Try free

The Pharma Career Ladder · The medical rep · Step 9: Growing your career · Lesson 4

The senior rep

What changes with the title, and what never does

By Ahmed El Menshawy · 20 years in pharma, from medical rep to country manager in the UAE. Founder of RepPharma. LinkedIn
Published

A senior title brings harder accounts and more trust. It does not bring permission to cut corners.

I have seen strong reps get the senior title and slowly stop doing the things that earned it. The preparation gets thinner, the calls get shorter, and the doctors notice before the manager does.

  • What changes:
  • Harder accounts and the most influential specialists.
  • Newer reps come to you for help.
  • Your manager asks for your view.
  • You get more freedom in how you plan.
  • What stays exactly the same:
  • The same respect for every doctor's time.
  • You still prepare every call properly yourself.
  • Your data still has to be right.
  • The same discipline in actually planning.

The most expensive sentence a senior rep can say is "I have been doing this for years, I do not need to prepare." The specialist you are seeing tomorrow does not care how long you have been doing it. He cares about the next five minutes.

“Seniority is earned in the field every cycle, not once in an appraisal.”
The senior rep: What changes with the title, and what never does

Lesson 4 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 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 10The CV that gets readFour tiles a hiring manager looks for firstLesson 11Staying a rep, on purposeA serious career, not a waiting room

Growing your career, in RepPharma

Log a visit in seconds

The doctor, products detailed, samples and outcome, on an offline-first Android app. Visits save without signal and send when it returns.

A month of visits in seconds

Smart monthly plans are drafted from each doctor’s priority, required visit frequency and best time to visit. The manager approves in one click.

Your KPIs in your pocket

The KPIs agreed with your manager appear in your own app, so you always know where you stand.

Start 14-day free trialSee the medical rep app →

A new step every week in the Pharma Career Ladder newsletter on LinkedIn.