Breaking into the Field...

[anonymous]

Hi! Hoping for some guidance or tips. I have been working in sales for several years, but I am interested in breaking into the pharma. industry. Of course, it is very competitive and many companies look for specific experience. AZ is currently hiring for reps in NJ and the job description does not specify pharma sales so my question is....does AZ consider candidates without specific pharma experience? Has anybody else broken into the field from a different industry and, if so, any advice on how to do it? Any responses are greatly appreciated!

 

[anonymous]

Hi! Hoping for some guidance or tips. I have been working in sales for several years, but I am interested in breaking into the pharma. industry. Of course, it is very competitive and many companies look for specific experience. AZ is currently hiring for reps in NJ and the job description does not specify pharma sales so my question is....does AZ consider candidates without specific pharma experience? Has anybody else broken into the field from a different industry and, if so, any advice on how to do it? Any responses are greatly appreciated!

No. We who work in pharma were born into this industry. Never worked another job. None of us. Not one of us has experience doing anything else. Sorry.

 

[anonymous]

Hi! Hoping for some guidance or tips. I have been working in sales for several years, but I am interested in breaking into the pharma. industry. Of course, it is very competitive and many companies look for specific experience. AZ is currently hiring for reps in NJ and the job description does not specify pharma sales so my question is....does AZ consider candidates without specific pharma experience? Has anybody else broken into the field from a different industry and, if so, any advice on how to do it? Any responses are greatly appreciated!

Do you have a four year degree? Any four year degree will do. If you are a minority female or a gay male, then you have a shot.

 

[anonymous]

DON'T DO IT! It will be awesome sauce for like one week. Then you'll be asking yourself, WTF? Seriously, look elsewhere. We're all hanging on hoping management knows what they're doing. Thus co is a follower not a leader. Not an original thought amongst all of sslt

 

[anonymous]

DON'T DO IT! It will be awesome sauce for like one week. Then you'll be asking yourself, WTF? Seriously, look elsewhere. We're all hanging on hoping management knows what they're doing. Thus co is a follower not a leader. Not an original thought amongst all of sslt

Original thoughts get you on the radar. AZ expects you to follow blindly in short order, anything else and you're branded a trouble maker.

 

[anonymous]

Break in to the buggy whip industry! Or landline telephones, pagers, 8-track tapes, you name it.

 

[anonymous]

Real answer, yes they hire from outside of pharma (most hiring mgrs. would luv to hear anything other than a current rep explain how they 'think outside the box' by scheduling lunches targeting 'high potential' targets or that big district award for 4th quarter Rx target growth in 2009!)

But be Warned! this is great 'job' that is very hard to make into a career...come aboard and start looking hard to get out by year 2...by then you too will have won that 3rd quarter District award for something and will have stories about thinking outside the box to tell in your next interview outside of pharma.

 

[anonymous]

Real answer, yes they hire from outside of pharma (most hiring mgrs. would luv to hear anything other than a current rep explain how they 'think outside the box' by scheduling lunches targeting 'high potential' targets or that big district award for 4th quarter Rx target growth in 2009!)

But be Warned! this is great 'job' that is very hard to make into a career...come aboard and start looking hard to get out by year 2...by then you too will have won that 3rd quarter District award for something and will have stories about thinking outside the box to tell in your next interview outside of pharma.

if you want to build a career in sales then Pharma and particularly AZ is not the place for you.
listing pharma sales experience on your resume is a kiss of death.

 

[anonymous]

I can understand where this person is coming from. We were all excited about interviewing and getting a job with a pharma company. At one time pharmaceutical sales was the best sales job you could get. Sales reps from other industries flocked to pharma companies. Young man or woman. Those days are over. The job no longer is gratifying. Just look at previous posts for AZ and other companies. You have little personal input into the job you are totally micromanaged to death. Customers don't value you and more and more customers are not seeing sales reps anymore. Furthermore, there are contract sales reps that work for 60-70% of the pay of company reps. They are the future. My young friend, look at other industries that are the future. Pharma sales is over and the fat lady is about to sing. I have given this advice to my own kids. If you doubt what I'm saying do further research into the industry and talk to reps. Good luck and happy job hunting.

