APRIL BLOODBATH TO BE MASSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Anonymous said:
If you're younger, you'll be okay finding something. If you're older, your toast. Nobody is looking for people that have been delivering food and samples for 10+ years and expecting six figures to do it.
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I have been doing this for over ten years and have already had an offer. I have two friends that started the same time as me, and they recieved offers after last year's layoffs. It really depends on what you have on your resume. If you have legitimate awards and a consistent track record you will be fine.
 




Anonymous said:
I have been doing this for over ten years and have already had an offer. I have two friends that started the same time as me, and they recieved offers after last year's layoffs. It really depends on what you have on your resume. If you have legitimate awards and a consistent track record you will be fine.
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I was laid off 2 years ago... multiple prez. club winner, advanced degree, great relationships with 12 years experience in multiple specialties. Only seven face2face interviews with no offers. Most jobs are going to friends of the hiring manager. THIS IS THE REALITY!!
 




Hey Mr Obvious!!! The little plaques and "awards" from any pharma company are a poor substitute for solid contacts. Anyone with half a brain should have been networking the whole time, planning new career paths and setting themselves up for the inevitable decline of this industry. The markers were on the wall with the introduction of Med D, Sunshine legislation, and the mindless explosion of the field force. The only persons I know who are not working after a layoff have refused to look beyond this truly entry level career. Everyone needs to become much more creative and entrepreneurial
 








The reality is pharma sales people have a bad reputation in the market. Pharma sales used to be a prestigious job, but the industry was mismanaged.

About 10 years ago, pharma laid off for the first time and some pharma people went out into the rest of the world. Most of them were not qualified for real sales jobs and did not do well. Some I am sure did very well, but as a group, it was not a good experience.

Pharma became a joke on sit coms and in the movies. Between the bad press regarding pharma, the caricatures of pharma on TV and in the movies, and the bad experiences people had with their pharma hires, the hiring of former pharma people became a non starter.

This is the reality that you will face when you try to get another job. If you have non pharma experience, play it up during your interviews and highlight it in your resume.

If all you have is pharma on your resume, expect to take an entry level job in another industry. It will not be profitable, or make you feel good, but after a year or so, if you have produced, you will be able to trade up and get your career moving again.

Good luck.
 












Ugly for those that do not have a good track record and good references

Sure I might have to take a 30% cut....so what we can afford it...can you?

And a good looking woman who has a great track record is going to get a lot further than you know it all slap dick dudes......MEN you should be worried

And even if I take a ventiv job for 60k.......so what....and soon all will be like Glaxo....no bonus, just a straight salary, larger geographies, and nothing but a message and a smile

Also did you ever think about diagnostics, med supplies........do you want to work??? or just say you work for a pharma company.........

It goes without saying that over 50% of laid off pharma people in all companies will have to choose another area of focus......cuts will be going on for he next 5 years......even longer....the industry is shrinking.......

When we get back from our two week cruise we will jump back in.....
 




Who would want to actually get back into pharma after being let go? I get it if you have a family but if you have no real responsibilities,why would you subjugate yourself to interviewing with a company and being asked STAR questions and pretending what you do is sales? I have sent out a few resumes while still employed and every industry is being inundated with resumes. One manager in a different industry showed me a stack of very impressive resumes he received and told me he can't keep up with the resumes that keep coming in. Some are from pharma people which he doesn't want to hire because their credentials seem too good. He's afraid if one of these folks accepted the job,for less money, they'd do a half-assed job and leave for something better asap. Job boards are ridiculous,head hunters? Try and network or research the industry you want to try and get into. There are plenty of folks who are willing to work for less but companies are afraid to hire them because they feel they'll leave if anything better comes along.
 




Anonymous said:
Who would want to actually get back into pharma after being let go? I get it if you have a family but if you have no real responsibilities,why would you subjugate yourself to interviewing with a company and being asked STAR questions and pretending what you do is sales? I have sent out a few resumes while still employed and every industry is being inundated with resumes. One manager in a different industry showed me a stack of very impressive resumes he received and told me he can't keep up with the resumes that keep coming in. Some are from pharma people which he doesn't want to hire because their credentials seem too good. He's afraid if one of these folks accepted the job,for less money, they'd do a half-assed job and leave for something better asap. Job boards are ridiculous,head hunters? Try and network or research the industry you want to try and get into. There are plenty of folks who are willing to work for less but companies are afraid to hire them because they feel they'll leave if anything better comes along.
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Yea but have you seen the 29 year old to 35 year old reps out there that you are paying 70k base to?? They are horrible......they will be leaving pharma in 3-5 years because they know the job is a joke and they hate it.....so sometimes the

devil you know is better than the devil you don't
 




I agree with you. People's work ethic has gone down the drain with this job. You can work 2 hours a day(maybe a week)and be highly ranked or work your tuchis off 10 hours a day and be down at the bottom. No matter if you're a good worker or a bad/lazy worker,this job is 95% luck and managed care.
 




