Most resume websites, and career sites for that matter, offer generic tips about constructing your resume. However, what they don’t take into consideration is that some jobs require a resume tailored to that field. If you want a job in medical sales, or you are trying to move into a stronger company in the medical device or pharmaceutical world, there are a few things you need to have on your resume that a generic career site won’t tell you.
First, you need to make sure you list any and all sales statistics under each employer. Always put your % to quota or sales numbers for all years, along with you rankings, quota attainment, growth, and territory size (to demonstrate the size of the accounts you manage). This is something a generic resume wouldn’t include.
List all achievements and awards. Make sure every President’s Club award, achievement or recognition by your company is there to highlight your success. It’s best to list these under each employer to make them easier to distinguish.
Always put your call points and physician specialties, not only do these speak to your experience, but in the digital age recruiters and hiring manager will be using these keywords to find your resume.
Include any hospital sales and the hospitals you sold to, hiring managers and sales directors like to see that you have existing relationships that you can leverage for their product.
Always put your territory for each position, again, these are key words that are important to have in the body of your resume. Recruiters look for reps in certain locations or that covered certain territories.
Make sure to highlight any special training or reimbursement/buy and bill experience, etc. Those little things might give you the edge over another candidate.
Ensure that you not only include the companies you worked for, but also the products that you have sold. Many large companies have a long list of products. When reviewing your resume, sales directors want to know what exactly you’ve been selling so they can related that experience to the product they want you to sell.
Include your employment dates on your resume, and make sure they match up with dates on your LinkedIn profile, and other places your information maybe that potential bosses will see. Employers want to see a clear, concise and consistent employment record. Conflicting dates can be a red flag, either that something isn’t, or that you aren’t detail oriented enough to get it right, neither is a good thing.
Finally, try not to make your resume too long. Although we’ve given you a lot of things to include, recruiters and hiring managers have no time to read long resumes with too much information. Write succinctly and use bullets to highlight your experience and accomplishments. If it’s laid out properly, a glance at your resume will demonstrate experience and expertise and get you selected for an interview.
For more ideas you can also check out our article on Top 7 Mistakes Pharmaceutical Sales People Make When Writing A Resume.