What was the biggest change you have had to deal with in your career?
The pharmaceutical world is rapidly advancing each and every year, with new innovations in medicines being developed and released on a regular basis. Because of this fact, pharmaceutical sales reps need to be ready and willing to shift priorities at a moment's notice. To get a sense of your ability to be flexible and adaptable in this role, your interviewer wants to hear you talk about a time you had to handle major changes on the job with a positive attitude and great success.
"During my sales career, adapting to change has been a regular occurrence as I've been through many new product rollouts, advancements, and even changes in my work territory. I'm proud to say that I always keep an open mind, learn new things quickly, and maintain a positive attitude through any changes. I'd have to say that the biggest change I had to adapt to was two years ago when the company that I worked for was bought out by my current employer. For the first five years I was with my company, it was a small family-owned business. Eventually, they were bought out by a much larger national company. This of course was very scary for all staff when it was announced because there was uncertainty about the future of our jobs. That was squashed pretty quickly when the soon-to-be general manager came and met with all staff. Some of my colleagues still were worried and even mad about the future, I took it upon myself to keep a positive attitude and see the positive light in what was to come. We would be expanding our product line and moving to a much more robust compensation package. Through the transition, I learned as much as possible about the changes, asked a lot of questions, and took off with success from our first day as the new company."
Prior to your pharmaceutical sales interview, be sure to put some thought into a time you had to manage change in the workplace. No matter what situation you decide to discuss, make sure that you come with the ability to outline what the change was, why it was necessary and how you worked through it with ease. Try to highlight your ability to keep an open mind, learn new materials as needed, be a positive role model for others and then move forward with success.
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