3 Biotech Skills that Prove You’re Right for Medical Sales Jobs

You’ve spent years in the lab checking cells through a microscope. You fell asleep in the library with your physics flashcards in hand more times than you can count. And after all your hard work, you’ve graduated.

Congratulations!

Now, while on the search for BSc biotechnology jobs, why not consider a role in sales?

Believe it or not, sales is an incredibly rewarding career path when it comes to biotechnology jobs. In our 2021 Biotech Sales Salary Report, 87% of biotech sales reps said they were satisfied with their job and 90% said they were satisfied with their income (the highest percentage of all sales categories we surveyed). Not to mention, every day, you get to use your knowledge to make sure patients get the right drug or medical device to improve their health.

If you’re interested in medical sales, you need to understand how to best showcase your skills and education to employers. Here are three skills and traits you developed through biotech studies, and how they can help you land fantastic BSc biotechnology jobs in sales:

1. Complex Problem-Solving

Biotech involves finding innovative ways to solve medical problems. No doubt, during your education, you’ve been put in situations where you had to ask out-of-the-box questions, break a goal down into hundreds of parts, and troubleshoot every step of the way to get a project done.

Medical sales reps do the same thing on a daily basis. From helping clients who can’t figure out how to work their medical device to convincing a particularly-hesitant doctor that their drug is the best for their patient, they are constantly putting out fires.

During the hiring process, your best chance to prove to employers you can handle any problem that comes your way is during the interview process. Whenever you get an inquiry like “Tell me about a challenge you’ve faced,” have an example ready to go.

Make sure that your answer clearly lays out:

– What the main problem was
– What your process was for assessing and prioritizing solutions
– How you adapted when other issues arose

And remember to use understandable language and terminology. You’re trying to show off how you approached a challenge, not bury your interviewer in technical words.

2. An Investigative Mind

As anyone with a biotech degree can tell you, the field is constantly evolving. To succeed in biotech sales, you need to be curious about advancements and proactively look for ways new discoveries can be used. The same is true in medical sales.

Employers want to know you’ll always be interested in what’s changing with drugs and devices. Because in medical sales, if a rep doesn’t keep up with products it can negatively impact someone’s health.

The best way to show you have an investigative mind when applying for medical sales roles related to BSc biotechnology jobs is to thoroughly research the company. Reach out to current employees on LinkedIn and ask them what it’s like to work there. Find out about the company’s products and the competition so you can speak about their challenges clearly during interviews and confidently suggest solutions.

Most importantly, ask questions. Many job applicants worry that having questions makes them seem unprepared or confused. But if you pose thoughtful questions, the company will see that you’re interested in constantly learning.

3. Communication Skills

It’s an unfortunate stereotype, but many people assume that communication isn’t a strength of people with science backgrounds. Of course that couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout your education, you had to work on teams and discuss courses of action and, of course, write countless reports that clearly explained your findings.

During the hiring process, you’ll need to show how those same skills and experiences translate to communicating with doctors and patients. One of the best ways to do this is to remember that a job interview isn’t a presentation, it’s a conversation.

You’ll want to actively listen when your interviewer is talking. When they respond to one of your questions, acknowledge you understand by paraphrasing their answer back to them. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to show a bit of your personality. As long as you remain professional, it will show the hiring managers you have the skills to make the important connections you’ll need to nurture meaningful relationships with clients.