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This position has closed. AbbVie removed this listing from their careers page on Sep 29, 2026. The interview prep below is still useful, and there are similar open roles at the bottom of this page.

2027 Pharmaceutical Sales Intern (Undergraduate)

AbbVie · Mettawa, IL · Remote available · Internship · Sales

Posted Aug 20, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 28, 2026

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

The first half of this internship is product training you have to pass before you go to the field. How do you learn clinical material that is new to you?

What they are checking: Learning method under a pass-or-stop condition.

The internship ends with a product core call certification where you deliver the call yourself. What worries you about that, and how would you prepare?

What they are checking: Honest self-awareness and a concrete preparation plan.

Why pharmaceutical sales rather than another kind of sales?

What they are checking: Genuine interest in the industry rather than the job title.

Tell me about a time you received direct feedback and changed what you were doing.

What they are checking: Coachability, which the weekly coaching structure depends on.

You have to deliver a final presentation to leaders at the end of ten weeks. How would you decide what to put in it?

What they are checking: Judgment about what a senior audience wants from a summer's work.

This is a paid ten-week undergraduate summer internship based in Mettawa with field time in a designated geography. What do you want to know about where that geography would be and what happens after the summer?

What they are checking: Whether they ask about location and conversion before accepting.

What would you do

You would shadow a district sales representative on real calls with physicians. What would you be watching for?

What they are checking: Whether they know what good looks like in a sales call before they see one.

A physician says they have three minutes. What do you do with them?

What they are checking: Understanding that access is the scarce resource in this job.

How would you build a relationship with an office staff member who controls whether you get seen?

What they are checking: Recognition that the gatekeeper relationship is part of the work.

About the work

There are rules about what you can and cannot say about a medicine. Why do you think those rules exist?

What they are checking: Early sense of the promotional boundary and why it matters for patients.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at AbbVie from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

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The full job description

As published by AbbVie.

Pharmaceutical Sales Intern Overview Envision spending your summer working with energetic colleagues and inspirational leaders, all while gaining world-class experience in one of the most dynamic organizations in the pharmaceutical industry. This is a reality for AbbVie Interns. As an AbbVie Pharmaceutical Sales Intern, you will participate in a paid, ten-week summer program, working on meaningful assignments that have a real impact on our business and patients worldwide. Key responsibilities include: • The first half of internship will consist of company orientation activities and product training. Intern must successfully complete product training before proceeding into the field. • The second half of internship will be hands-on field experience in a designated geographic location. The intern will always be accompanied by a District Manager or a Sales Rep while in the field. • The intern will have an opportunity to work with Sales leaders on a regular basis to prepare and reflect on field experience and receive coaching and feedback. • The intern will progress weekly toward delivering an impactful Product Core Call certification in the final week of internship that involves developing a pre-call plan, role-play scenario showcasing AbbVie’s value proposition with healthcare providers. • Deliver a final intern presentation showcasing an understanding of the drivers for delivering sales performance, brand KPIs, financial targets, marketing objectives, etc. in order to meet or exceed on those objectives. • Travel will be required between corporate Head Quarters in Lake County, IL, and the intern’s assigned geographic district. Minimum Qualifications • Must be currently enrolled in university, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, sales, business related field, biological sciences, pharmacy, or equivalent. • Must be enrolled in university the semester following your internship and graduate between December 2027 and June 2028. Preferred Qualifications • Basic Healthcare or Biotechnology industry knowledge • Comfortable with frequent air and ground travel • Open to relocation upon full-time hire • Strong communication skills with ability to adapt to many different scenarios • Strong desire to learn; self-motivated with high levels of discipline • Basic/Intermediate experience in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams) • Excellent problem-solving, written, and verbal skills • Exceptional interpersonal, leadership and project management skills • Proven track record of teamwork, adaptability, innovation, initiative, and integrity • Interest in a sales career that requires strong clinical acumen • Planning and organization skills • Possesses strategic and critical thinking capabilities • Operates effectively in a matrix environment Benefits and Amenities: Competitive pay Relocation support for eligible students Select wellness benefits and paid holiday / sick time Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​ ​The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.​ ​ Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law. ​ Equal Employment Opportunity At AbbVie, we value bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds to develop new and innovative solutions for patients. As an equal opportunity employer we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled. US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more: https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html