Life After Pharmaceutical Sales

What does a tenured representative do once they have lost their job? Companies today are hiring unexperienced reps at much lower pay. Contract sales is running rampant. Pharmaceutical sales does not have the respect it once had. It's sad. I do not know what I am going to do if I am not in this industry. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I can transfer my skills and education?

 

Go contract. Its the wave. It would not surprise me if most companies go this way.

 

Don't you guys understand:
It's over...Pharma is over this crap. No more "detailing" or "new and better" me-too's. It's all sampling and sigs, and that's not going to pay anything worthwhile to anyone. The industry invented contract sales to cut in-field promotional costs to the bone, and that is exactly what is happening. This will soon be an industry reveling in retired old people and part time moms, and nary a professional salesperson to be found.
Go find a real job...if you can. The industry that you will soon be forced to leave is history. Get over it, and seek better. It's out there, and for you to find it.

 

Bend over and kiss your ass goodbye.

 

First, get hold of yourself! If you lose your job it's bad, but not the end of the world. And respect is something you earn through your own actions, not the position you hold.

Second, stop thinking of yourself as only a drug rep. Everybody has interests and skills to do any number of things in this life. Have you ever read an alumni magazine from the college you graduated from? Most people are working in a field that had nothing to do with their major.

Third, regardless of what happens Monday, start a job search. If you're totally blank on how to start, ther's plenty of online job sites with tips, skill assessment tools, etc. don't expect to come up with all the answers right away. Job hunting is tough, but keep at it. We'll all be fine if we keep our wits about us.

 

This is the OP. Thank you for your response. You are right. I need to explore my interests and figure out what I am going to do. The hard part is figuring out which direction to head. I actually talked to a recruiter today that said "In device sales, they really do not want tenured pharmaceutical reps. They see them as people that drop off bagels and get signatures for samples - not real sales people." I was shocked to hear this. That is the perception out there unfortunately. I find that way of thinking offensive.

 

Well Said

 

Time for a gut check-- do you really do anything different than that? Internal paperwork and ass-kissing doesn't count. In a typical day, what do you do, other than those things, to increase awareness of your product and improve market share? It's a sincere question.

 

its a great resume to become a DC lobbyist. no other job anywhere prepares you as well for that.

 

There is nothing wrong with plenty of opportunities that exist, I've investigated two:

1) A reputable franchise operation. Subway is one thought, also Chick Filet. Very selective, thorough training, and guaranteed success if you follow their program. That's key -- they know it -- they know their program works if they can get people to follow it. They know if you're a tenured drug rep, you can be made to follow a program.

2) Insurance. Farmers and Allstate are two that are expanding. Their program is FAR more sales oriented than anything else, and if you can make the cut, they'll pay up. But if you're slack, you're not going to make squat and they'll terminate their agreements with you quick. Good training, but you're going to have to meet after work in people's living rooms to sell their life products. They want you to issue 10,000 property and casualty insurance quotes and hope some of the quotes results in orders.

But with insurance, you actually get a commission every time the buyer sends more money in and renews the contract. You'll be close to a business owner.


There's two ideas I've researched. Not as sweet at 100k + a car for putting up with a lot of BS, but if you'll do the work you can win. And you'll feel the satisfaction of winning, not the humiliation of telling your dipshit bosses how much they helped with their input on the last ride along.

 

...or the humiliation of denying that the poo bah's hair is not falling out and that he doesn't wear a toupee it's just a false rumor.

 

This poster is spot on. You will have a hard time in this economy finding a job that matches your qualifications. You will not find anything close to the salary and benefits you have now so be prepared. Unless you go with a contract company you will probably be out of pharma. Most people I know who held out for a pharma job were unemployed for a year or more. Also be prepared to be disenchanted if you go back to pharma. Once you get out of it it's very difficult to go back.

So try to do something outside of this industry. You will more than likely start at the bottom and have to prove yourself but you might as well do that now rather than hold out for a pharma job and wait a year or more to get it.

 

Another option more for women is new car sales. This is a male dominated place, however, my college roommate started started 3 years ago after being let go from GSK. She said that the first year she made over 65k and the past 2 years she has made over 90k selling new fords. Women are viewed as more trustworthy in car sales. Yea there is a stigma, but it may help. She does get a car to drive. It changes every couple of weeks.

 

Look chicken little, plenty of well paying pharma jobs still to interview for

 

Face it......a job as a pharma rep does not grow your skill set. If you had gone inside a while back you would have at least developed usable work force skills. How can you be shocked that device companies view pharma reps for what they are. Bagel/lunch delivery service that collect signitures. And by the way, if you work for AZ you really have the skills of a chimp because you can not even inventory samples.

 

OP here. Thanks for that suggestion. That is an idea anyway...and having a car to drive without having to pay for maintence is nice. I am not sure I would have a passion for that though. Does anyone else have any more ideas?

 

Take a look at http://OutofPharma.tk it is a recruiter website that is looking for seasoned reps that make over 100K. If you cannot prove you made over 100K as an AZ rep forget it. They won't look at you. But if you have, then they can find you a viable career outside this industry with a base and bonus exceeding 100K. Example of industries are DNA software, capital equipment etc.

 

OP the answer is obvious. Do what you've always thought about doing while driving laps around your home city. Porn Star!!! Duhhh!

 

Almost a year has past since being packaged out by Novartis along with 1300 others - still no sales job. Some of the trolls will make fun of this but I am not a loser, have good numbers, several awards - but I have made several key mistakes: 1. I am 52 yr old male - 8 yrs in pharma - I general this industry is not re-hiring reps over 40 - over 50 - never. 2. I have applied for 90% pharma sales jobs because they are there, they look attractive and it's fairly easy to get and pass a phone screen and then get an interview. 3. If you're under 40 you have a good chance but think twice about that path - remember pharma companies (contract is just as bad) don't value reps at all. 4. Beware the "internet job hunting addiction" - it's worse than "online porn addiction" -
I personally don't know about the latter - but I've heard about it. It's easy to waste days on end on Indeed.co and linkedin not to mention facebook and the like. Advice: Get out of pharma now - get out there; be out there and connect with real people. Sell something else - anything that interest you or maybe you have a special connection or skill in. Good luck.

 

I totally agree. I was recently laid off in December with another pharma company. When it happened, I was scared out of my mind. I have over 15 years in the pharma industry and no other sales background to speak of. After a few weeks of sulking and constant scanning of indeed, linkedin, simplyhired, monster, etc. for new pharma jobs, I decided to look for a sales career outside of pharma. Medical Device and Medical Supplies will not touch a pharma rep unless you have a tight connection. (And that's not even a guarantee.) I found another sales job outside of pharma and I'm loving it!!! Word of caution: You need to mentally prepare yourself for two things. Forget about the freedom you had in pharma and be prepared to take a pay hit. Once I got over those two fears, my life has been great. I'm in an industry that is growing by leaps and bounds. I don't live with the fear of layoffs every six months. And lastly, I'm in an industry that actually values the people that are making the profit. In 3-4 years, I should be right back to the salary level I was with in pharma and believe it or not, you actually feel like you accomplish your daily goals when you get the business vs. lunch drops, sample drops, and begging for business. Good luck!