Enter Pharmaceutical Sales with a Certificate (NOT!)

⛔️ Warning: CNPR Scam Alert

Last week, I spoke with a school teacher who reached out after feeling completely defeated.

She envisions herself as a successful pharmaceutical sales representative. Like so many career changers, she started searching online for opportunities and found a “Pharmaceutical Sales” job listing on Indeed.

She clicked apply.

She got a call the same week.

They said, “You’re exactly what we’re looking for—but the company requires a CNPR certification before you can interview.”

Out of excitement and trust, she purchased the CNPR book and paid $285 for the exam.

She passed.

She waited.

Nothing.

The “recruiter” ghosted her.

The company doesn’t exist.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞.

She told me, “𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡.”

This is happening far too often. And it needs to stop.

⛔️ Certified National Pharmaceutical Representative (CNPR) ⛔️

Offered by the “National Association of Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives (NAPSRx)” is NOT required by ANY legit pharma company.

If I’m wrong, please share in the comments.

The facts about entering Pharma Sales:

#1 Medical Terminology?

→ You’ll be trained when hired.

#2 Clinical Pharmacology?

→ Not important during your sales interview.

#3 Sales Techniques?

→ Read a sales book. Get B2B experience. Use LinkedIn Learning.

#4 FDA Regulations?

→ The FDA offers a FREE learning portal.

What you really get with a CNPR certificate ⤵

A certificate… and an empty inbox.

Your Med Rep career journey belongs to YOU.

Stay curious. Keep learning.

Pro Tip: Please, 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝.

Do hiring managers care about a CNPR Certificate?

No.

If you’ve been impacted by CNPR, please share your experience in the comments.

Let’s make sure no one else falls into the same trap.