Another Friday and another installment of the “Bob & John” show; ie, Bob Ehrlich (DTC Perspectives) and me, John Mack (Pharma Marketing News) debate another issue, blogo-a-blogo!
Today, however, I am in total agreement with Bob’s post about “The Disappearing Corporate Career Path.” I addressed this also in the January issue of Pharma Marketing News (see “Is There Life After Pharma?“).
“Today, no marketer should expect to be rewarded with a steady one company career,” said Ehrlich (see here). “The days of your company taking care of your future have been on the decline for more than a decade. After this economic meltdown, they are now officially over. Contacts are now king. Get out of your office and develop them before the grim reaper finds you at your desk. A marketer laid off without a network is going to face a long time collecting unemployment.”
I agree with Bob 100% on the value of networking, which has always been an important part of my business plan. In 1997 I started with the PHRMA-MKTING listserv. That e-mail listserv has now been replaced by the web-based Pharma Marketing Forums.
Like Ehrlich, I urge pharma marketers to get out there and network. You can also write articles for trade publications — including Pharma Marketing News (see Author Guidelines) — and attend conferences.
As the editor of Pharma Marketing News, I get complimentary press passes to practically every industry conference. If you can write and wish to attend one of these conferences (see a Conference Calendar here), contact me (johnmack@pharmamarketingblog.com) or download the PMN Stringer Agreement.
There are over 1,000 Pharma Marketing Forum members and hundreds of posts. As a pharmaceutical marketer you should respond to or start conversations in one of the many forums there that match your area of interest. Demonstrate your knowledge, develop a public profile and a reputation on this site, which gets over 3,500 unique visitors every day. In fact, right now, there are over 140 people visiting the site. One of them might be a future partner or employer or someone who can help you get off the beach!
Good luck!
