Sonal, Senior Medical Representative
I am a senior rep; my role is to promote my company’s medicines to health care professionals within a given territory. I have sales target that I have to meet, and regularly monitor my business plans to achieve this. My other duties include being a mentor to new reps, and caretaking the team in my manager’s absence.
Seeing doctors in the morning, pharmacists in the afternoon, then twice a week team meetings. I then come home and action emails.
I have chosen to be a career rep, and so have been promoted to senior rep, and am working towards the next stage, executive rep.
My brother-in-law, who is a GP, and my sister who is in the industry, recommended it.
I was a dispenser, and wanted to do something more challenging. I had worked up to the highest level, and could not do anymore.
I studied Pharmacy at Liverpool, but did not complete my degree. It was quite tough to get a job as a medical rep, as degree was something you really needed. The route I took was very unusual.
Daily I work on my own, but all our business plans etc are done as a team, so we meet regularly to discuss what in happening in the area.
We do work some evenings, and so do not regularly go out as a team. However every few months we do get together and go out socially.
I was a finalist this year at the rep of the year awards.
There are many possibilities, from becoming a manager, going into training, marketing and many more.
The three most important skills are:
The pharmaceutical industry is a tough, but rewarding industry and the one piece of advice I would give is that to be successful you have to be a very personable and highly motivated individual.