Good place to be?

Can't wait to join the team!

 

Be careful

 

Yes, be careful.

Not all snakes rattle before they strike.

 

Serious question, not assuming I'll get a straight answer, but how stable is the company. Looking at an offer and of course, there is more money to be made here than other companies, but will it be around in a year?
Expensive Med and we know what happened with Dendreon, high price and terrible leadership.
Looking for a long term opportunity, even if it is hard work.

Thanks

 

Very difficult to call Alexion a "good place".

 

Have your agent ask for a big signing bonus.

 

The company is stable, but invest in it. Don't work here. If you do, have a plan and a timeline for getting out, because you will burn out at the expense of your family and your mental/physical health. More so if your territory has no big medical centers, or - worse - is right outside of a territory with one. Make sure you ask to speak to other reps - officially or not - with a background similar to yours. Use linked in to find people. And don't be blinded by the promise of equity, because you can very easily get yourself into a pair of golden handcuffs.

 

Very well said! If you have a major academic center WITH a key opinion leader in disease feeding you this exact type of patient. Go for it. But to writer above. Get $$ up front.
No 5 year roll out. That's the golden handcuffs weighted down with action plans
Expectation is to get and retain 100% of diagnosis.
Know disease being hired for. Know thought leaders and where they are. People with rare diseases see very specific specialist in big centers. Get in. Get your $ Get out.
How do you find a unicorn ??

 

Ruthless management. Volatile personalities. Unrealistic sales goals. Questionable integrity, at best.

 

Company culture starts at the top and is a direct reflection of those 2-3 individuals. Period.

 

Very sad but unfortunately true

 

Great place to be if you like working for managers that have never led a team before...entry level skill sets better suited for primary care sales. Can't believe they promoted who they did recently,
Oh, and if you are from Amgen, you are in. They will roll out the red carpet for you

 

*Several* questionable promotions among field teams. This company is going down not too long from now.

 

More than any company - large or small - watch your back. People (internally, in particular) will claim to be on the same page and "all about the patients", but when it comes down to the pressure of the company sales goals, they'll disappear.
If you have a decent territory, with a tertiary site, you'll probably be safe - but not guaranteed. But you will definitely be asked to challenge your own integrity.
DON'T. Think of your time there as "terminal", and plan for the end, because you'll eventually leave.

 

Over 30 new VP's here in the last year. VERY top-heavy now for a 1 product company. Not a good sign. HR not doing a good job, emphasizing external hires too much.

 

Short answer. No.
Full heartedly agree with management statements above. Also nothing to do with patients. We could be selling Lamborghins. Just more faster. Someone finds a second C5 blocker. Party is over
LIES are way of life. Every territory is told whatever by their manager makes up on fly in their minds, minutes to minute , will keep senior management off their case for even one day. We live hour to hour. Do Anything to not have to answer why one more stop. ( keep in mind goals are 100% of diagnosis on treatment. Unlike prev pharma satisfied with % of diagnosis. Or gaining in competition. Goal is isn't fraction of diagnosis people. It's ALL. 100% of diagnosis.we are only treatment which sounds great until you think expectation is 100 % business. No stops. And it's a forever treatment. Try keeping ME sold forever and patient compliant forever)
Territories are discouraged from talking to each other in fear we will compare notes. Inside support not supported to share with field what's going in in-house.
Plus half inside support team nurses and customer ops threatening to quit because being forced to west coast hours. Fear and bullies. Divide and confuse. To control.
Newest tactic. Inside team submits excel and we submit excel so they can catch indescripencies.
Not to mention the government !! FDA is here in RI manufacturing plant for ummmm 4th recall. Fda in main office auditing serious AEs. Combing over notes.
Trouble at every corner.

