How to Land Your First Medical Affairs Position

You’ve done your homework and decided that you want to embark on a career in Medical Affairs. Now what?

You update your CV, fire up Indeed or another job search engine, and start perusing open roles. You’ve found a dozen or so that seem like a great fit, but after reviewing the postings, you become discouraged.

They ALL require Medical Affairs experience. And, unfortunately, you don’t have any.

So you head to the freezer, grab the Graeter’s (the best ice cream on the planet), and binge-watch something on Netflix.

For some of you, this hits a little too close to home. I know because you’ve told me. Through the years, I’ve had countless people reach out to me with some variation of the same question: How do I get my first job in medical affairs?

I’ve gotten this question so often that I have a copy-and-paste shortcut to answer it.

Before I jump in, I want to provide a harsh dose of reality. Not everyone is cut out for Medical Affairs, and some people lack the self-awareness to realize their skill set doesn’t align with those necessary to be successful in this field.

If you’ve tried everything on the list below and still haven’t landed a role, it’s probably time to assess your skills and experiences objectively. I don’t intend to be discouraging, but I’m fairly pragmatic.

So, how do we solve this classic chicken or egg dilemma?