Pharmaceutical Technologist - March 2008 - (Page 9)

Morpheus: job satisfaction sector where the products have real benefits for mankind. If you look at the range of diseases that need to be tackled then you can see that the industry’s work is far from complete. But how can companies move forward unless they have the staff? If you’re feeling dissatisfied with where you are then perhaps the problem is not the pharmaceutical industry — to a large extent the problem is you! If you have not planned the route to your current job then how can you be certain if you have made the most of opportunities along the way? If you have thought of changing your career, but never have, then have you considered why you would be willing to put up with your work situation and all the knock-on effects it has on your personal life? An easy way to see the impact of career changes is to look at those around you in relation to what they have achieved. Who has made major advances in their career and who looks content with their job? Most of us had desires to reach the top of our organizations and looking at these individuals gives us some clues. These people have not been afraid to make dramatic changes in their careers and move around to get what they want. They have planned ahead and looked for opportunities that will give them some form of long-term pay-off (not necessarily financial). Occasionally, you may find someone who has worked their way from the very bottom to the top of an organization, but this is exceedingly rare, and it is probably not the best example to follow. Equally, there are many colleagues who appear are in a worse position than ourselves because of their inability to adapt. We may pride ourselves on being in a better position than these individuals, but if we continue to be unhappy in our jobs then we are dangerously close to following their lead. despondent about your job, scan the careers pages of the industry media. Many companies are always searching for talented staff, and if you have experience then you are in a powerful position. However, many areas of the pharmaceutical sector remain short of skilled staff, and they cannot always fill their positions with newly qualified individuals. Sadly, many of us are afraid to move. We will convince ourselves that we need to fulfil x number of years in a company to ‘build up experience’ before making the decision to change. We need to make a leap of faith and get out of the rut. The pharmaceutical industry has countless opportunities available to those with ambitions, but many of us are not taking advantage of these. We may dislike our current jobs, but we know where we stand in our organizations and we adopt the ‘better the devil you know than the devil you don't’ attitude. It is this that leads to stagnation in the workplace. After all, we can all think of colleagues with little drive and motivation who have a negative impact on everything that goes on around the department. Do we really want to join them? careers. We are in an industry that embraces change (even if reluctantly at times) and does not reward those who are content with the status quo. So next time you dread going into work, use it as the motivating factor to advance your career. PT If you’re feeling dissatisfied with where you are then perhaps the problem is not the pharmaceutical industry — to a large extent the problem is you! Embracing change To succeed in this industry we must be willing to move on when dissatisfied. We need to have a positive mental attitude to benefit from the opportunities that exist out there. Next time you are feeling Worse still, is finding that someone with less experience has taken on a new and challenging role elsewhere. We knew we had it within ourselves to try for the same opportunity, but for some reason we never left the starting block. There may also be opportunities for which we get rejected when trying, but we should view these as minor setbacks and keep going. Those we view as having achieved success in the industry probably did not find the path straightforward. If we are unhappy we need to take concerted action to improve our www.ptemagazine.com 9 http://www.ptemagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Technologist - March 2008

Pharmaceutical Technologist - March 2008 Contents News Morpheus Market Watch E-procurement Means Lean Procurement The Rational Enquirer Simulating for Success Q&A

Pharmaceutical Technologist - March 2008

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