6 Signs your Medical Sales Job Posting Stinks

It’s not you – it’s your job posting.

You did your research and found a popular niche medical sales job board where you post your open medical sales positions. You buy the job posting package, go through the steps to post your job, and you wait for the applications to roll in…and you wait…any minute now…

Over the next few days you may receive a few resumes, but the response is nothing like what you expected – nothing like what you need if you hope to fill your medical sales job openings. So what gives?

Well, there is no easy way to break this to you, but it’s quite possible that your job posting stinks. How do we know? Well, keep reading and see if any of these 6 things are true about your job posting. If so, don’t worry – we’ll show you how to write a job posting that will dramatically increase the number of applications you’re receiving.

6 Things Wrong with your Ad & Job Posting Tips to Fix It

The job title stinks. You know your job title stinks because it reads like every other job title on the site. AND WRITING IT IN ALL CAPS DOESN’T MAKE IT STAND OUT. It just makes it annoying. So first things first, stop shouting at candidates with your job title. TERRITORY MANAGER is not any more attention grabbing than Territory Manager, but neither of them says anything unique about your job. Don’t get too creative or cutesy with the title, but do include a distinguishing characteristic, even if it’s just about the product. For example, Territory Manager (Surgical Device) or Clinical Consultant (Work in the OR) or Account Rep (Cancer Drug).
No compensation information. We know – that information is classified. It’s company policy to leave it blank. But unless it’s also company policy to take 4 months to hire someone, you need to provide a compensation range when writing a job posting. Sales people won’t apply unless they are certain the gig will be worth their time.
You confused the job posting with the job description. The job posting isn’t the place to specify each and every task and responsibility involved with the role. It should be a high-level overview of what the person you hire will be doing and what kind of experience they should have. Of course, on the opposite side of the spectrum…
You confused the job posting with a job tweet or status update. Don’t be so brief in your job posting that you don’t give the candidate a reason to apply. They need to know more than the job title and the fact that it’s with a “great company” and has “awesome benefits.” To write an effective job post, highlight what makes the job unique and tell them why it’s a good opportunity.
It’s kind of rude. We know it’s frustrating to receive job applications that don’t match your job description, but this is still no reason to be rude in your job posting. You can be clear about the requirements of the position without being unkind. Saying things like, “PHARMA REPS NOT WANTED!!!” turns candidates – even non-pharma reps – off and makes them think you don’t have any manners, so why would they want to work with you?
It directs them to your ATS. We know sometimes it’s unavoidable, but if at all possible, our #1 job posting tip would be – don’t direct candidates to your ATS. Why? Because like you – they are busy (at least, the most successful ones are!). Most of these job seekers are employed, and they don’t have time to spend 20 minutes creating a login and formatting their resume for your system. They are also likely to be job searching on their mobile device, and when they click apply and are redirected to your website, they often just hit the back button. They want to click once and send you their resume. If you like it; if you think it’s a match, well, then you can call the candidate and ask them to spend the time officially applying on your site. But don’t expect top talent to waste their time with your ATS this early in the process.

The Number 1 Job Posting Tip: Make the Most of What You’ve Got

Of course there are other reasons the applications may be slow to come in – the job is in a less than ideal location, the salary is low, or the product is, ahem, challenging. You probably don’t have control over those things, so at least make sure what you do have control of – the job posting – is doing everything it can to attract top talent.