Forgot password?
New Candidate
URGENT - CRP/PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR - SE - CIRCA 65K
Progress in Marketing
So you’re a Product Manager in the pharmaceutical industry – now what?
You did your time in the salesforce, and got the promotion into Marketing. You have been a Product Manager for a couple of years, and you are looking to move on and up. But you’re not the only one are you – others want it too.
So how do you make the right move? You want to build your career as a marketer, but don’t want to make a short-term move just for the sake of it.
Keep doors open
There is an old maxim about keeping doors open, so how do you plan your next job? Firstly, be very clear about what you want in your marketing career. Key questions to ask yourself are : Do you want to specialise – many successful marketers become known for a speciality such as a therapeutic area, or an area of the market such as primary care. Do you want to be a broad-based marketer, with experience across areas and specialities. Or do you want to climb the ladder of marketing management. Whatever route you choose, keep your options open as long as possible. It is an uncertain world, and flexibility is an extremely valuable asset in today’s world.
Think laterally
Organisational structures are getting flatter (not fatter!), and pharma companies are merging. Options for climbing the marketing ladder are getting fewer. Turnover of marketers is higher than it has ever been – did you know that the average time in a marketing job is now 17 months! However, the paradox is that pharma. companies need marketing experts like never before.
So think laterally. Why not consider some other options : Consider becoming more ‘project-based’ – with flattening structures, and limited senior jobs, perhaps working across departments would give you a breadth of insight that could prove invaluable in future. It would certainly sharpen up your networking skills. Consider moving across into sales management – seeing marketing from the sales perspective could provide valuable insight.
Consider a secondment into another department, such as operations, or finance - yes, finance! A financially-literate marketer is a rare but valuable beast. Likewise, a marketer who really understands operations is rarer.
Get on the front foot
Put yourself onto the front foot – rather than waiting for an opening, create one. Why not study for a qualification – the Chartered Institute of Marketing offer a wide range of courses, including some that are specifically designed for the pharmaceutical Industry. Offer to join a cross-disciplinary team – they exist in most organisations, and often have little marketing insight or guidance.
Get networking – consider getting actively involved a group like the PM Society.
In a word – behavioural flexibility
OK, so I used two words (don’t you?). Everything is changing fast, and what we did in the past won’t work in the future. Careers in Marketing are flexible, go in many directions and are impossible to predict. How many Marketing Managers do you know who have been there for more than 5 years? Not many, I’m sure. So keep your options open, build your experience, and above all be flexible.
So how do you make the right move? You want to build your career as a marketer, but don’t want to make a short-term move just for the sake of it.
Keep doors open
There is an old maxim about keeping doors open, so how do you plan your next job? Firstly, be very clear about what you want in your marketing career. Key questions to ask yourself are : Do you want to specialise – many successful marketers become known for a speciality such as a therapeutic area, or an area of the market such as primary care. Do you want to be a broad-based marketer, with experience across areas and specialities. Or do you want to climb the ladder of marketing management. Whatever route you choose, keep your options open as long as possible. It is an uncertain world, and flexibility is an extremely valuable asset in today’s world.
Think laterally
Organisational structures are getting flatter (not fatter!), and pharma companies are merging. Options for climbing the marketing ladder are getting fewer. Turnover of marketers is higher than it has ever been – did you know that the average time in a marketing job is now 17 months! However, the paradox is that pharma. companies need marketing experts like never before.
So think laterally. Why not consider some other options : Consider becoming more ‘project-based’ – with flattening structures, and limited senior jobs, perhaps working across departments would give you a breadth of insight that could prove invaluable in future. It would certainly sharpen up your networking skills. Consider moving across into sales management – seeing marketing from the sales perspective could provide valuable insight.
Consider a secondment into another department, such as operations, or finance - yes, finance! A financially-literate marketer is a rare but valuable beast. Likewise, a marketer who really understands operations is rarer.
Get on the front foot
Put yourself onto the front foot – rather than waiting for an opening, create one. Why not study for a qualification – the Chartered Institute of Marketing offer a wide range of courses, including some that are specifically designed for the pharmaceutical Industry. Offer to join a cross-disciplinary team – they exist in most organisations, and often have little marketing insight or guidance.
Get networking – consider getting actively involved a group like the PM Society.
In a word – behavioural flexibility
OK, so I used two words (don’t you?). Everything is changing fast, and what we did in the past won’t work in the future. Careers in Marketing are flexible, go in many directions and are impossible to predict. How many Marketing Managers do you know who have been there for more than 5 years? Not many, I’m sure. So keep your options open, build your experience, and above all be flexible.
Medical sales jobs in the credit crunch
