INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Store, Retail, & Product Sales positions are at a -1% growth rate, which is little to no change. With that said, there are currently 4,092,900 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to decrease by -26,800 to 4,066,100 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Store, Retail, & Product Sales jobs was $27,320 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $10.18 per hour, and the highest 10% more than $27.70 per hour.
Our conclusion? The Store, Retail, & Product Sales job market is facing competition due to decreasing demand.
Top medical device sales representative sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
A medical device sales representative resume experience section to be proud of
Writing a strong experience section for your medical device sales representative resume.
- List your previous jobs in chronological or reverse-chronological format;
- Use no more than 4-6 bullets per position;
- Mention only relevant work experience;
- Describe the tasks you were responsible for and how you managed to exceed expectations;
- Show you’re able to take charge by choosing action verbs over buzzwords.
Looking for real-life examples of what a strong experience section looks like? Check out our suggestions below!
- Promoting part of the company’s portfolio in the allocated area (Burgas, Sliven, Yambol) to GPs, Pharmacies, and specialist physicians.
- Managing a territory with the goal of increasing sales and promoting new products.
- Negotiating with the pharmacies for better positions of the all company’s products in them.
- Timely, accurate and detailed activity reporting on company policy basis.
- Southern Sydney’s specialised diabetes sales representative.
- Achieved sales targets by promotion of medication to general practitioners, maintaining a genuine and exceptional customer and patient focus.
- Developed and executed successful sales plans to grow market share and exceed sales targets. Grew an existing customer base using a individual customer focus approach. Uncovering and supporting the needs of each customers in the relevant market.
- Developed strategic plans for under performing areas; including segmentation remodelling, seeking new account opportunities and preparation of educational proposals.
- Planed, managed and executed educational meetings for general practitioners and pharmacist across the entire territory. Including weekend, evening and in-house meetings.
- Maintained in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of of the Boehringer- Ingelheim and competitors diabetes portfolio and diabetes disease states.
- Built and maintained strong, honest interpersonal relationships with a range of allied health professionals such as; general practitioners, nurses, pharmacist, diabetes educators and other personal when required.
- Working cohesively with a team to ensure the territory is covered from all angels.
- Placed in top 10 percent of national sales reps for 4 consistent quarters in 2018-2019
- Closed 820 k€ worth of opportunities in 3 quarters
- Increased territory sales by 10% per annum surpassing target.
- Generated 20 new clients, with orders around $17,000
- Sales Rep of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Multiple Product, and Regional Awards
- Consistently a top 10 Sales Performer in total dollars and with 90% territory market share
- Grew 4 different start up divisions and or territories to a point in which they were able to support a dedicated Sales Rep., while maintaining my current geography
- Ran Neuro/Spine trials outside of my territory at large teaching institutions
- Mentored and promoted 10 different Associate Sales Representatives, whom are now excelling within their current territories and or roles with in Stryker
- Therapeutic Specialities: Pulmonology (Anti-asthmatic range)
- Increased sales opportunities
- Built trust and established partnerships with top credible recognized medical institutions
PRO TIP
The person reading your Medical Device Sales Representative resume will be busy, make sure you never waste their time with fluff.
Action verbs for your medical device sales representative resume
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Taking Control of Your Medical Device Sales Representative Resume’s Skills Section
A skills section that shows what you're capable of includes:
- Keywords from the job advert to help you pass ATS;
- Both hard and soft skills, incl. technical skills and people skills;
- Skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for;
- No more than 15 skills – to keep your resume readable.
Top skills for your medical device sales representative resume
Salesforce
MS Office
CRM
Forecasting
Cold Calling
Business Development
Customer Service
Project Management
Relationship Building
Time Management
Storytelling
Research / Information Gathering.
Critical Thinking
Problem Solving.
Tech Savvy
Networking
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
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Medical device sales representative resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your medical device sales representative resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
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PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your Medical Device Sales Representative resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
A medical device sales representative resume summary that spotlights your achievements
Checklist: A strong medical device sales representative resume summary:
- Use adjectives that highlight the character traits you’re most proud of;
- Mention 1-2 of your biggest achievements;
- Add keywords from the job advert to increase your chances of passing ATS;
- Keep the recruiter’s attention by going for short sentences.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Read the job description carefully and understand what the hiring company is exactly looking for. After that, write your summary accordingly while highlighting your potential and ability to be the best at that job.
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Creating an impressive education section for your medical device sales representative resume
The education section: checklist
- List your degrees in reverse-chronological order;
- Include your degree subject, place of study, name of institution, and year of graduation;
- Add a line or two about your relevant certifications;
- Mention some classes and projects that have helped you gain additional skills.
Top certifications for your medical device sales representative resume
Medical Device Sales 101: Masterclass + ADDITIONAL CONTENT
Your first step towards a career in medical sales starts here!
Medical Device Regulation (MDR): Intro for Device Designers
An introduction to the EU's Medical Device Regulation (MDR) for those involved in developing medical devices
Medical Device Regulation 2017/745 EU regulatory affairs.
Understand regulations for medical devices in simple terms to gain market approval of a medical device in the EU.
Sales Representative - From Beginner to Advanced
An external sales course for sales representatives calling on outlets such as retailers & wholesalers
Medical Device Development
A basic level primer for those starting their careers developing medical devices in a heavily regulated environment.
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PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Medical Device Sales Representative. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
A professional format for your medical device sales representative resume
There are some aspects worth taking into consideration when choosing the format of your Medical Device Sales Representative resume. These include the position and company you’re applying for, your total years of experience, whether you’ve been through some employment gaps, and so on.
Generally speaking, there are three basic resume formats for you to choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological resume format is just that: all your jobs listed in a reverse-chronological way, starting from the most recent and moving backward. It’s great for highly experienced professionals with over 10 years in the industry behind their backs. The reason for this: it’s almost entirely focused on experience and achievements.
The functional skills-based resume format, on the other hand, is just the opposite. It’s based on your skills, personality, and expertise. It highlights what you’re capable of even when you don’t have sufficient work experience. This makes it great for students, recent graduates, or people with larger career gaps.
If neither of these sounds like you, go for the combination resume format. It’s a combination of the best characteristics of other formats, which makes it great for showcasing different aspects of your career and education. It also gives you plenty of options to choose from – in terms of colors, structure, and sections.
Check out our additional tips on perfecting your Medical Device Sales Representative resume’s style and layout:
- Choose traditional 1-inch resume margins;
- Go for a serif or sans serif resume font that’s easy to read yet looks professional (e.g. Arial, Verdana, or Calibri);
- Keep your Medical Device Sales Representative resume short: one-page template are preferable, but if you have over 10 years of experience, you can also go for a two-page format;
- Save your resume as PDF and choose a suitable name, e.g. NameSurnameResume;
Tired of looking for ways to make your resume stand out? Read this article!
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PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Additional sections for your medical device sales representative resume
After drafting the required sections of your Medical Device Sales Representative resume, it’s now time to move to something a bit more fun. There are a number of sections you can add to your resume depending on the company, the position, and how you’re feeling in general:
Adding the right kind of creativity to your medical device sales representative resume
It is through creativity that we express ourselves. And trust us, it’s important to show at least a bit of your personality if you want to leave a strong first impression.
But what are the ways to add creativity to your Medical Device Sales Representative resume? Well, you can either go for a colorful and engaging template, or you could add some out-of-the-box sections, such as ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my typical day looks like’.
It’s up to you! Just make sure that the level of creativity matches the position, the company, and the industry you’re applying for.
What makes a great medical device sales representative resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
