Pharmaceutical firms are hiring cheerleaders as sales reps. Why does this not surprise me?
But many cheerleaders, and their proponents, say they bring attributes besides good looks to the job - so much so that their success has led to a recruiting pipeline that fuels the country’s pharmaceutical sales force. T. Lynn Williamson, Ms. Napier’s cheering adviser at Kentucky, says he regularly gets calls from recruiters looking for talent, mainly from pharmaceutical companies. “They watch to see who’s graduating,” he said.
“They don’t ask what the major is,” Mr. Williamson said. Proven cheerleading skills suffice. “Exaggerated motions, exaggerated smiles, exaggerated enthusiasm - they learn those things, and they can get people to do what they want.”
Approximately two dozen Kentucky cheerleaders, mostly women but a few men, have become drug reps in recent years.
While there are no statistics on how many drug representatives are former or current cheerleaders, demand for them led to the formation of an employment firm, Spirited Sales Leaders, in Memphis. It maintains a database of thousands of potential candidates.
2-4-6-8
We can buy a candidate!
Give me an L!
Give me an O!
Give me a B!
Give me a B!
Give me a Y!
Give me a… well you see where I’m going with this
Hey! This could be Dubya’s REAL calling, since he was a cheerleader and all…
Of course, he might have to move to Kentucky to get the job…
Of possible interest:
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/siva/archives/002447.html