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Times are tough in the financially-struggling pharmaceutical industry and seemingly getting tougher.

First, Bristol-Myer Squibb (BMS) announced last week that it will freeze salaries but not cut yearly performance bonuses for its employees. One week later, Johnson & Johnson (J&J)—a company known not to be upstaged or outdone by a competitor—is planning on cutting the yearly performance-bonuses for 38% of its workforce and will freeze the salaries of certain other employees.

While BMS publicly announced its salary freeze, J&J plans were uncovered in an internal announcement and other company documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal. According to the Journal article, “The health-care giant told employees Jan. 25 that it is making the moves to standardize compensation across its various businesses and regions, thereby making it easier for its workers to move around within the company. In the U.S., the changes will bring bonus targets in line with market levels, one document said.”

Interestingly, J&J hasn't yet reported its CEO, William Weldon’s compensation for last year. In 2009, Mr. Weldon turned down a salary raise. His total compensation in 2008 fell 4.1% from the year before to $29.4 million, according to the most recent regulatory filing.

The salary freeze and bonus cuts help to explain why a good friend and lifelong J&J employee (25 years and counting) wasn’t too keen on the company during a visit earlier this week. During a conversation, in which I unknowingly lauded J&J’s treatment of its employees, my friend quipped “Looks can be deceiving; J&J is like every other big corporation. People really don’t matter—it’s all about P&L”

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

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The past couple of weeks have been awful for employees at AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline after both companies announced massive worldwide layoffs. Interestingly, the downsizing that has taken place at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in recent years has escaped notice; mainly because media attention has been focused on the sale of two of its non-pharmaceutical divisions, Convatec and Mead Johnson. The sale of these two divisions brought in roughly $8.0 billion giving BMS one of the largest cash reserves among major pharmaceutical companies. 

BMS announced two years ago that is would cut its global work force by 10 percent by 2011. Layoffs and cost cutting measures at BMS have been mainly driven by the impending patent expiry of the blockbuster anti-clotting agent Plavix and several other drugs. Plavix reportedly accounts for a disproportionate amount of the company’s annual sale revenues. Despite its new found largess, the company continues to eliminate jobs and shed employees. To make matters worse, BMS confirmed today (as reported on both Pharmalot and the WSJ Health Blog) that it will eliminate pay raises in 2010 for the people who still have jobs at the company. Luckily, bonuses were not eliminated. But as most people who work at big companies will tell you, bonuses are not guaranteed and discretionary. Check out the 2008 total compensation packages (salary, stock options, stock awards, pension etc).

While I don’t profess to have the credentials to be the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, it doesn’t make sense to me to freeze the salaries of employees who are already overly anxious about whether or not they will have jobs when the next round of layoffs take place. Isn’t morale already bad enough?  Does management think employees will be at the top of their games and willing to work hard if they are constantly worrying whether or not tomorrow may be their last day of work?  Of course, naysayers will say that BMS employees should suck it up because they at least have jobs. However, I contend that management ought to invest a portion of the $8.0 billion in its employees rather then use it to buy several more companies to convince Wall Street analysts that BMS is truly a “next generation biopharmaceutical company.”  After all, employees are any company’s most valuable asset!

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!

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Do you ever wonder whether or not you are getting paid enough at work or what the person sitting next to you makes? I bet most employees think about this from time to time—especially around bonus time. This isn’t surprising because salaries are one of the best kept secrets at most companies and organizations. Keeping salaries under wraps is good for morale mostly because it minimizes resentment among employees However, because nobody really knows how their salaries match up with their co-workers, determining what constitutes an acceptable salary can become problematic for jobseekers and long time employees. Not to worry—Monster.com has created several salary tools that can help when negotiating a salary for a new job or determining whether or not it is time to ask for that long overdue raise!

Check them out and let me know what you think!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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Do you ever wonder what the person who you share an office with is making? Or, have you ever wondered what other people think about the CEO of your company? Or, should I consider working at that company? The answers to these questions and more can now be found at a 4-month old website called Glassdoor.com.

The well designed and easy–to-navigate website allows employees to anonymously post their salaries and write uncensored reviews about their bosses, fellow employees and the companies at which they work. The site also ranks executive performances based on the reviews that it receives.

