Hey laid off Cluster 2 reps from a year ago.....

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Anonymous said:
If there is any way that you can show that you affected your business through the things that you have done, it is possible.

There are ways to set yourself apart from all of the rah rah "OWN IT" B.S., the mind numbing tedium of working around your idiot counterparts, the games you have to play with your manager to justify their jobs, the overbearing political correctness in this hell hole, and state direct outcomes of specific things that you do with your customers and the resulting business growth.

If you have a few good years and can explain how you did it, you can jump to another growing industry that involves selling something tangible to the customers you have built relationships with (back when you could actually do that without having to work around all of the incompetent and worthless dead weight that tries to take credit for everything you do nowadays)

Take the time to plan your exit and find out what is in your area.
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Please tell us how we can show how we affected the business? These industries outside of pharma have been exposed to our cast-offs for almost 10 years now. They know full well that we had 4-6 counterparts selling the same damn drug. They know Viagra sold itself from the start. They know that we used to pad the pockets of high-prescribing docs with those preceptorships or ghost speaking engagement honoraria, or wined and dined people into writing best-in-class drugs like Lipitor. How can WE show that WE (and not our counterparts or our expense accounts) affected business?

I ask because so many friends let go from here tell me the horror stories they hear from recruiters or if they're lucky, interviewers.
 




Anonymous said:
Please tell us how we can show how we affected the business? These industries outside of pharma have been exposed to our cast-offs for almost 10 years now. They know full well that we had 4-6 counterparts selling the same damn drug. They know Viagra sold itself from the start. They know that we used to pad the pockets of high-prescribing docs with those preceptorships or ghost speaking engagement honoraria, or wined and dined people into writing best-in-class drugs like Lipitor. How can WE show that WE (and not our counterparts or our expense accounts) affected business?

I ask because so many friends let go from here tell me the horror stories they hear from recruiters or if they're lucky, interviewers.
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Most of you are stuck. Getting back to the original topic, get used to the idea of working for Publicis, Inventiv ect as a contract rep. 3 years from now and definitely within 5 years the only pharma jobs will be contract jobs.

Its a reality of our economy that you just have to face. There is so little you can actually do in this industry anymore and the government is your #1 customer so it will be open season for compliance violations for the rest of the duration of this industry.
 




Anonymous said:
.....In 3 years the only pharma rep jobs will be contract jobs. Only people right out of college will want them or be able to survive on the $50-55K salary range. The last of the bloated $130K "rep" jobs will be completely purged out of the big pharma companies......
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I've just glad I got the kids through college and the mortgage paid off with my 120K before the axe started falling. In the future, reps will have trouble doing those things at 55K. Oh how the mighty are falling!!!
 




Anonymous said:
I've just glad I got the kids through college and the mortgage paid off with my 120K before the axe started falling. In the future, reps will have trouble doing those things at 55K. Oh how the mighty are falling!!!
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Oh! Good for you!
We're all so happy for you. Thanks for posting. We've been worried for you.
 








Anonymous said:
I've just glad I got the kids through college and the mortgage paid off with my 120K before the axe started falling. In the future, reps will have trouble doing those things at 55K. Oh how the mighty are falling!!!
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There are many making $90k and still can't get their shot together. For some, they will always live beyond their means and never save enough to pay down debt! It's the American way for many.
 




Anonymous said:
Say what you want to say about it. It's real work that has real reward.

In 3 years the only pharma rep jobs will be contract jobs. Only people right out of college will want them or be able to survive on the $50-55K salary range. The last of the bloated $130K "rep" jobs will be completely purged out of the big pharma companies.

The only things left to scramble over at Pfizer will be web based operations jobs, marketing coordinators, soem version of the extremely inefficient and inadequately structured "KAM/ISS" jobs that waste millions of dollars, and a smattering of other fake jobs that can be conjured up and justified so that the RBD's that remain can take care of their cronies. There will be very few.

Unless you are hanging on for full retirement status within the next 36 months or have a spouse that has a stable job that allows you to do this as a vocational career so you can do errands during the day, attend your kids school activities at 330 or sell real estate on the side I can't warn you strongly enough to look at your next career choice and do it now. make it your 2014 resolution because you have no idea how unmarketable you are if you get downsized out and have to live off an ATS package while you try to find work.

Get out now and you will be fine, companies will take a risk and hire you if you are currently in pharma and are taking the self initiative to get out. It will take close to a year. If you wait until you are let go, that severance package that takes 4-5 months to finally arrive will be halfway gone due to taxes and bills you have already racked up after WARN ends. And every interviewer you sit in front of will be able to smell the desperation and you will be out of work a long, long time.

