Interview Advice: Tell me about You

During interviews one question candidates are often asked is "Tell me about you". Good and bad examples of responses to this question can be seen on our YouTube site at www.youtube.com/pmpconnect

A good example would involve the candidate saying something like:

"I've got 5 years experience as a pharmaceutical sales rep and in my current role I'm responsible for both a city and a country territory where I promote our number 1 cardiovascular product. During a typical day I call on GPs and discuss our clinical trial results and also answer any questions they may have about our products.

Here the candidate is capturing the interviewer's attention by starting with the most relevant point. They continue with:

"During my calls I seek to understand what's important to the doctor by asking him questions. I ask him how's he treating his patients, how they are responding, and what side effects they're experiencing from taking the various drugs. From his answers I refer to our medical literature and by doing this I show him why our product gives a better result to the patient. During my visit I've got specific objectives like getting the doctor to switch patients to our product and, if we've got one coming up, I'll invite him to an evening educational seminar.

At this stage of the interview the interviewer is likely to ask "Tell me more about why you're a successful sales rep" and the candidate continues with "I'm successful because I build great relationships with my doctors and I always try to understand their needs. I can discuss complex clinical data in ways which are both interesting and useful to the doctor. I have excellent time management and organization skills and this helps me to manage my territory effectively. And I enjoy being on the road by myself and also being part of a larger team where we can share ideas.

With this response the candidate is stating behaviour relevant to the position for which they are applying.

Probing for additional information the interviewer then asks: "How would your manager describe you" and the candidate responds with:

"As a friendly and hard-working person who enjoys getting results. She may also mention that I've been one of the top 3 sales achievers over the last 2 years. My manager would also say that I'm a great team player, I'm reliable, I've got great communication skills, I'm comfortable with speaking in front of groups and that I can develop relationships with a whole range of people."

Here the candidate is sharing qualities which are useful for the position whilst highlighting relevant awards.

The interviewer may then probe on a specific point to obtain more detail by asking: "Tell me more about how you develop relationships with people".

The candidate could then respond with: "I'll ask them questions and I'll listen to what they say. I'll try to find out what's important to them and why it's important. When it's appropriate I'll talk about myself and we'll share stories. So for example when a doctor asks me for more information, I clarify what he wants, and I get the right information to him quickly. We'll then have a discussion about how he'll be treating his patients

To the same question: "Tell me about you" some candidates may respond by saying:

"Do you want to know about me as a person, or do you want to know about my sales experience". This response will likely irritate the interviewer because their question has not been directly answered.

The candidate continues with "About work, I've got a medical sales background, sort of medical sales. Some of the products we sold in pharmacies so I suppose that's medical. I always wanted to get into medical sales, so a friend introduced me to a neighbour who was in sales for a pharmaceutical company. It sounded interesting and I thought, well why not". A rambling answer like this shows that the candidate is unprepared, and continuing with "So I applied for lots of jobs and eventually some unlucky person hired me" shows lack of confidence.

At this stage the interviewer will probe for more information and will ask: "Tell me more about why you like being a sales rep and what type of role you are looking for?" and the candidate continues with:

"I like being out and about, talking with lots of people. I love sales. I really do. I'm a natural sales person because I get on with all sorts of people. Sales is in my blood. Just ask anyone. Well, I'm looking for a job which will suit my abilities. If this medical sales job isn't right for me I'd be keen to discuss any other roles you may have that would be suitable for my skills".

The lack of detail in this response will annoy the interviewer and being unclear on what you want shows lack of commitment.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Pharmaceutical
• Medical
• Healthcare

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