Pharma reps keep the faith!

As a medical recruiter, I acutely understand the frustration that pharmaceutical reps feel when trying to break into the more lucrative medical device sales arena. So many device managers refuse to even consider a pharma rep to fill an open position. Many times, the pharma reps get mad at the recruiter for not "selling" them as a candidate to the device hiring managers. However, as a recruiter, we must give the managers the type of candidates they desire, or they will find another recruiter who will! Device managers want Gorilla Medical Sales Reps, or, as recruiters call them, the "A-team" sales reps. These are reps who consistantly lead their respective districts/regions in percent-to-quota sales.

If you are a pharma rep who really wishes to enter medical device sales, you may want to heed these words of advice.

1) Spend no more than 2 years as a pharma rep before actively seeking a move into device sales. Any longer tenure gets you "labled"

2) Create a resume which shows ACCOMPLISHMENT

3) Be willing to work for a lower base salary than you are receiving as a pharma rep, or even a straight commisioned sales job.