4 Pieces of Candidate Interview Advice to Avoid
In the ophthalmic market segment organizations typically use outside recruiting firms to help them find candidates to fill open sales roles, which can include sales management roles as well. These sales/sales management roles are for medical device and/or pharmaceutical/biotech companies. However, in cases where an outside search firm is not used those organizations have internal recruiters. Nonetheless, before your first in-person/Zoom interview you often receive advice on what to present and/or bring to the interview.
What kind of advice? Is it helpful? What should I do with it?
We’re going to get to that in just a second. As we discuss..
4 Pieces of Candidate Interview Advice to Avoid
Write a Business Plan
Typically, you’re informed of your in-person/Zoom interview only 24 hours or so in advance. Sometimes longer, but not much. Writing a business plan for a territory/region takes time, a lot of time. Also, they’re candidates interviewing for sales/sales management roles from outside the industry. They can’t possibly generate a business plan that’s worth anything in hours time. Even if you’re currently in the eyecare industry chances are you don’t know everything there is to know about this role and the customers they serve to write an appropriate business plan.
Another key ingredient of a business plan are numbers. How’re you going to know what numbers to use in your business plan? Outside recruiters and internal recruiters are not going to provide you with that information as it’s confidential. And if you present and/or hand a hiring manager a made up business plan, how might you be perceived as a candidate? If you’re making up a business plan, what else might you be making up? I’d avoid this piece of advice like you’re avoiding your New Years resolutions.
Write a 30/60/90 Day Action Plan
By talking with recruiters and/or reaching out to people via LinkedIn who currently work at the medical device/pharmaceutical sales organization you’re interviewing with it’s impossible to find out everything you’d be doing in your first 30/60/90 days. First of all no one has the time to give you all of that information. And second, even if they did why would they tell you all about the first 30/60/90 days? They wouldn’t. Why? Chances are you’re not going to win the job. Further, you do not find out all of the organization’s processes, expectations, etc. until you’re a part of that organization.
Writing a 30/60/90 day action plan is a waste of time. Because, without knowing all the facts all you’re doing is throwing a bunch crap on paper. Do you really think that looks good to a hiring manager? Coming from being on the hiring side of things I’d avoid this piece of advice if I were you.
Bring Letters of Recommendation
You should be proud and/or honored when former bosses write you letters of recommendation so you can use those in your job search. It essentially points to how good of a worker, employee, etc. you were for them at their respective organization. It also means you were a good fit for that manager/team, organization and they were a good fit for you. So, what does the letter of recommendation do for you when interviewing for another organization? Nothing.
It’s irrelevant. Why? Just because you have a letter saying you were a rock star at another organization does not mean you’re going to be a rock star at the organization you’re interviewing with. So, keep those letters of recommendation at home.
Act Like You Want The Job
First and foremost you’ve decided to take time out of your day to interview for this job. You might’ve taken the day off from your current job for this interview. Obviously, you have interest in this job. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be wasting your time with the interview. Right? Absolutely.
The purpose of the interview is to find out if you want the job and if they want you for the job. If you don’t click with the hiring manager, then there’s no shot. You could literally be sitting on the edge of your seat bursting with excitement about this role during the interview and it’s not going to matter.
So there you have it. 4 Pieces of Candidate Interview Advice to Avoid.