Jerry Silverman, RPh, CCP, IPhO VP, Professional Development & Coaching

Recently, I had the pleasure of coaching a young highly motivated and committed professional industry pharmacist who wanted to change industry tracks to eventually pursue opportunities in marketing.

For me, it’s always important to take the necessary time to thoroughly understand my clients’ professional background and history before moving on to establish appropriate short, medium, and long term career goals. He had strong clinical and analytical experiences throughout his pharmacy rotations and was able to secure a 24-month contracted position in drug safety upon graduation. Now as he began to explore new industry opportunities, it became clear that he was drawn to job positions in marketing and where there was significant scientific, clinical, and creative collaboration. In discussing this with him, I impressed upon him that going directly from a clinical position to marketing would require a step wise approach encompassing one or two progressions to make it possible.

I recommended that he open his search to medical communications and pharma advertising companies who are built around developing scientifically accurate, clinically appropriate creative messages that support the marketing of pharmaceutical products. Being a part of this type of organization in any function would be an important step in building his foundation in healthcare marketing.

Next, we re-worked his CV/ Resume, as it was not generating any leads. We customized, and translated his key experiences and skills to specific language and likely responsibilities within an agency's organization.

This required a few sessions together online and a lot of back and forth e-mail. But the results were worth it as he got a lot of traction from prospective employers in a short period of time.

Everything came together at one time as phone and online interviews occurred that led to onsite interviews and multiple offers. We prepared for his interviews and reviewed multiple offers with regards to their quantitative benefits and more importantly which offer would best put him on the right track to achieve his longer-term professional goals.

Often times my coaching will begin and end with revising a CV/Resume, but in this case and to my pleasure, the client wanted my help to also target specific types of companies, prepare for interviews, and evaluate job offers.

While there are never guarantees when using any type of service, I am committed to providing expert and thoughtful one-on-one attention and appreciation for my client’s hopes and dreams every step of the way!