Something to consider when you decide to leave Pfizer

[Anonymous]

We all know working for this company can be challenging, but many stay on because frankly it's an easy gig that pays well....but consider this story when you debate whether or not to leave.

I just finished the interview process with a device company. Not the first time I've interviewed with another company, but this time I faced a question I was not really prepared to answer. I was at the final interview Friday with the Director and everything was going fine. He said this was more of a formality, the manager will decide who to hire, yadda yadda, but he had one question for me...."With all the changes to the sales force, what took you so long to decide to leave Pfizer?"....I had never really thought about things that way. People always want to know the same shit. They always ask why you want to leave, but no one had ever asked why I hadn't done it already. His point was a valid one. I mean, the actual reason was simply that the job was a joke, and I was making good money doing very little, but that's not exactly something you can say. I thought quickly and said that I am loyal person, and i wanted to follow through on my commitment to success at Pfizer. All the changes just motivated me more to do well in an increasingly difficult environment. Bullshit, I know, but that's what I came up with.....

The interview ended after an hour or so and I actually got the call today with an offer, but it made me realize something. Doing nothing can speak a hell of a lot louder than doing something. Even if you don't get laid off this time around be conscious of what staying here says to potential future employers. It certainly doesn't tell them that you really want to be in a competitive sales enviornment and work hard for your money.

 

[Anonymous]

Good post but it's important not to sell yourself short during an interview with Pfizer on your res. People on the outside really don't understand how screwed up this job is. Pfizer will always be a brand name regardless of how horrible it is working for this company. With that said, I plan on leaving this company very soon.

 

[Anonymous]

What an inspiration you are!!!!! Bravo!!!! I have never heard of someone asking a question like that before. And what a quick, fantastic reply you gave. I am also planning on leaving very soon regardless of layoffs are not. Bravo to you for taking control of your life back!!!!! I love it! I wish you well in the future. Never look back!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Had a similar situation. Interviewed by a diagnostics company and asked a very simple two-word question: Why Pfizer? I told them the company had changed dramatically and was not the same as when I was hired.

Got the job. Miss some people, but not Pfizer.

 

[Anonymous]

Had a similar situation. Interviewed by a diagnostics company and asked a very simple two-word question: Why Pfizer? I told them the company had changed dramatically and was not the same as when I was hired.

Got the job. Miss some people, but not Pfizer.

Yeah, I hear ya. Actually, that question I've heard before, and your answer is a good one and one that I have used...the point of my original post though was that the question has begun to change. If you were to tell this guy I interviewed with that the company has changed I guarantee his response would have been "It changed years ago, why did you stick around as long as you did?"

The layoffs never really bothered me. My feeling was always that either way it wasn't so bad, and making it through was a good thing, but now I see that it may not be so great. The longer you stay in this increasingly poor environment, the more questions people will have about what drives you to succeed.

 

[Anonymous]

Hats off to those of you who had to balls to leave!! I haven't been that brave......but speaking to a friend who left inspired me to go. He said that after being gone for a year, he feels like a new person and much happier.


I'm gone !

 

[Anonymous]

This is post#3 again, thanks for all the information shared. It is great to hear these type of stories than some of the other madness posted on here. Again, bravo!!! Please keep the encouraging stories coming.

 

[Anonymous]

We all know working for this company can be challenging, but many stay on because frankly it's an easy gig that pays well....but consider this story when you debate whether or not to leave.

I just finished the interview process with a device company. Not the first time I've interviewed with another company, but this time I faced a question I was not really prepared to answer. I was at the final interview Friday with the Director and everything was going fine. He said this was more of a formality, the manager will decide who to hire, yadda yadda, but he had one question for me...."With all the changes to the sales force, what took you so long to decide to leave Pfizer?"....I had never really thought about things that way. People always want to know the same shit. They always ask why you want to leave, but no one had ever asked why I hadn't done it already. His point was a valid one. I mean, the actual reason was simply that the job was a joke, and I was making good money doing very little, but that's not exactly something you can say. I thought quickly and said that I am loyal person, and i wanted to follow through on my commitment to success at Pfizer. All the changes just motivated me more to do well in an increasingly difficult environment. Bullshit, I know, but that's what I came up with.....

