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The Pharma Career Ladder · The medical rep · Step 9: Growing your career · Lesson 8

Do you actually want to manage

Four honest questions before you apply

By Ahmed El Menshawy · 20 years in pharma, from medical rep to country manager in the UAE. Founder of RepPharma. LinkedIn
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Management is often offered as the reward for being a good rep. It is not a reward. It is a different job.

Some of the best reps I have worked with became unhappy managers. Not because they lacked skill, but because nobody asked them the honest questions before they applied.

Four questions I would ask you first:

  • 1. Do I enjoy others' wins? Your wins will now come through other people's doctors.
  • 2. Can I give hard feedback? Including to a friend whose calls are not good enough.
  • 3. Can I let go of my own calls? Will I coach the call instead of taking it over? This is the hardest habit for a top rep to break.
  • 4. Can I own a team number? You will answer for results you do not control directly.

If the answers are yes, apply with confidence. If they are not yet, that is useful to know too. Staying a strong rep for another year is not failure.

What worries me is the rep who applies only because it is the next title.

“Apply because you want the job, not because you want to leave yours.”
Do you actually want to manage: Four honest questions before you apply

Lesson 8 of 11 in Step 9: Growing your career, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.

More lessons in step 9: Growing your career

Lesson 1Your first ninety daysLearning, credibility and early wins in a new territoryLesson 2Handing over a territoryLeaving it better than you found itLesson 3What gets a rep promotedHitting target gets you noticed. These get you chosenLesson 4The senior repWhat changes with the title, and what never doesLesson 5Building a reputation across functionsMarketing, medical and supply chain are watching tooLesson 6Learning from a manager you dislikeTake the skill, leave the styleLesson 7Moving between therapy areasWhat comes with you and what you must rebuildLesson 9The interview for a rep roleWhat a hiring manager is really listening forLesson 10The CV that gets readFour tiles a hiring manager looks for firstLesson 11Staying a rep, on purposeA serious career, not a waiting room

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