My journey from pharmacy to brand management…….

Hey there! I’m Lauren, a pharmacist working in the Oncology Business Unit at AstraZeneca. I am flattered to have been asked to share a little bit about my career journey with you, including the steps that have led me to where I am today and some of the golden nuggets of advice that I have been given along the way!

University days…

To give you a bit of background, I graduated from the University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy in 2017, and went on to qualify as a pharmacist after completing my pre-registration training in secondary care. As with many pharmacy students, I was under the impression that I had to follow the conventional path that had been set out for me – working in a retail pharmacy, a hospital pharmacy or in research and development. Although all of these are fantastic career choices, for some reason the shoe never really fit for me. Before I continue I just want to point out that this blog is by no means intended to discourage anybody from pursuing a career in pharmacy if that is the right thing for you, but rather to share my positive experience of an alternative route and to inform you around the plethora of opportunities available in the pharmaceutical industry.

 

 

 

Pre-registration

Whilst working as a pre-registration pharmacist, there were aspects of the role that I really enjoyed including working as part of a multidisciplinary team and having a positive impact on patients’ lives. However, I had an ongoing niggle that I couldn’t shake off. Working with numbers had always been a strength for me and I was keen to develop my financial acumen and understanding of the strategy behind a business. I thought long and hard about what really drives me and what I wanted out of my career, and this brought me to the realisation that the following were my motivators; having a positive impact, being involved in a process from start to finish, understanding the intricacies of the area that I’m working in and work-life balance. It was this penny dropping moment that encouraged me to take the daunting step away from practicing as a pharmacist.

Life after pre-registration

After applying to various graduate schemes, I secured a place on a sales and marketing programme at an accounting firm. Although this was a prestigious role, I felt unenthused at the prospect. I had really valued my contribution to patient care whilst working as a pharmacist and this wasn’t something that I was willing to compromise on. After 5 years of intensive training to qualify I wasn’t quite ready to walk away from it all… This breakthrough drove me to making the bold decision of rejecting my accounting offer and cancelling all other grad scheme applications in order to solely focus on roles in the pharmaceutical industry.

I spent a lot of time doing research and connecting with people on LinkedIn to learn about the industry in general and various roles within it. I had initially explored the ‘medical reviewer’ role which only registered pharmacists and doctors are able to do, however I found myself gravitating towards the field of marketing. The more I learnt about marketing the more I saw an opportunity to combine my clinical expertise and patient centric outlook with my business interests. I was then fortunate enough to be selected for a 2 year programme at a global pharmaceutical company; I spent a year in the Women’s Health marketing team and a further year in a Vaccines customer facing role. This move was incredibly daunting. Pharmacy had been all I’d ever known, but on reflection it was one of the best decisions I’ve made and I have never looked back since!

So, if you’re thinking – what on earth does being a ‘brand manager’ entail – here’s the answer! Prior to working in pharma I had the common misconception that marketing is mostly about developing creative campaigns, and although this is an aspect, there really is so much more to it! One of my favourite things about marketing is that it’s right at the centre of the company; from supply chain to legal to external affairs to medical and so on, you get to collaborate with so many people across different parts of the organisation allowing you to gain an insight into the different pieces that make up the puzzle. You are often aligned to a product and tasked with the responsibility of building a brand strategy and translating this to tactical implementation. In doing so, you have the opportunity to understand the intricacies of the product, the therapy area, the clinical community and the patients and therefore you can become a real expert in that field.

Connecting the dots…

To my surprise, many of the skills that I had developed from practicing as a pharmacist proved to be transferable, including communication, ability to digest complex clinical information and quick decision making. On top of this, I have since developed so many new skills. I have learnt the importance of using data to inform decisions and as a result I have strengthened my analytical skills. I am much better equipped to think strategically and often find myself asking questions like ‘why are we doing this?’ and ‘what will the impact be?’. I have also gained extensive project management experience, developed my financial acumen and understood more about the qualities and skills required to effectively lead and inspire a team. I am also very proud that I was able to get involved in projects outside of my daily role including leading the mental health employee business resource group which focused on supporting a positive mental health in the workplace – this was an incredibly rewarding achievement for me.

After completing my graduate scheme, I moved into a role in HIV marketing and I have since moved companies to AstraZeneca in the Oncology marketing team. I am now two and a half years into my pharma journey and I am still thoroughly enjoying it. I feel truly valued and reassured that I am supporting healthcare professionals to make a positive impact on patients’ lives. Being a people orientated individual, culture is something that is really important to me – I have thrived in such a positive workplace culture and I have met so many amazing and inspiring people that have really helped shape me and build my confidence.

For those of you thinking about also taking the big leap to pharma, my advice would be to do your research (look at blogs, websites etc) and speak to as many people in the industry as possible to understand exactly what it entails and if it is right for you. If it is – then go for it. The possibilities are endless!

I will leave you on this final note, these are the top 3 pieces of advice from friends and colleagues that have really resonated with me over the last couple of years:

1. Be authentic, always. Understand what is important to you, what motivates you and what your core values are and always stay true to them.
2. A breadth of experience is invaluable! Although you may be really clear on the function you want to specialise in, having experience from various different parts of the business will provide you with context and a clearer understanding of the different pieces of the puzzle and how these fit together.
3. ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got’. Although it can feel overwhelming at times, you grow the most when you push yourself out of your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid to try something different. You never know unless you try and even if it doesn’t go to plan that’s ok because you will learn from it.

If you would like to contact me for a chat please feel free to do so. My LinkedIn details are https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-laskier.