The interview ended after an hour or so and I actually got the call today with an offer, but it made me realize something. Doing nothing can speak a hell of a lot louder than doing something. Even if you don't get laid off this time around be conscious of what staying here says to potential future employers. It certainly doesn't tell them that you really want to be in a competitive sales enviornment and work hard for your money.

YOU ARE EXACTLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH PFIZER. THANK YOU FOR LEAVING!!! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF AND YOUR ATTITUDE. I HOPE OTHERS LIKE YOU GET THE SMACK OUT. GOOD RIDDANCE.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, as an exPfizer rep of many years, when I interviewed with MANY companies, some respected Pfizer, some didn't. My answer was: my company was a hostile takeover by Pfizer. I was kept for some time, but I would never have interviewed with them by choice. I was hired by a great company. Good luck.!! There are some great companies out there. They will find you, believe me. Just do your best and you will be rewarded. Pfizer is a bully company. Sooooo happy I was forced out. Best thing that ever happened. Bite me Pfizer. Revenge is soooo sweet.

 

[Anonymous]

[...."With all the changes to the sales force, what took you so long to decide to leave Pfizer?"....

A good friend of mine was here for over 15 years, and was trying to move into the agency world in the mid 2000s. He was very upset to hear the very same thing: "What took you so long"? "You guys dont sell, you give 30 second commercials", and "We're looking for people with initiative. 16 years of giving stand up presentations to Drs hardly qualifies you to close a $500,000 deal".

Agreed some of these comments could have been designed to shake him, but he was surprised that interviewers were so negative. And this was in 2004! It took him almost a year to land a gig.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I hear ya. Actually, that question I've heard before, and your answer is a good one and one that I have used...the point of my original post though was that the question has begun to change. If you were to tell this guy I interviewed with that the company has changed I guarantee his response would have been "It changed years ago, why did you stick around as long as you did?"

The layoffs never really bothered me. My feeling was always that either way it wasn't so bad, and making it through was a good thing, but now I see that it may not be so great. The longer you stay in this increasingly poor environment, the more questions people will have about what drives you to succeed.

The only reason I stayed was for the money. Period. As morale sunk, it became a game of wills - will you have enough money to pay for that fancy college your daughter wants to go to - will you have enough money to pack off your nagging MIL to nursing home - will you put up with the humiliation of sales meetings - will you will you blah blah blah. I outlived three managers in two years. I outlived all of that stupid, useless training at the Arrow. I outlived everything but the ulcers and high blood pressure. When I left, I didn't look back. The golden handcuffs tarnished right around the time Spayshul K took over. First ten years were great, and the last five were horrible.

Now that I have been on the job through my probationary period, my boss (best one I ever had actually) and I had one of those "honesty" talks over a few beers. Turns out he could not say much about his previous employer but the same thing. The golden handcuffs kept him there until he was vested same as I did. He knows exactly where everybody on our team came from and why we split when we did. Gives us something in common, even if some a$$h0le$ think we sold out. Yeah we did, but at least we corrected the situation. The new team is good and we all are happy to be there. Can't ask for much more.

 

[Anonymous]

YOU ARE EXACTLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH PFIZER. THANK YOU FOR LEAVING!!! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF AND YOUR ATTITUDE. I HOPE OTHERS LIKE YOU GET THE SMACK OUT. GOOD RIDDANCE.

Your welcome. I left on my accord after making it through every layoff I faced. Unfortunately for you, you will at some point be laid off and when faced with the question of why you stayed so long in a job that ceased to be a sales role years ago you will have no answer.

I don't fault anyone for sticking around. Golden handcuffs are hard to break (they were for me), but the fact is the longer you wait, the less likely you are to get another legit sales position.

 

[Anonymous]

Your welcome. I left on my accord after making it through every layoff I faced. Unfortunately for you, you will at some point be laid off and when faced with the question of why you stayed so long in a job that ceased to be a sales role years ago you will have no answer.

I don't fault anyone for sticking around. Golden handcuffs are hard to break (they were for me), but the fact is the longer you wait, the less likely you are to get another legit sales position.