To the real reason people stay. They pay enough for sure. But even then commercial yearly goals for year are unobtainable. Entire team got "not meeting expectation for midyear."
Will there be bonuses. Big topics at water cooler/blue tooth chat in traffic. Remember what momma told you. Be wary when the deal is too good. But everyone has a ceiling. Senior management turns over every 9 months so by time they figure out who's who and God Forbid get around to a plan. They have moved on and we are left with new players who have to study dept. Make a plan. Make their mark. And so on. So nothing gets done
Everyone is miserable. Waiting for next s tock roll out. If you have made your money. Be grateful. Retired. Pay for kids college. Pay off mortgage. Be grateful. Get out. If you are new and dont have too much skin in the game get out. Golden handcuffs only get tighter. Pray for poor guys a few years "in" discussing if they should go. They are in worse place. They are in no sweet spot middle. Fortunately 1/3 of Commercial is in first third and made their fortunes. Last 1/3 not too late to make the early exit . Middle third. Though spot guys. Temptation will be factored.
If that sounds good. Apply. Just have parachute ready. Management from is reactionary. Not proactive.
Also that being said. We sales reps are God's compared to inside. Board sanctioned. Everyone works for us. Made lots of friends with that statement DH. Poor marketing and support people " disappear " every 6 months. Good place to score some funds and exit.

 

The entire HR team needs to be replaced, hiring has been a joke

 

Pharma, whether in the orphan or primary care space, has ALWAYS BEEN and will ALWAYS BE about your manager. If he/she sucks, you will be MISERABLE! So to any prospective employees, I would encourage you to aggressively vet your hiring manager. Especially any prospective sales reps (aka, RAMs)! Because a bad sales manager is exponentially worse at Alexion due to the many stressors and hyper-communication from corporate and field-based supportive staff. Make no mistake, you will be micromanaged at this company in one way or another. (More, faster!)

Secondly and maybe hypothetically, even if your prospective manager appears to be a decent one, if your prospective territory sucks (see multiple threads on this board regarding territories just outside of academia/tertiary care and/or lacking major thought-leaders)... then you will be toast at Alexion. You won't last 2 years. That is NOT an exaggeration. One year may be pushing it. So do your due-diligence prior to signing any paperwork.

Fortunately, my territory is decent. But I feel for the RAMs with weak sales potential. And for those with micromanagers and weak territories, I don't know how you survive!??? We all know that Alexion will grind you into the ground. And the biotech start-up market is still a tad weak, which is why quite a few of us are allowing these golden handcuffs to cinch oh so tightly. And make no mistake, we will make money... those of us with solid territories. But will it come at the expense of our health? Look at yourself now vs. when you first started at this company. Are you healthier physically, or even just mentally? Are you really happier? Or are you just seeing more money in your bank account while your husband/wife/sig-other are threatening to leave you...? And while your ulcer becomes more symptomatic?

I've had a prolific sales career in device and outside biz-to-biz, but nothing compares to the stress I've endured at Alexion. At the end of the day, earnings are simply income divided by hours at work. And this job never "shuts off". Ever!
Without the golden cuffs and stock I've cashed-in over the years, my earnings are pedestrian, probably in the neighborhood of BigPharma.

Yes, I know... it's all about the patients. LOL

 

I hear you. My territory is solid but it is still killing me physically and morally.
My territory feeds off community territories in area. Which makes me feel like a cancer to my team but if I don't the whips are out. I got lucky with the last realignment. Others not so much
As it is I spend every night after a full day in field (and you must be out there every day even in a hot territory not a phone it in or half day pharma job. More like 60+ a week plus homework ) reading and replying to spreadsheets sent to me by manager or home office team. And the desperate 10 pm emails that better be answered asap are non stop. All week. All weekend. These people never sleep. Even home office.
I have aged in dog years here. Planning my escape route now.

 

Left 3 yrs ago and joined a new start up sales team. Less stock but up a lot over last three yrs. great QOL now. A lexicon was worst mistake of my career. Thank god I found something. Current base is 140k plus ave bonus is 30k per yr. trust me, get out if you are in or run if you are considering. Btw, Dahl chase still sending lab results to Cheshire behind docs backs? Senior mgmt should be in prison.