| From time to time, I meet people working in the | | | | the sales world. As long as you are also trainable, |
| healthcare field and end up talking about possible | | | | companies will be willing to provide you with all the |
| careers in medical sales since they often find out | | | | medical knowledge and selling skills required for |
| that I spend many years working for | | | | the job. My cousin started her new medical |
| pharmaceutical companies. Recently, one such | | | | representative sales job when she was already in |
| individual was a nurse I met at a public speaking | | | | her forties. Another former medical clinic assistant |
| meeting. Like others I met in her field, she was | | | | in her fifties also got hired. |
| considering a career change and asked me | | | | I’ve worked for pharmaceutical companies |
| whether her age would be a negative factor in | | | | with very wide age ranges in their sales forces. |
| getting hired for medical representative sales jobs. | | | | Some medical representatives were just out of |
| She was probably in her late thirties or early | | | | college and university while others were near |
| forties. She must have noticed that many of the | | | | retirement age. Although I haven’t worked |
| medical representatives she sometimes see at | | | | for one, I do know that many companies prefer |
| her hospital are younger looking. I told her that | | | | to hire new graduates so they could train them |
| people in all adult age groups can start new | | | | from the very beginning of their medical selling |
| careers in medical sales. | | | | careers. I’ve also worked for a specialty |
| Although it is true that many medical companies | | | | pharmaceutical company which preferred older |
| seem to like hiring young people for their sales | | | | and more mature representatives but several |
| forces, many firms also prefer more mature | | | | years down the road, they started to hire |
| individuals. Some companies will hire people with a | | | | younger reps new to the industry just to get |
| variety of ages to fill new medical representative | | | | some new blood in its sales force. So hiring |
| sales positions in order to get a good mix. Some | | | | preferences can always change. |
| don’t even factor in ages as they focus | | | | For the job seeker who wants to get a medical |
| solely on the sales potential of the individual. | | | | representative sales job, it’s a matter of |
| So there is a lot of variance out there among | | | | finding out which companies seem to hire people |
| hiring preferences of companies. The fact is that | | | | in your own age range. Of course, if your skills |
| no matter what age you are, there is a company | | | | are above average, you might as well try to |
| in the medical pharmaceutical industry who will be | | | | contact other companies as well since they may |
| interested in you if you have excellent | | | | make exceptions to their usual hiring style if you |
| communications skills with the right aptitude for | | | | really impress them. |