Top Pharmaceutical Sales sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers & results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
Writing a strong Pharmaceutical Sales experience section
Pharmaceutical Sales Experience Section Checklist:
- Keep it short: use no more than 4-6 bullet points per position;
- Go for short, easy-to-read sentences to keep recruiters engaged;
- Focus on relevant job experience that will enhance your application;
- Describe your experience using the C-A-R (challenge, action, result) methodology;
- Ditch buzzwords and go for power words instead.
Use the examples below to build your own experience section!
- Achieved 120% of sales target by strategically identifying and targeting high-value customers.
- Developed and executed marketing plans to increase brand awareness, resulting in a 25% increase in sales.
- Provided in-depth product training to healthcare professionals, resulting in improved product knowledge and increased sales.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop and execute product launch strategies, resulting in successful product launches and increased market share.
- Consistently exceeded sales targets, achieving an average of 150% of quota.
- Developed and maintained strong relationships with key decision-makers in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Identified and qualified new business opportunities, resulting in a 30% increase in pipeline.
- Provided product demonstrations and presentations to customers, resulting in increased product adoption and customer satisfaction.
- Collaborated with internal colleagues across regions to develop and execute account plans, resulting in successful cross-selling and upselling.
- Achieved 120% of sales quota in Q1 2021 by effectively prospecting and closing new business
- Developed and maintained relationships with key opinion leaders in neurology and psychiatry specialties resulting in a 25% increase in market share for company's ADHD medication
- Conducted over 150 product presentations to physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants resulting in increased product awareness and utilization
- Provided in-service trainings to healthcare professionals on disease state and product knowledge
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to plan and execute successful product launches
- Conducted 25 site monitoring visits for a phase III trial in oncology within a 6-month period
- Identified and resolved protocol deviations and data discrepancies through effective communication with investigators and study coordinators resulting in a 98% query resolution rate
- Assisted with preparation and submission of regulatory documents to the FDA and IRB
- Provided training to investigators and site personnel on study protocol and regulatory requirements
- Contributed to development and review of study documents including protocols, case report forms, and monitoring plans
- Generated $2M in new revenue through new and existing relationships with small and medium sized pharmaceutical companies
- Positioned myself as a consultative subject matter expert and the single point of contact between HealthVerity and my customers
- Confidently and credibly presented healthcare data and licensing solutions by leading product presentations, demonstrations, conference calls, technical discussions/due diligence, executive discussions, web seminars and related activities
- Achieved annual sales quotas, generating over $1.5M in revenue each year
- Built and maintained a sales pipeline, managing a portfolio of over 50 accounts
- Delivered presentations and demonstrations to over 200 end users, resulting in a 40% increase in user adoption
- Generated over $500K in new business within first year, exceeding annual quota by 50%
- Developed and maintained a sales pipeline of over 100 accounts
- Collaborated with Product Development and Marketing teams to develop new product offerings and marketing collateral, resulting in a 20% increase in product adoption
PRO TIP
Don't make the same mistake everyone else does. What we mean is, don't list your Pharmaceutical Sales job responsibilities instead of your achievements. Recruiters know what you do. They want to know what kind of difference you can bring to their company. Focus on what you've accomplished.
Action Verbs for your Pharmaceutical Sales Resume
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An Impressive Skills Section for Your Pharmaceutical Sales Resume
Pharmaceutical Sales Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Match your hard skills to the job description;
- Add keywords to pass applicant tracking systems;
- Don’t list soft skills such as ’teamwork’ – rather, mention how they’ve helped you gain success in some other sections of your Pharmaceutical Sales resume;
- List only skills you actually have, keep lying out of the picture.
Top skills for your pharmaceutical sales resume
Salesforce
CRM
Territory Management
Product Knowledge
Pharmacology
Medical Terminology
Market Analysis
Forecasting
Sales Metrics
Negotiation
Interpersonal Communication
Active Listening
Relationship Building
Time Management
Adaptability
Problem Solving
Presentation Skills
Strategic Thinking
Teamwork
Emotional Intelligence
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
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Pharmaceutical Sales resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist: a strong Pharmaceutical Sales 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
Your summary section should act as a brief but informative introduction to your experience section. In this section you should go into more depth about what you have done, and how you did it.
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Choosing the Best Format for Your Pharmaceutical Sales Resume
The content of your Pharmaceutical Sales resume is what will get you hired, right?
But even when your content’s amazing and you’re a true over-achiever, recruiters might not think you’re a good fit if your resume looks messy or is not formatted the right way.
In general, there are three basic resume formats we advise you to stick with:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Deciding which one to use depends on your experience, the industry, and the company. In short — you need to know what your applicant profile is.
For instance, reverse-chronological resumes are great for people with over 10 years of experience and no employment gaps. Here, you need to list all your relevant experience in a reverse-chronological format, starting from the most recent and going back to less recent positions.
Functional skills-based resumes, on the other hand, are great for entry-level applicants, graduate students, or people who have different kinds of experience. It focuses on skills, education, and character traits, rather than experience.
If none of these work for you, and you dream of adopting a more creative approach that makes a difference, the combination (or hybrid) resume format is exactly what you’re looking for. It allows you to focus on both your experience and your skills, making it a ‘best of both worlds’ format. It’s also suitable for those who want to spice things up by adding different creative sections (e.g. ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my day looks like’).
Check out our additional tips on perfecting your Pharmaceutical Sales 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 Pharmaceutical Sales 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!
