By Patrina Pellett, PhD (Follow me on LinkedIn)

Does this sound like you? You are finishing up your PhD, MD, or PharmD and cruising the job market. Or thinking of transitioning out of clinical practical and looking for industry jobs.

Then someone says you would be a good MSL or you randomly run across the MSL role on the internet. This plants a seed in your head and you start to think more about it. 

You start networking and reaching out to folks to learn more about MSLs. This is great but don't make this mistake when pursuing your first MSL role:

Not doing your homework about the MSL role ahead of time.

Don't Make This Mistake When Pursuing Your First MSL Role 

When you are considering an MSL role, a good first step is to network. But reaching out to people and asking them questions that you could have Googled is a huge mistake. When you don't do your homework ahead of time it leaves a bad impression. People may think you will take a similar lazy approach when engaging KOLs/HCPs. 

Here's an example. An MSL asked me to talk to a friend of his who is thinking about the MSL role. I agreed and carved out time to speak to her. This person did zero research and asked me to tell her about the MSL role. I asked what she would like to know about and she replied oh anything. I was annoyed that she didn't do any research ahead of time and wasted my time by asking me something she could have Googled. The call ended after 8 minutes. 

When You Understand the MSL Role It Leaves a Good Impression

Do your homework ahead of time and be prepared with targeted specific questions. It's important to remember that these folks are doing you a favor by helping you out. When you have targeted questions it takes the burden off of them. And shows that you are prepared and interested. 

Julie Chen, Douglas Yao, George Limen, and Tom Caravela give a lot of great advice on this in a recent MSL Talk LinkedIn Live.

This is also important for when you network with hiring managers or get early interviews. On a recent networking call with a potential hiring manager, an aspiring MSL mentioned that the hiring manager was impressed with her knowledge of the role. The hiring manager mentioned that many aspiring MSLs he speaks with have no clue about the role. When this happens, what do you think the hiring manager is going to think? It's probably not something positive. 

Read more here about what else hiring managers are looking for here.

Resources to Understand the MSL Role

Everyone starts with zero knowledge on every topic and that's ok. Do your homework ahead of time and learn as much as possible before reaching out to people you don't know. 

Here are my favorite resources to learn more about the MSL role:

The MSL Talk podcast of course! I also recommend reading job descriptions and everything you can find on Google. This will help you come prepared for your networking and informational interviews. 

Share your experiences on this topic!

• If you are an aspiring MSL, what has been helpful for you to learn about the role?
• If you have been in a similar situation where you took a call with someone who didn't do their homework ahead of time, what did you do and how did this make you feel? What advice would you give?
• What are other recommendations to help aspiring MSLs get more familiar with the role? 

Reach out to me on LinkedIn to let me know or comment on the MSL Mastery LinkedIn page.

More Networking Resources

• Overlooked Important Networking Tip 
• Examples of How to Network
• 3 Benefits of Networking When Searching for an MSL Job
• Easy Trick to Network & Build Meaningful Relationships

Aspiring MSL Resources

• How to Land an MSL Role Without Experience Webinar