Brutal Interview Process

[Anonymous]

My question exactly.
Not too many people can retire at age 55, especially if they have gone through a divorce or getting their portfolio wacked during the recession.

55 is young. I know many 55 year olds who are in better physical condition than some 30 year olds. Add to the fact that majority of physicians are also in this age group and keep going until 70's.

So tired of people thinking 55 is old. I would hire a seasoned 55 year old over a 24 year old any day.

I agree unfortunately the odds are against 50 and older, especially white males.

 

[Anonymous]

Not much difference in salaries with the Lilly strategy. They are offering reps the opportunity to come work here at a loss of pay. As for current employees, no promotions or merit increases for us. At this rate our salaries will remain the same until we retire,

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry Gramps... your salary requirements at 55 vs. that of a 24 year old individual......hands down Lilly will say FU to U !!

Not so fast, Slickmeat. Many people in their late forties and fifties have some coin set aside but still want to work hard. So, before you assume that they have to be offered a high salary, think twice. Some will gladly work for around 75K with good benefits even though they made big figures in the past.

At this age, you don't require all the "keeping up with the Jone's bull crap, junk. And having a couple million or more in the 401K doesn't put the pressure on.

My Dad who is 60, just back into pharma and he's happy as a clam making 70K. The Docs are really happy to see him.

 

[Anonymous]

You can be a meter maid or work for UPS and make more money now

This is true. Additionally, you do not get fired every three years and have to start life over.

I was fishing with a friend from high school last winter. He is a criminal investigator for the state. He make over 100k and gets everyday off you could imagine. Government retirement and healthcare while it lasts.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree unfortunately the odds are against 50 and older, especially white males.

50, educated, hetro, white, male - Back of the line sucker!

 

[Anonymous]

Back to the interview subject:

I just interviewed and found it quite pleasant. Didn't even have to pull out all the prior sales figures or answer STAR questions. Best interview ever. But somehow I could tell the Managers were drained. I could tell they were dreading having to add yet another rep into the POD.

Well, anyway. I'd be all skippy and perky if I get this job.

 

[Anonymous]

Back to the interview subject:

I just interviewed and found it quite pleasant. Didn't even have to pull out all the prior sales figures or answer STAR questions. Best interview ever. But somehow I could tell the Managers were drained. I could tell they were dreading having to add yet another rep into the POD.

Well, anyway. I'd be all skippy and perky if I get this job.

Until you get an offer for less money than you're currently making. Seems like the new norm. They offer less and expect you to take it because you are not motivated by money, but rather being a part of our winning team at Lilly.

 

[Anonymous]

Back to the interview subject:

I just interviewed and found it quite pleasant. Didn't even have to pull out all the prior sales figures or answer STAR questions. Best interview ever. But somehow I could tell the Managers were drained. I could tell they were dreading having to add yet another rep into the POD.

Well, anyway. I'd be all skippy and perky if I get this job.

Skippy and perky vs. educated, professional, caring and driven. Take this as experience. You were deemed a non-candidate within the first five minutes. It is called killing an hour by discussing the last book you read and your "strengths".
Did nt you feel the wind leave the room when they said. "thanks for coming in'?.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a position in my area that I am interested in but the interview process is getting ridiculous. First I filled out my application which is normal. But then I had to take a psych test for over an hour. Really? Then came the phone screen. This guy grilled me like no other.it lasted almost an hour and it was intense. I survived and should have been offered the job at that point for all my suffering. Then I was called in for a face to face interview where 3 managers grilled me again. I have been on many interviews and I know this style is more extreme than usual. They were very stoic and occasionally got aggressive. I felt like one manager was trying to mess me up, one seemed not to care at all. The hiring manager was not very engaging. After that I was told that if I am picked to move forward I may have to do another face to face. Are you kidding me?

No, not kidding you. First of all it is rigged. The hiring manager is usually the one who is observing you while the other manager (his/her collegue or boss) is doing the grilling.
Part of this job is getting grilled from physicians; so you better know how to deal with this sort of stress.

As far as yet ANOTHER interview, yes it's kind of senseless, but it is usually a good sign that you are close to getting the job. And usually another set of eyes are bought in.

The psych exam does indeed weed out a lot of insecure people. One of the things the test tries to gather is how well you work with others. Best way to handle working in a POD is to never say anything bad about another person and have an attitude that you can care less if anybody says anything bad about you.

By working 9-5 everyday; just like an office person, you will be fine. It's a simple job really. Just keep blinders on, ignore a lot of the chirp and be in the clinics.

 

[Anonymous]

so what is the starting salary at Lilly? $68K base? $24k potential annual bonus?

Please tell me that is for an entry level rep. Way below average. No wonder why Lilly is going downhill! You get what you pay for. 68 base is what part-time, contract reps get.

