The Secret to Standing Out in Your Pharma Sales Job Search – Part II

Although times are tough for job seekers all over, it’s not as bad for medical sales candidates (with the exception of pharma revenue reps) because of the largely “recession-proof” nature of the business.  But, having said that, pharmaceutical sales job seekers are still feeling the pinch.  Because it’s such an gracious career area, many candidates are transitioning in and the overflow of displaced pharma reps are adding to it.  All in all, it’s an employer’s market here, too.  When there are thousands of applicants for positions posted online, it’s virtually impossible to get noticed.  But there are proven strategies you can use to take control and land the career opportunity.  We started with Tip #1, Rethink Your Job Search, and today’s tip is:

Tip #2:  Turn Social Media into Your Career opportunity Search’s Best Friend (not its worst enemy)

Online social networks are both underrated and often misused as a career opportunity search tool.  Facebook and Twitter can be excellent avenues to network or follow position leads, but it’s easy to forget that socializing with your friends can lead to comments or pictures that will kill your chances when the hiring manager sees it.  Sanitize your pages—you will be Googled.

But the Top Daddy of online networks, and the place you have to spend most of your time, is LinkedIn.  You must be on LinkedIn, with a high-quality profile that includes a business-appropriate photo.  (Career Confidential offers a LinkedIn Profile Tutorial for this.)  There are over Seventy million professionals on LinkedIn—that’s a lot of position leads.  And, at least 80% of employers and recruiters use LinkedIn to look for potential hires.  You can’t afford to miss this.

You can join LinkedIn groups specific to your field and learn tremendous amounts of vital information, make connections to grow your network, and make a name for yourself by joining talks and contributing useful comments.  Companies maintain pages that are invaluable when researching for your interview.  Perhaps most importantly, you can get ahead of the job-searching crowd and find “hidden jobs” by contacting hiring managers directly on LinkedIn.

Here’s another tip for you to make the most of LinkedIn:

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

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The Secret to Standing Out in Your Medical Sales Job Search – Part II