Contrary to popular beliefs, sometimes the “Pharma Bro” (no, not this one) isn’t the first pick to fill the role of a fellow. You know who we’re talking about- the P4 who flexes their industry internships, APPEs, and co-ops, who posts on LinkedIn about how they’ve changed the brand by working side by side with a certain J. Shmalexender 🙊
Whether your lack of industry experience stems from being in an industry “desert” or maybe you couldn’t land that internship, it really doesn’t matter. Ultimately, your experiences matter only in HOW you spin them. While we certainly don’t want to belittle industry APPE experiences and/or internship opportunities, it really boils down to what you did during those 4-8 week experiences and how you can speak to them.
Any job experience can be spun into a fruitful narrative as long as you are honest and passionate about your experiences. Ultimately, they should demonstrate (in some form or another) that you:
challenged yourself
displayed genuine effort in development professionally (readings, podcasts, etc.)
are a team player (I.e. don’t go on and on about how you ALONE impacted the brand)
Take any of these experiences (whether it be a clinical APPE that kicked your boody, your secret charm in calming down little sassy elderly patients in at the pharmacy drive-thru, or the random gig you picked up last summer at that brewery with a killer IPA) and focus on the TRANSFERABLE skills you gained- how do your experiences and learning apply to the fellowship you are applying to.
With that, go fourth and be a BOSS this recruitment season. You got this.