All this is very interesting. I was "banished" from Pfizer during 2006 lay off and got a position in Device Sales. At first, it was great! No micro managing and making commissions off your hard work of direct sales. However, this industry is notorious for huge increases in quotas, so you have to keep churning and churning and working your nuts off to keep up. Upward Mobility is tough, very few Management Jobs and the Marketing Positions are hired from the outside.

The Grass is not Always Greener on the other side. Every now and then I think about all of you people running around just collecting signatures and dumping samples. You have it made, my friends. You have it made. Best thing to do is to start your very own company. Carry a few lines, get contracts with those you have established good relationships with. Keep your Rolodex and your Running Shoes On. Oh, and Save as much money as you can. When you turn 50, sales isn't such a great gig.

 

[Anonymous]

to the last poster: interesting comment about starting your own company. You mention "carrying a few lines" What do you mean by that? are you refering to being an independant contractor?

 

[Anonymous]

a few lines of products. new poster here. it's not hard to do, esp if you have prior relationships - as most of us do - in cardiovascular, neuro or ortho. if you do nothing else, solidify those relationships VERY TIGHTLY now so that you might have that access in the future (should you lose your job and decide on device sales).

ahhh, the ol' golden handcuffs. hard to find the key, huh? well, pfizer handed me the key back in '09 - thank ya! - after repetitive years of success. i'm with a much, much smaller company now and enjoy what i do but cannot do this for very much longer. been in it nearly 15 years and things just are not the same. the immaturity is baffling, from reps and managers... but the ol' handcuffs, once snug, are loosening their grip around my wrists. the more things i pay off, the looser they become. the last poster was right: save MORE than you think you need to save... OVER-PREPARE yourself for what's to come. remember, if you get the axe, there are 5-6 other very highly-qualified people trying to land the same job as you. i've played my cards right so far and have only 3 years left to make my move into something more intellectually and emotionally stimulating.

this gig was inarguably the most lucrative based on the amount of 'work' i was required to do. and i'm partially ashamed of my 'career' because i spent a large portion of my life doing it but, hey, i couldn't make that kind of jack doing anything else. ride it as long as you can.

 

[Anonymous]

Did it ever occur to some of you that there are still some of us who enjoy working here? Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of tools here, particularly in sr mgt. But i have a great DBM who doesn't create busy work and who understands i have a life outside of Pfizer. As long as i put in a reasonable effort and stay engaged (i.e. don't drop the ball on projects/deadlines), he's 100% in my corner and sings my praises to the RM & SD.

While the job has changed over the 3 decades i've been here, i still manage to enjoy most of the interactions with my customers, even though they are typically brief compared to what they once were. Lunches provide me a better opportunity to get into more involved discussions, and i know that i can still impact business when my products are on formulary. The biggest change (and greatest frustration) is that I no longer have any real impact on formularies, something i once did (in both small HMOs and accounts). I have even worked with a number of the account managers in our area, as i tend to have better relationships and am simply better at THEIR job, but currently so many decisions are made at the national level that it just doesn't matter.

I'll keep doing this job until i retire or they lay me off. Either way I'll be OK. I have enough contacts to land something sufficient to meet my needs. This job is what you make of it, and i'm certainly not ashamed of being here. Financially I've done fine, and from a job satisfaction aspect, i could have done a lot worse. I could give you some BS about staying positive, but quite honestly, it's a whole lot easier when you work for a good manager. 5 years ago i worked for the AntiChrist and was ready to quit had i not been reassigned during FFO.

Now I'm back to my old good-natured self, and have a realistic chance of making it to retirement. Good luck to all in the coming weeks, i know i don't want to go back to working for Satan. Life's too short, and some people will suck the joy right out of it. Don't let them do it.

 

[Anonymous]

Did it ever occur to some of you that there are still some of us who enjoy working here? Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of tools here, particularly in sr mgt. But i have a great DBM who doesn't create busy work and who understands i have a life outside of Pfizer. As long as i put in a reasonable effort and stay engaged (i.e. don't drop the ball on projects/deadlines), he's 100% in my corner and sings my praises to the RM & SD.