 

[Anonymous]

Were you over the age of 55???? Lilly discriminates against anyone that is of "so-called retirement age"!

Not quite 55 but this is probally the case. So, perhaps a complaint to the EEOC is in order?

 

[Anonymous]

No, not kidding you. First of all it is rigged. The hiring manager is usually the one who is observing you while the other manager (his/her collegue or boss) is doing the grilling.
Part of this job is getting grilled from physicians; so you better know how to deal with this sort of stress.

As far as yet ANOTHER interview, yes it's kind of senseless, but it is usually a good sign that you are close to getting the job. And usually another set of eyes are bought in.

The psych exam does indeed weed out a lot of insecure people. One of the things the test tries to gather is how well you work with others. Best way to handle working in a POD is to never say anything bad about another person and have an attitude that you can care less if anybody says anything bad about you.

By working 9-5 everyday; just like an office person, you will be fine. It's a simple job really. Just keep blinders on, ignore a lot of the chirp and be in the clinics.

Thanks again H.R.

 

[Anonymous]

No, not kidding you. First of all it is rigged. The hiring manager is usually the one who is observing you while the other manager (his/her collegue or boss) is doing the grilling.
Part of this job is getting grilled from physicians; so you better know how to deal with this sort of stress.

As far as yet ANOTHER interview, yes it's kind of senseless, but it is usually a good sign that you are close to getting the job. And usually another set of eyes are bought in.

The psych exam does indeed weed out a lot of insecure people. One of the things the test tries to gather is how well you work with others. Best way to handle working in a POD is to never say anything bad about another person and have an attitude that you can care less if anybody says anything bad about you.

By working 9-5 everyday; just like an office person, you will be fine. It's a simple job really. Just keep blinders on, ignore a lot of the chirp and be in the clinics.

Does everyone get offered less money to come over? I fought for more because my offer was 25k below what I was making. I got it to 22k below. I like the company, the manager, the pipeline, but this offer was very weak. I had to take it because I was being displaced and wanted to keep a flow of income but I have heard a lot of other offers are really low like this. I am going to continue looking for a better offer elsewhere. It sucks! I am starting to feel like I was taken advantage of. Preyed upon like a wounded animal.:-(

 

[Anonymous]

You really need to pay attention to the specific title for the position you are trying for. The levels are Sales rep, Sr. Sales Rep, and Executive Sales rep. If you are an executive rep at another company and the position you are applying for here is Sales rep, then you are going to get a terrible offer. Even applying for a position at the same level you are at with another company, if you have more than 10 years of experience then you will likely be asked to take a significant pay cut. They pay us garbage here. There would be a mutiny on Lilly's hands if they started paying new hires more than us veterans.

 

[Anonymous]

Does everyone get offered less money to come over? I fought for more because my offer was 25k below what I was making. I got it to 22k below. I like the company, the manager, the pipeline, but this offer was very weak. I had to take it because I was being displaced and wanted to keep a flow of income but I have heard a lot of other offers are really low like this. I am going to continue looking for a better offer elsewhere. It sucks! I am starting to feel like I was taken advantage of. Preyed upon like a wounded animal.:-(

What was your offer? The managers told me in the interview that they didn't think they could afford me. My situation may be different. Spouse does pretty good and I can do a lower salary but they wouldn't get the quality of work that I normally produce.

Perhaps these are some of the problems that Lilly needs to address. In order to get quality people selling your products; you need to pay for talent or at least keep competitive pay and benefits. If not, you will get a group of slackards and people that physicians do not respect.

 

[Anonymous]

Salary seems to be a recurring theme of Lilly threads. Instead of hiring more lower skilled, or reps looking to slack, why not pay one rep more money and provide an incentive to sales and good customer service. Too many reps plus unhappy with pay reps equals disaster.

 

[Anonymous]

Please tell me that is for an entry level rep. Way below average. No wonder why Lilly is going downhill! You get what you pay for. 68 base is what part-time, contract reps get.

This MUST be true...No one has even posted a different Starting Salary for an Entry Level Rep.

 

[Anonymous]

As a manager it is difficult to retain talent; offering this salary.
Therefore forced to make offers to people without sales experience which involves more training, more attention and frustrates the rest of the team.

 

[Anonymous]

I just accepted a low ball offer. I am out of a job and felt it's better than nothing. This is a good company but I am going to keep my options open to see if I can get another offer from another company that is closer to what I was making. In the meantime it is nice to be employed.

I am doing the same thing. Just got an offer but still looking.
I made 68K in the late nineties. Lilly suxs. Manager wears short sleeved dress shirts and has a calculator and pencil in his pocket.

Counterpart is a gel headed punk.

What happened to Lilly?

 

[Anonymous]

This MUST be true...No one has even posted a different Starting Salary for an Entry Level Rep.

so, true starting salary anyone??