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The Pharma Career Ladder · The medical rep · Step 9: Growing your career · Lesson 10

The CV that gets read

Four tiles a hiring manager looks for first

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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Most rep CVs describe the job. Very few describe the person who did it.

"Responsible for visiting doctors and promoting products" is on almost every CV I see. It tells a hiring manager nothing, because every rep does it. The CVs that get read show results only you can claim.

Four things I look for first:

  • Result versus target: your achievement against target, year by year.
  • Territory: its size and its mix of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies.
  • Products and therapy areas: the brands and classes you promoted, and to which specialties.
  • Recognition: rankings, awards and promotions, each with a date.
  • Three rules while you write it:
  • Numbers beat adjectives.
  • Only claim numbers you can explain in the interview. You will be asked.
  • Never include confidential sales data from your current employer. Achievement against target is yours to share. The company's figures are not.

A hiring manager gives each CV a short first look. Put the results where that look lands: at the top.

“Your duties describe the job. Your results describe you.”
The CV that gets read: Four tiles a hiring manager looks for first

Lesson 10 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 8Do you actually want to manageFour honest questions before you applyLesson 9The interview for a rep roleWhat a hiring manager is really listening forLesson 11Staying a rep, on purposeA serious career, not a waiting room

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