While the job has changed over the 3 decades i've been here, i still manage to enjoy most of the interactions with my customers, even though they are typically brief compared to what they once were. Lunches provide me a better opportunity to get into more involved discussions, and i know that i can still impact business when my products are on formulary. The biggest change (and greatest frustration) is that I no longer have any real impact on formularies, something i once did (in both small HMOs and accounts). I have even worked with a number of the account managers in our area, as i tend to have better relationships and am simply better at THEIR job, but currently so many decisions are made at the national level that it just doesn't matter.

I'll keep doing this job until i retire or they lay me off. Either way I'll be OK. I have enough contacts to land something sufficient to meet my needs. This job is what you make of it, and i'm certainly not ashamed of being here. Financially I've done fine, and from a job satisfaction aspect, i could have done a lot worse. I could give you some BS about staying positive, but quite honestly, it's a whole lot easier when you work for a good manager. 5 years ago i worked for the AntiChrist and was ready to quit had i not been reassigned during FFO.

Now I'm back to my old good-natured self, and have a realistic chance of making it to retirement. Good luck to all in the coming weeks, i know i don't want to go back to working for Satan. Life's too short, and some people will suck the joy right out of it. Don't let them do it.

God please ya. OP here and the initial post was not meant to suggest everyone should leave pharma ASAP. If you like and you wanna stay, then stay....I was only pointing out that the image of pharma and Pfizer especially has changed significantly. If you leave now (voluntarily or otherwise) it's becoming harder and harder to explain to anyone else in sales why you stayed at a company like Pfizer so long if you truly want to be in sales.....the questin surprised me when I got it so I decided to share the experience.

Bottom line: It's become contradictory to say you are passionate about sales, competitive and driven by results AND still work at Pfizer....

 

[Anonymous]

[...."With all the changes to the sales force, what took you so long to decide to leave Pfizer?"....

A good friend of mine was here for over 15 years, and was trying to move into the agency world in the mid 2000s. He was very upset to hear the very same thing: "What took you so long"? "You guys dont sell, you give 30 second commercials", and "We're looking for people with initiative. 16 years of giving stand up presentations to Drs hardly qualifies you to close a $500,000 deal".

Agreed some of these comments could have been designed to shake him, but he was surprised that interviewers were so negative. And this was in 2004! It took him almost a year to land a gig.

If the interviewer was looking for people who could do more than "30-sec" commercials, then why did he interview your friend?

Lots of people out there have Pfizer, Merck, Sanofi, Novartis, Amgen, envy - hiring managers too - who love to interview reps from big pharma to tell them off.

What a waste of time. If that company's product has value, a qualified, talented and dedicated sales professional will be able to work through it. Product and industry knowledge applied well leads to sales more often than "hard closing" and intimidation.

Your friend should have handed the interviewer a brochure to have him give a presentation. And then asked for reimbursement for gas and time.

 

[Anonymous]

When I was hired in '95, we had the best products to see (Zithro, Norvasc, Diflucan) and management (at least in area where I worked) that was supportive and everyone was proud to be on the team. We worked very hard, but the competition was more at a group level and not as personal and arbitrary. Fast forward a decade and our products (with exception of Lipitor) are difficult to move and management did not give a damn about anything but how to humiliate and turn teams and individuals against each other.

The training also changed. It used to focus on product knowledge, relationship management and understanding managed care. A decade later, it is who can reach the lifeboat first.

I don't regret working for Pfizer because it paid the bills nicely. I do regret that it turned all of us into selfish sales machines run by incompetent managers and led by scum. I also regret that I allowed that to happen to myself. My new job does not pay nearly as well as Pfizer, but it has good benefits and I really don't want to move up in the organization. My manager is fine with that because there is nowhere to go in a smaller organization.

Hey no harm, no foul when I get a semi-decent paycheck and benefits. During this recession, at least I am still in my house and I am putting more money away in my 401K. Don't have pension or stock options, but I don't know anyone who ever made money from the RSUs or options anyway.

 

[Anonymous]

Small biotechs HATE PFE peeps! we will never get hired!