Use a Field Preceptorship to Get Your Next Sales Job

A field preceptorship a outstanding way to boost your chances of landing a clinical laboratory sales job.  Also known as a ride-along or job shadowing, it’s usually something we associate with students, but a field preceptorship offers multiple benefits for the jobseeker:

• It gives you on-the-job experience without having to get the position.  You can explore it to see if it’s right for you before you make the commitment to change careers.
• You can use the experience on your resume, giving you keywords that will flag your CV in Applicant Tracking Systems–especially helpful for these with no prior experience in pharma sales.
• It gives you material for your 30/60/90-day plan, an handsome document to have in a position interview.
• It sets you apart as a “go-getter.”  Not everyone will go to this length before they even have the career opportunity.
• It shows that you know how to make contacts, which is essential in a sales role.
• It’s attractive to hiring managers, and helps ‘em to see you in the job.

How do you discover someone to ride with?  Ask your doctor or laboratory for the names of revenue reps.  When you contact them, ask if you can ride along for the day, or even part of the day.  Reassure Them that you’re not after their career opportunity, but are just looking for information.  Try to stay quiet during the actual sales part, but in between, ask questions about a typical day, the pros and cons of their job, what it takes to be successful, and so on.

When you get to the interview, the prep work you did will show, giving you the edge over other candidates and help you land the job.

Article courtesy of  Peggy McKee - Owner / Senior Recruiter at the nationally
recognized pharma and pharmaceutical sales recruiting team of PHC Consulting.
© Copyright 2008 PHC Consulting | All rights reserved

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Use a Field Preceptorship to Get Your Next Sales Job