Ok I'm going to provide you and senior leadership with the truth.
-MH is not out to try to save the organization money by beating you out of your pension. It (the $ liability) really is a very very small piece in a very big picture.
- At the MY and MH level they want to see numbers. If it comes from the 45-55 crew well then that is who they are going to retain. The truth is that no one demographic can make that boast. Some bad reps who thought this was social security needed to leave and most are now gone. Did we lose a few good reps while taking out the trash? You betcha.
- The win as one campaign was designed to foster teamwork. Did it fail? Yes. Why? The RBD and DM teams never backed the play. In fact many sought to undermine it from the beginning. Unfortunately that failure was blamed on many established reps when the managers were actually at fault.
- The credo and trust. Again the mid-level managers are feuding and fabricating cases against various reps of oth teams to further their personal agendas. If Leadership knew the undermining and fraud that occurred on a daily basis at the RBD & DM level there would be a house cleaning like the industry has never seen.
- Is there a future here? Probably not. JNJ has a history of not redeploying sales staff when a drugs life cycle ends. Sooner or later it will effect you. They prefer a fresh start and fresh faces as history has showed us. This is dependant upon how and if the President and VPs fight for their people to be retained. Case in point; Onc expansion and the demise of the hepC team. But honestly most of that displaced team were newer and younger. Had they been a senior sales level and above team my guess is they would have been layed-off.
- Is there increased scrutiny as you age here? Yes. If you you have been here for two years or more you have seen it. Most of us have even heard management discuss it. Regardless of pay and title, there are different expectations.
- Is JBI next for downsizing? Most likely. Unfortunately when the patent on Remicade is compromised and IF those biosims have success (this is very uncertain for the US) we will be downsized. I would estimate 30-40%. There just isn't enough JBI sector growth to offset the hit of several billions.
- Access is bad for most selling divisions and getting worse. From payers to medical groups the goal is the same to reduce the influence drug manufactures have on prescribing of branded products. This is likely to get worse for the JNJ and Pfizers of the industry. Access will actually grow for the manufacturer of bio-sims as payers will open access to them in order to save billions through physician education. So access to big Pharma in commodity markets will continue to shrink and emphasis will move to Science Liason roles requiring a Ph.D. and physician paid marketing advisory boards. Simply stated, your donut runs don't cut it anymore.
- Where to go? Try new and true biotechs that have innovative products in new markets. They are usually good for 15+ year runs if you know your stuff. Stay away from the segments that have 4 or more competitors. That is the tipping point to a commercial commodity market. Unless you are the lowest price and best access you will be spitting into the wind and your tenure will likely end in much frustration. If you want to be happy, follow this trail. The vast majority of JNJers have a career that ends very ugly here. JNJ is not recommended by the majority of independent recruiters for all the reasons I have stated.