medical device industry, Mace is founder and president of Sales Pilot Medical Sales Training, a company dedicated to sales performance improvement in the medical device industry. He can be reached at (561) 333-8080 or email. For information on having Mace speak for your group or to learn more about Sales Pilot training programs, visit www.MedicalSalesTraining.com