Anonymous said:
It can be done but the odds are not getting better for those looking to get back into pharma..
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Hahaha, are you really that ignorant that you would consider jumping back into pharma! How many times do you need to learn your lesson. I left last January and it is the best thing I could have done, you will be amazed how mind numbing, monotonous and useless our jobs were once you get out and get a big boy job.
 




Anonymous said:
I agree with you. People's work ethic has gone down the drain with this job. You can work 2 hours a day(maybe a week)and be highly ranked or work your tuchis off 10 hours a day and be down at the bottom. No matter if you're a good worker or a bad/lazy worker,this job is 95% luck and managed care.
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Totally agree!
 




It is apparent that this job is truly entry level, aimed at getting experience, but a true detriment if you have been stuck in this dead end arena for more than 5 years. I can't believe how many old men actually are whimpering that they won't find anything else. Most of us realized very soon that this was a stepping stone, we already are lined up with new positions when the bloodbath hits. Sorry for you if you have so little ambition that you have never looked outside this job.
 




The industry is half of the size it was 10 years ago and it will be half of what it is now in a few years. GET OUT now if you do not get laid off. I just made the jump after 13 yrs of pharma and with 6 of those being at Novartis. I focused for a yr on med device and did get a number of interviews. There was such a wall up to pharma reps it was almost impossible to get a 2nd interview. Most med device jobs would not even interview pharm reps. It was very frustrating but I kept plugging away because I knew pharma is the Titanic. I had to get out. 2 mos. ago I got a great job with better pay with a B2B medical sales company due to my customer relationships. It can be done it will just take a while for most.

Consider this lay off as a wake up call if you do not get laid off. Start looking because this job will be no more in 3-5 yrs and by then you will be truly fucked.
 




Anonymous said:
If you're younger, you'll be okay finding something. If you're older, your toast. Nobody is looking for people that have been delivering food and samples for 10+ years and expecting six figures to do it.
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I am older than 45 and I am making six figures and have been made two offers with just as much compensation. Even with a competitor! It can be done, but you need contacts and good references. If you have good physician relationships and a strong track record you will be fine.
 




Anonymous said:
I can't stress enough about how difficult it will be to get another job if you are slashed in April!!
A recruiter told me he is get getting 200-300 resumes (55-70 qualified resumes) for each opening. And this is for the few good opening that are even available in your area. Good luck to all.
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I have heard numbers even higher than that. One manager once told me that 600 resumes were screened for a single position. Another consultant told me that there are so many unemployed reps that the chances are greater than 90% that once layed off, the likelihood of working in the industry again is less than 10%. Fact is, your life will change dramatically.
 




Anonymous said:
Not true at all. I started looking 2 months ago and have had two very good offers. Get physicians and managers to write reference letters and start contacting recruiters. It can be done.
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The OP is absolutely correct. Yes "It can be done", but not for everyone. Think about this, there are 30,000+ unemployed sales reps (due to layoffs in last 5 years). Lets put things another way, according to SYNYGY (pharma consulting firm) since 2005 the number of reps has gone from 106,000, to 70,000 in 2012. This means that potentially there are 36,000 people looking at the same job that you are. Lets assume that these unemployed reps are equally spread across 50 states (720 reps per state), that means that for every job in your state,. that you apply for, you potentially can be competing with 700+ people.
 








Anonymous said:
I have been doing this for 24 years and I have had offers also. It takes work to find a job but if you have a good track record and ex-managers supporting you, you will be fine in finding a job. Get looking and don't look back!
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Stop the kool aid! All things are possible, but the fact is that the competition is fierce with many so called "Top Reps" looking for 12 months or more. If you think that there are tons of rep jobs available for all those "willing to work hard" you are just kidding yourself.
 




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