More Information
Pharmaceutical sales acts as a key link between medical companies and professional healthcare providers. The sector offers exciting career opportunities for dynamic sales candidates and recruitment agencies that cover pharmaceutical sales will aim to source staff for a diverse range of job roles.
What is a job in pharmaceutical sales?
Although a varied field of work, jobs in pharmaceutical sales are typically responsible for selling medical products to healthcare professionals such as GPs, nurses and pharmacists. As well as meeting physicians, making presentations and reaching short term sales targets, staff are also expected to maintain lasting relationships with clients that aid to achieving long term objectives. Employment is most commonly found within pharmaceutical and medical companies, where staff may work as part of a sales department.
Salary and entry requirements
Entry level sales representatives will command a starting salary of £18K-£25K, however base earnings are often accompanied by performance related pay. With 3-5 years of industry experience, candidates can see salaries increase to around £40K, although this will be impacted by geography and the size of the company. Senior salaries can exceed £60K and these are typically earned by staff such as pharmaceutical sales managers and specialists.
Employers of pharmaceutical sales staff will look for graduates to fill junior or entry-level jobs. A recruitment agency will perform qualification checks on candidates and will value degrees in subjects such as life sciences, pharmacy or medicine. A marketing degree could also strengthen a candidate's position in the market.
Recruitment within pharmaceutical sales
Many pharmaceutical sales staff will specialise within a particular location and this means that a recruitment agency may receive staffing demands across the UK. Despite this, many healthcare firms are headquartered in London and the South East, perhaps resulting in the greatest concentration of employer approaches. Streamlining has greatly impacted the field and pharma recruitment agencies are now more likely to be tasked with sourcing one or two experts, as opposed to a whole team of sales representatives.
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