interview with alcon, bad idea?

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Anonymous

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I've got an interview in ophthalmology sales coming up; I was pretty excited, but reading these boards is making me have second thoughts. I have several other options in the works, but I thought pharma sales would be a good fit for me. So, a couple questions:

Are all of these complaints being posted by a few disgruntled employees who just don't know how to put in a little hard work and/or are unwilling to adapt to a changing environment?

What is the likelihood that I can start out in sales and move up to something else fairly quickly? I have an advanced science degree from a major Ivy League school, if that makes any difference.

If I tell the 'recruiter' that I'd rather get a job with a different company, can he make that happen, or will that ruin my chances at this job?

Thanks for the info!
 
Anonymous said:
I've got an interview in ophthalmology sales coming up; I was pretty excited, but reading these boards is making me have second thoughts. I have several other options in the works, but I thought pharma sales would be a good fit for me. So, a couple questions:

Are all of these complaints being posted by a few disgruntled employees who just don't know how to put in a little hard work and/or are unwilling to adapt to a changing environment?

What is the likelihood that I can start out in sales and move up to something else fairly quickly? I have an advanced science degree from a major Ivy League school, if that makes any difference.

If I tell the 'recruiter' that I'd rather get a job with a different company, can he make that happen, or will that ruin my chances at this job?

Thanks for the info!
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I used to work here and left for a better position. Alcon isn't a bad place to work, but it is very regimented in thinking and the DM sets the tone of the district. They give DMs a lot of power here so if you get a micromanager like I had, who micromanaged everything in the district despite saying "I'm not a micromanager..." stay clear.

Alcon seems to be willing to let managers, or unaware that many managers rule by intimidation here. My District's DM played mind games with almost everyone, with threats of performance improvement plans, then no plan ever appeared in front of anyone, then you started really improving your numbers and they would threaten another PIP. My old DM isn't the only person to do this. I could name several others with reputations I would describe as "rude and unprofessional" but don't believe in outing anyone on here because even jerks have families to feed.

If you get a DM that is a decent person this isn't a bad place to work. Your odds of going into selling like the lasers isn't good. Those spots hardly ever open up and a drug rep really, honestly, isn't qualified to sell a system the price of a nice car or house. Different skill set.

Also, Novartis has completely taken over Alcon and I know that many at Alcon don't really trust anyone else right now...so take that into the equation.
 
OP here, thanks for the info. My problem is that I don't know the industry very well. I'd like to think that i'm the 'new blood' coming in after the merger, and am more what the new upper management guys are looking for. But who knows, right? I'm reaching pretty low on the food chain here given my degree (at least that's what i've been told to think, haha) so I'd also like to think that i can work my way up to something else. This is like a 'foot in the door' job for me.

Anyway, my recruiter says that there are all kinds of opportunities for advancement...but if I got a carload of money to convince someone to sign on, I'd say pretty much anything.

At this point, I need a job and this is something that i'd like to do. But i don't want to bother with it if theres going to be some lower management tool with his foot on my head the whole time, or if i'm going to get canned in the first month because i'm trying to learn the area. Maybe i'll take the job and keep looking for another opportunity.
 
Anonymous said:
I've got an interview in ophthalmology sales coming up; I was pretty excited, but reading these boards is making me have second thoughts. I have several other options in the works, but I thought pharma sales would be a good fit for me. So, a couple questions:

Are all of these complaints being posted by a few disgruntled employees who just don't know how to put in a little hard work and/or are unwilling to adapt to a changing environment?

What is the likelihood that I can start out in sales and move up to something else fairly quickly? I have an advanced science degree from a major Ivy League school, if that makes any difference.

If I tell the 'recruiter' that I'd rather get a job with a different company, can he make that happen, or will that ruin my chances at this job?

Thanks for the info!
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If you have an advance science degree, why aren't you a scientist?
 
If this is your "foot in the door job" don't let it be here for a multitude of reasons. First, if you have never been in sales before, you won't learn anything about it here b/c the vast majority couldn't sell their way out of a paper bag. Secondly, "advancement" here happens in five years, happens only for men, & to the ones that kiss ass the best! Third, our version of "science" is to buy whatever company is currently killing our product/market. Lastly, your "advanced science degree" will intimidate the hell out of the hiring DM (who has never worked anywhere but here & only wants to hirer someone good enough, to not make him look bad) so he won't hirer you anyway. There are too many innovative companies out there to waste your time here- tell the recruiter "next"!
 
Lets cut the crap! Are you hot or not? That will answer your question! Advanced degrees are cool to hang on the wall. But good looks are important for everyday business!
 
Anonymous said:
If this is your "foot in the door job" don't let it be here for a multitude of reasons. First, if you have never been in sales before, you won't learn anything about it here b/c the vast majority couldn't sell their way out of a paper bag. Secondly, "advancement" here happens in five years, happens only for men, & to the ones that kiss ass the best! Third, our version of "science" is to buy whatever company is currently killing our product/market. Lastly, your "advanced science degree" will intimidate the hell out of the hiring DM (who has never worked anywhere but here & only wants to hirer someone good enough, to not make him look bad) so he won't hirer you anyway. There are too many innovative companies out there to waste your time here- tell the recruiter "next"!
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Your Ivy League Science Degree will most likely be intimidating to the likes of management here, the kind from Universities that start with something like "East Central State University of (Insert State here)" or some religious college with 800 students..Regional schools to say the least.

So if you need a job here because you are unemployed, go for it. However, the type of people that I found I worked with were the same sort of people I laughed at college...you know the types, girls at parties that would say "I am sooooo drunk" or guys that start fights at parties because they have something to prove...I came across this sort of behavior time and time again. And having come from other companies I can say it was unique to Alcon.
 
Anonymous said:
I came across this sort of behavior time and time again
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That is unbelievable. I just can't imagine such lack of professionalism. I do need work pretty badly. I can always apply elsewhere after a year or two. Perhaps I will be able to outsell these 'children' simply because I can better relate to the doctors...
 
Anonymous said:
That is unbelievable. I just can't imagine such lack of professionalism. I do need work pretty badly. I can always apply elsewhere after a year or two. Perhaps I will be able to outsell these 'children' simply because I can better relate to the doctors...
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I was comparing that "type of behavior" to a lot of Alcon Reps, of course I havent seen fights at Alcon, but I have seen my fair share of women talk about how trashed they got the first night they came in for training..the types that I described that in college acted immaturely then came to Alcon and that immaturity followed. People in my training class literally bringing 12 packs of natural ice beer to their hotel rooms saying "lets party."

Maybe I don't get it or am a stick in the mud, but I got all of that stuff out of my system in college.
 
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