Now What?
by A. DeMeis
2006-09-01

With great regularity, most of us are contacted by headhunters looking to fill, what they describe as awesome new opportunities with great new Co's. Let's face it, all these opportunities aren't going to pan out so "rosie"! But the damage has been done, we now sit and think about whether we should consider moving to another Co. for more $ or different products. It is always healthy to research and talk to people about these opportunities, but before you make that move, do a little self-check. Evaluate a few things going on in your current position. Where are your relationships at with all your customers? This will often determine how highly Co's in the same therapeutic class will value you. If ALL the thought leaders in your territory know you by name and you really have little to no need for a name badge or business cards anymore, you are in a good position and worth a lot, but only to Co's just starting to build a sales force in your specialty or expanding in it. This is the test you should hold for how established and respected you are in the community. But wait, there's more. Consider your clinical knowledge. I have seen plenty of reps that are great "buds" with the docs, but the physicians really have little to low clinical respect for the individual and they rarely ever have resourceful clinical discussions. Do you know your therapeutic class thoroughly, as well as your products. You should have a stronger knowledge base than what your Co. requires and you must be able to communicate all that information effectively. If both these answers are yes, then you have a few options to consider. You are at a point @ which you can easily manage your job, plus some career development classes such as CMRI, Dale Carnegie etc. Long term, these will definitely give you a big boost with interviewing for promotion or with new Co's. Remember, these career development classes are NOT easy if you are in a state of transition (new job, new company, new products, new targets etc.) Your other obvious choice is to move on to another opportunity/ company. This is itself going to require much research, studying & evaluating your long-term benefits vs. disadvantages. So what will it be, take this time to advance your professional skills and resume, or take the quick financial infusion and hope it works out long term?