Andrew T. | Psychiatry MSL

As a recent client of Breakthough MSL Consulting, I wanted to share my experience and the pivotal role my mentors, Drs. Mike and Simon, played in my successful transition into my first and current Medical Science Liaison (MSL) role. 

To really illustrate this, I need to give some back story. I am a basic science PhD by training who initially intended to stay in academia. After five years as a postdoc, a potential career in academia had lost its luster, so in late 2023 I began to explore alternative industry career options. Learning of my new career horizons, an academic colleague introduced me to the MSL role (prior to this I had never heard of it). Seeing how I could remain science adjacent while making a more direct impact in the lives of patients was enough to make me go all in on pursuing this career. I started doing everything I could to learn as much as I could about the role and like many other candidates found that breaking through to the role is exceedingly difficult, especially with no direct clinical or prior MSL experience. After submitting literally 100+ applications and receiving an equal number of rejections, I felt as though I was never going to have my chance to break through. 

It was around this time that I learned of Breakthrough MSL Consulting. I immediately dove into their free content and sent a private LinkedIn message to connect with Dr. Mike. From the initial, free 30-minute consultation, Dr. Mike gave fantastic advice that was personalized, practical, and actionable, which was different from other folks I had networked with. We immediately connected on a personal level due to the similar nature of our career transition stories, which gave me the confidence that I would succeed with Dr. Mike’s immersive mentorship, and I quickly made the decision to purchase the official consulting program.

As we were starting the talent search for my current position, Dr. Mike suggested that I directly reach out to the Hiring Manager, express my interest in the position, and share some of my professional background. I was then asked by the Hiring Manager to send my resume directly to them rather than through the company’s application portal–and to my surprise, I landed my first interview!

This is when Drs. Mike and Simon really went to work and showed their industry prowess by coaching me how to effectively and comprehensively prepare so that I would excel in the interview process. They guided my research into the interviewers, company, therapeutic area, and their products/pipeline. They taught me the importance of “controlling the controllable” during the interview process as well as the art of elevating a simple question for the interviewer to one that impresses them by probing for valuable insights while demonstrating my comprehensive knowledge of the MSL role. To help prepare me for my first interview, we covered everything from the commonly asked interview questions, how best to respond in a way that will impress the interviewer, and how to address other types of potential questions (hypothetical or behavioral) at a level that only someone with direct MSL experience could know. This consultation directly resulted in a successful interview, and I was advanced to the final presentation stage, which is where Drs. Mike and Simon provided invaluable guidance on how to prepare my presentation and what I needed to do to impress my interview panel. 

In one consultation, we covered how to tailor the content/structure of my final presentation, how to engage with the interview panel, and what to expect from them during the presentation and Q&A session. On our final consultation, we did a mock presentation where Drs. Mike and Simon acted as the interview panel and really forced me to put what I had learned to the test in what would represent a toughest case scenario. Their constructive feedback highlighted my strengths to lean on and weaknesses to be conscious of, providing me the foundation and tools to dramatically level up the quality of my presentation and delivery. Thanks to their direct feedback, helpful homework assignments, and personalized guidance, my final interview presentation was a huge success, resulting in an official job offer!

Drs. Mike and Simon continued to mentor me throughout all stages of the interview process by teaching me how to send impactful, customized follow-up “Thank you” emails and helped navigate the offer negotiation process. Although Drs. Mike and Simon will say I did the hard work by doing my homework and following their guidance, I know without a doubt that Breakthrough MSL Consulting gave me the edge to succeed in my interviews by effectively teaching me how to fully prepare for interviews, demonstrate my in-depth understanding of the MSL role, and build the most equity with my interviewers. I cannot thank Drs. Mike and Simon enough for helping me land my first MSL role!