Caroline from Medical Sales

• • Medical sales

  • Caroline

Prior to joining AstraZeneca, I read Biology at Manchester Metropolitan University. On graduation, I wanted a career that combined my interest in both life sciences and commerce within the Pharmaceutical arena.

"The graduate scheme is well structured and offers unlimited scope for career progression" Caroline

Having applied to AstraZeneca I was short-listed & attended several interviews with both Regional Sales Managers and HR. I was offered a position working in the North West of England, promoting two mega-brand products within the Primary care setting, which involves working with GPs, Nurses & community pharmacists.

After careful consideration, AstraZeneca was a natural first choice for a number of reasons. Firstly, the Graduate Scheme offers unlimited scope for career progression & personal development. Secondly, AstraZeneca have an excellent product portfolio & the richest new product pipeline in the industry.

As a Medical Representative, it is quite difficult to describe an average day, as no two days are ever the same.  In general, I plan on a weekly basis, which customers I would like to access; this focuses around a list of target customers who are high prescribers of my product class.

I aim to be on territory for 08:30 each day & begin by calling at surgeries identified in order to gain access to the GPs once they have finished morning surgery. The company expects me to see 3-4 GPs per day and this can be achieved by gaining callback opportunities or by booking appointments. To achieve this, I have to be organised, flexible & tenacious, often thinking outside the box to generate access opportunities.

In my working week, I also focus on other business priorities in the afternoons. For example, I work towards arranging educational meetings for GPs, nurturing working relationships with practice managers & visiting community pharmacists to assess usage of my products in a given area. I also aim to see nurses that work closely with patient groups that would benefit from treatment with my products.

As I mentioned before, career opportunities within AstraZeneca are unlimited both within my chosen function & cross functionally. Whilst driving your own career development, senior management are very supportive & aim to encourage graduates to gain the skills & capabilities needed to fulfil their ambitions & to provide the opportunities to do this.

I have no doubt that I've made the best choice by joining and whilst it has been challenging, I have enjoyed every minute of the past 18 months. I'm looking forward to a bright future with AstraZeneca...