How to Interview Medical And Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives

Learn some important questions to ask during a medical or pharmaceutical sales interview.

Since many sales representatives are good at expressing their thoughts, it can be difficult to interview and screen them correctly. Here are two important questions to help get you started and a few red flags to watch for:

Question 1:  Tell me about yourself.

This is a great interview question.  It will often key you into what is most important to the candidate.  Some candidates will discuss their family or hobbies while others will tell you their whole life’s story.  Either way, you will learn a lot about the person because the question is open-ended.

Question 2:  Why do you feel this position is a fit for you?

With this question, the candidate should discuss why they are interested in the position while also turning the conversation into a features and benefits statement about what they can do for the employer.   This shows the ability to turn any conversation into a sales conversation by offering features and benefits.

For additional interview questions, please contact our staff:

Our staff would be happy to answer any additional questions you may have regarding interviewing techniques.  Over the past decade, we have been privileged to work with some of the nation’s top medical and pharmaceutical companies.  We have learned what interviewing questions produce successful candidates from our hiring managers.  This along with our personal experience prescreening and interviewing thousands of top sales representatives across the country have made us knowledgeable in the art of interviewing.   For more great interview questions, please contact any member of our staff.

What to watch for:

• Professionalism
• Neat, Clean Appearance
• Confidence
• Enthusiasm
• Ability to Build Quick Relationships
  How quickly do you feel the candidate warms up to people?  Did the candidate discuss their skills and how their skills would be a benefit to you and your company?
• Sales Abilities
• Presentation Skills
  Was the candidate prepared for the interview?  Did they bring an updated resume and supportive material?
• Closing Skills
  Did the candidate ask if you had any objections or if you would move them to the next step in the process?
• Thank you email or follow-up letter mailed
  Did the candidate mail or email you a thank you note indicating interest in the position?
• Your Gut feeling

We recommend grading candidates on a 10-point scale for each of these categories to assist you in selecting the most qualified candidate.  Weight the questions by assigning a percentage to each question based upon the level of importance.