This is meant to be friendly advice, not confrontational. There are 2 paths to take to get out of this company. Do not under any circumstance just wait around for them to act and downsize you out unless you are almost done or are just working for discretionary income in your household.
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Your advice is spot on! People who are "hanging on" really need to get their head out of the sand and network. It is much easier to get a job when you are employed vs. desperate after a layoff. Believe me, I know! Also, pharma jobs are not considered sales jobs anymore and prospective employers know that. Take this advice and don't get defensive. We want you to succeed! I am not some liberal looking to "take down" achievement. I want everyone to succeed and produce.
 




There is more, much more, to life than working here.

Just switched out of pharma into a neighboring industry and wow, do my bosses and I have a good laugh over our pharma days.

Its unbelievable how much shit we put up with:

"3 in a car"
"write right"
"own it"
GPM
IDP's
the "GAR" (remember that?)
FFO
FFT
FF__
FF_
F-- (there are at least 3 layoffs that had official abbreviations that I can't quite name)
Career Pathways

Being subjected to this ^^^^ over a period of time deadens the senses and completely kills the human spirit. Find a real job where you get paid what you're worth and actually have observable, quantifiable metrics that determine your achievement.
It will hit you like being shot with a TASER gun when you leave and start living your life. That shock is actually blood pumping through your veins again. Its unreal how good you will feel if you leave this sham
 




Anonymous said:
There is more, much more, to life than working here.

Just switched out of pharma into a neighboring industry and wow, do my bosses and I have a good laugh over our pharma days.

Its unbelievable how much shit we put up with:

"3 in a car"
"write right"
"own it"
GPM
IDP's
the "GAR" (remember that?)
FFO
FFT
FF__
FF_
F-- (there are at least 3 layoffs that had official abbreviations that I can't quite name)
Career Pathways

Being subjected to this ^^^^ over a period of time deadens the senses and completely kills the human spirit. Find a real job where you get paid what you're worth and actually have observable, quantifiable metrics that determine your achievement.
It will hit you like being shot with a TASER gun when you leave and start living your life. That shock is actually blood pumping through your veins again. Its unreal how good you will feel if you leave this sham
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Well said!! This company has a way of sucking the life out of you. Easy to become complacent.
 








Anonymous said:
Not easy.

Count you blessings and feel fortunate that you're still employed
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No one, and I mean NO ONE believes any of the pharma horror stories until the Grim Reaper comes for them. The first 3 months post-clipping, they chill and gloat about their big-ass severance. The next 10 months, they express shock and outrage at either the dearth of opportunities, or the salary packages being offered. Six months later they either accept a job from a company that they never heard of 2 years prior OR they start interviewing for CSO position.
 




Anonymous said:
No one, and I mean NO ONE believes any of the pharma horror stories until the Grim Reaper comes for them. The first 3 months post-clipping, they chill and gloat about their big-ass severance. The next 10 months, they express shock and outrage at either the dearth of opportunities, or the salary packages being offered. Six months later they either accept a job from a company that they never heard of 2 years prior OR they start interviewing for CSO position.
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Ain't that the truth. If you have ANY experience at all, CSO is about your only option that pays reasonably well. $65-70K is much better than $0K.
 




Anonymous said:
Ain't that the truth. If you have ANY experience at all, CSO is about your only option that pays reasonably well. $65-70K is much better than $0K.
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The writing on the wall for this industry is that it will be CSO's. We may not like it, but where is the growth and hiring coming from. Every couple of months we hear layoffs from Big Pharma. Very few are hiring (maybe Novo N and BMS) but everyone else is chopping. Read posts from other boards on this site…it's pretty sad.
 












Anonymous said:
There is more, much more, to life than working here.

Just switched out of pharma into a neighboring industry and wow, do my bosses and I have a good laugh over our pharma days.

Its unbelievable how much shit we put up with:

"3 in a car"
"write right"
"own it"
GPM
IDP's
the "GAR" (remember that?)
FFO
FFT
FF__
FF_
F-- (there are at least 3 layoffs that had official abbreviations that I can't quite name)
Career Pathways

Being subjected to this ^^^^ over a period of time deadens the senses and completely kills the human spirit. Find a real job where you get paid what you're worth and actually have observable, quantifiable metrics that determine your achievement.
It will hit you like being shot with a TASER gun when you leave and start living your life. That shock is actually blood pumping through your veins again. Its unreal how good you will feel if you leave this sham
Click to expand...

GAR= Giving Awards Randomly
 




Interviewed last week for a cluster 2 position and wanted to know why the territory has been opened if the territory is a very profitable one (per hiring manager). Are they laying people off every 2-3 yrs or so? What would be the reason a territory has opened? I am employed now but with a small pharma company and wanted to know why someone would leave a such profitable territory.

Thanks for all serious answers..
 




Anonymous said:
Interviewed last week for a cluster 2 position and wanted to know why the territory has been opened if the territory is a very profitable one (per hiring manager). Are they laying people off every 2-3 yrs or so? What would be the reason a territory has opened? I am employed now but with a small pharma company and wanted to know why someone would leave a such profitable territory.

Thanks for all serious answers..
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very profitable for WHO?
 












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