It is a wealth of information and a must for people who are looking for new jobs or career opportunities. Two of the most important questions that all jobseekers want answered when looking for a new job are compensation and the quality of a workplace environment or corporate culture. Until now, these things were difficult to parse. Not anymore! Check out Glassdoor.com and you might find answers to those nagging questions that you may have about your company, colleagues and CEO!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!!!

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One of the more awkward things in any employee’s career is asking a boss or supervisor for a raise. There is no right or easy way to successfully accomplish this often gut-wrenching task. That said, I came across a post that provides some insights into the process and offers some tips on how to optimize negotiations to get the raise that you think you deserve!

Of course, this post is only relevant for those of us who still have jobs! Nevertheless, some of the tips offered in the article will come in handy when negotiating a new compensation package for your next job.

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

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The key to successful negotiations of any kind is realizing that you ARE NOT going to get everything that you want or expect. Likewise, this means that the person(s) sitting on the other side of the proverbial table is not going to get everything that he/she wants either. Simply put, you have to “give-to-get” during negotiations to reach an agreement that is mutually acceptable to all parties.  Please note that I used the word “acceptable” rather than “satisfied” when referring to a negotiated agreement. In my experience, neither party is ever COMPLETELY satisfied with a negotiated agreement. Rather, the respective parties each received enough of what they initially wanted/expected to consider the deal ‘acceptable.”

When working as a professional recruiter, I determined, early on, that job offers are generally extended to “right-fit” candidates within several days after an interview. That said, if you haven’t heard back from a company within a week or so after your interview, it is likely that you are not their first choice for the position.  Nevertheless, when you receive a job offer, the most important thing to remember is that  ALL offers are negotiable. Based on my own personal and professional experiences, a company’s first offer is usually neither their best nor final offer.

Frequently, inexperienced job candidates are reluctant to negotiate an initial offer because they are afraid that the company might retract it if they appear “too greedy.” This is simply not the case. Because companies/organizations typically offer jobs to only those individuals who they want to work for them ,their primary objective is to do whatever is “reasonable” to induce the candidate to join their organization. Of course, companies sometimes have limited resources or flexibility regarding  what they can offer a candidate to accomplish this! That said, job candidates are obliged to test the limits of corporate flexibility to negotiate the best compensation package they can before they are required to make a decision of whether or not to join a company/organization. Simply put, most nonprofit organizations and corporate entities expect some back and forth negotiations before a candidate makes his/her decision to accept or reject a job offer.

In my experiences, there are certain things that can and can’t be negotiated after an offer has been extended. Things that  can be negotiated include:

• Starting salary
• Stock options
• Relocation costs
• Signing bonuses
• Start dates

In contrast, items that are rarely or cannot be negotiated are:

• Health benefits
• Rank/title
• Vacation time
• Performance bonuses

Although most employers expect candidates to negotiate job offers, the way in which the negotiations are handled and conducted are extremely important. Candidates must remember to be cordial and professional at all times and to never give a prospective employer an ultimatum–e.g., “If I don’t get this salary, I will not take the job”. Ultimatums are the “kiss of death” for any prospective employee because it signals that the individual is demanding, inflexible and likely to not be a team player. 

Another thing to remember is to not become emotionally invested in the negotiations taking place between the company and you. When a candidate becomes overly emotional or demanding during negotiations, exchanges between a company and candidate may become acrimonious and unpleasant. To increase the likelihood of success i.e. to get what you want, it is best to be as dispassionate and business-like when negotiating a job offer.  Nobody likes to negotiate with an overly emotional or unreasonable individual (take it from me–I know!).

When it comes to negotiating a job offer, the best case scenario is to allow a recruiter to negotiate the offer on your behalf.  Because a recruiter usually has a preexisting  relationship with the hiring manager, he/she can do all of the so called “heavy lifting” to help a candidate get what they can from a company. To that end, the recruiter generally knows before entering into negotiations with a prospective employer exactly what his/her candidate’s “needs” are and how far he/she can push the client to help a candidate secure the best offer. Needless to say, this option is only available to those candidates who used a recruiter to interview at the company/organization in the first place.

Negotiations become unnecessarily “nasty” or belligerent may come back to haunt you if you accept an offer and work at a particular company. To that end, you may find yourself working for or with the person(s) who you negotiated with!  And, if bad feelings were generated during the negotiation process, it may take some work to overcome the negative impression you created for yourself. For those of you who may not know, organizational/corporate memory has a long shelf life!

In my next post, I will discuss some strategic approaches and tactics that candidates can use to optimize a job offer from a prospective employer.

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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