At least not initially. Here’s a scenario: A medical company has posted a job on LinkedIn and/or Med Reps. The hiring manager or Human Resource Director has been bombarded with over 150 resumes. The H/R Director, after utilizing a search engine to screen for buzz words, sends 50 resumes to the hiring manager. The manager now wants to interview 5-7 qualified candidates and starts reviewing resumes. The manager comes upon a resume which, if he /she reads from start to finish, will take until next Tuesday. Now this manager has 49 other resumes to review, decides that this resume is too long and wordy, and puts it aside. The manager continues to review the other resumes, identifies 5-7 candidates, and that one long resume goes into the trash bin. And you know what? That candidate could have been the single most qualified candidate for that job.
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“WELL IF YOU LOOK AT MY RESUME”
Interviewing is building and forging a solid relationship with a prospective manager and / or recruiter. Most of the time, an offer is extended because the manager flat out likes the candidate. Interpersonal dynamics, good communication skills and the ability to “hit it off’ with the hiring manager can often lead to an offer- even if your background is not exactly spot on.
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DON’T BE TOO PERSISTENT
There is a fine line between showing interest in a position and being overly aggressive. Recently, I called a candidate who had sent me her resume for a medical sales position in Atlanta. After I had left her a message, she called back, but unfortunately I was on another line. So she tried again. And again. And again. Now I usually get back to candidates very quickly, but in this particular case I had to leave the office to conduct interviews. By the end of the day, she had called 22 times! The next morning, the phone started ringing at 8AM and continued until noon. Another 11 times!
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INTERVIEW WHILE YOU ARE SICK (if you can!)
Believe it or not, interviewing while you are sick can absolutely work to your advantage. It can unwittingly provide a defense mechanism in the event that you do not have a strong interview! Now I am not advocating that you leave your deathbed to attend an interview, nor am I suggesting that you spread a very contagious disease in doing so. I am merely saying that if you can muster the strength to interview while you are not at your best, it can actually help you in the process. Here’s why…
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THE ELEVATOR SPEECH AND THE ONE PAGE RESUME
Let’s say that you are interviewing for a medical sales job, the hiring manager asks you for your ‘Elevator Speech,” and you answer it like this:
“Well,IwasborninPoughkeepsiein1993myfathersoldvacuumcleanersmymotherwasateacherIwenttoCatholicschoolthenhighschoolIplayedfootballgotgreatgradeswenttocollegegraduatedin2015wentotworkatXeroxmadequota,wasPresident’sClubwinner,ranked#1madethecompany$5M,wasRookieoftheYear,spentthreeyearstherewentintomedicalsalesaCookmedicalalwaysmadequota,gotgoodrecommendationsmadePresident’sClubtheretoolookingtogrowandbecomeamanagerinthenexttwoyearsandthenbecomeaVPanditisallthereonmyresume!
TAKING ONE SMALL STEP AT A TIME
One Small Step…
In recent years, medical companies have increasingly asked us to provide them with Entry Level Candidates from the likes of ADP, Cintas, Xerox, Pitney Bowes, Gallo, Enterprise, etc. The attraction to these young professionals stems from the great basic sales training these young people get from these companies. I would hazard a guess to say that 85-90% of our job assignments call for these types of individuals. And these candidates know it. Because of that, many of these candidates feel that they “are in so much of a demand” that they do not have to work nor interview with what they consider a “stepping stone company.” No sir -they are READY for Prime Time with the likes of Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Stryker, and they can’t be bothered with any other company where they can get a foot in the door.
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