 

[anonymous]

I can understand where this person is coming from. We were all excited about interviewing and getting a job with a pharma company. At one time pharmaceutical sales was the best sales job you could get. Sales reps from other industries flocked to pharma companies. Young man or woman. Those days are over. The job no longer is gratifying. Just look at previous posts for AZ and other companies. You have little personal input into the job you are totally micromanaged to death. Customers don't value you and more and more customers are not seeing sales reps anymore. Furthermore, there are contract sales reps that work for 60-70% of the pay of company reps. They are the future. My young friend, look at other industries that are the future. Pharma sales is over and the fat lady is about to sing. I have given this advice to my own kids. If you doubt what I'm saying do further research into the industry and talk to reps. Good luck and happy job hunting.

This is so true. I remember the days when I would encourage friends and kids of friends to apply for Pharma sales jobs. Ask yourself, would you want your children doing your job? Would you want your children committing the first years of their career to AZ? There was a time I loved my job and felt like I was doing something useful, then I was more neutral taking a wait and see if things get better attitude; now I absolutely dread going to work every day.

 

[anonymous]

After standing in the sample hall closet for 30 minutes, the doc finally pops in for friendly hello and quick sig., with the the 'gee, really busy, what'd you leave me?" line....this all occurs 8 feet from check out window (small office),, walking out the doc's daughter (working in office for summer vacation) stops and ask me a simple question "what is it that you do?"..kinda of stopped me in my tracks, didn't really have a great answer (but hey it pays my bills and I was home before 3pm).

 

[anonymous]

After standing in the sample hall closet for 30 minutes, the doc finally pops in for friendly hello and quick sig., with the the 'gee, really busy, what'd you leave me?" line....this all occurs 8 feet from check out window (small office),, walking out the doc's daughter (working in office for summer vacation) stops and ask me a simple question "what is it that you do?"..kinda of stopped me in my tracks, didn't really have a great answer (but hey it pays my bills and I was home before 3pm).

Yes. I've been asked the same question.
Unfortunately, we do not contribute much. Therefore contract sales is taking over at 1/2 to 2/3 the salary of a traditional pharma rep. Even contract salaries are too high when you consider ROI.
This is not the sales industry to pursue.

 

[anonymous]

After standing in the sample hall closet for 30 minutes, the doc finally pops in for friendly hello and quick sig., with the the 'gee, really busy, what'd you leave me?" line....this all occurs 8 feet from check out window (small office),, walking out the doc's daughter (working in office for summer vacation) stops and ask me a simple question "what is it that you do?"..kinda of stopped me in my tracks, didn't really have a great answer (but hey it pays my bills and I was home before 3pm).

Hell I can't even explain to someone what I do. They always ask, well how do you know if you sold anything? That one is easy to answer, I know I didn't sell anything 99% of the time. A harder question is why would anyone pay me to do what I do?

 

[anonymous]

Hi! Hoping for some guidance or tips. I have been working in sales for several years, but I am interested in breaking into the pharma. industry. Of course, it is very competitive and many companies look for specific experience. AZ is currently hiring for reps in NJ and the job description does not specify pharma sales so my question is....does AZ consider candidates without specific pharma experience? Has anybody else broken into the field from a different industry and, if so, any advice on how to do it? Any responses are greatly appreciated!

get me a tuna on wheat you schmuck!

 

[anonymous]

I stand, in my Sunday best, full of knowledge waiting in the boiler room/sample closet. Sweat running down my back, waiting anxiously for the doc to run in, a million things on their mind and tell me they're behind, this that & the other. Get the sig and move on. I can't quite this gig like an addict, but I know it's BS. My drugs are old, I have nothing new and I'm not about to present the "refreshed" data in name only for the 100th time on my toy, I mean iPAD, that they can't see because you can't enlarge the screen and the glare is blinding. And I love the field visits! My DSM is such the shining example and bestows such knowledge and value that I couldn't provide in 100 years.

 

[anonymous]

change the thread title to, "BREAKING INTO YOUR DSM's, or Counterparts pants, and you'll get some sound advice.

 

[anonymous]

thats great. Let's try that new thread title. My partner is hot and there is a dsm that has a great body on her. She can coach me anytime.