Pros
Good training programme for a new start graduate into sales and the veterinary field. In the Northern Irish role, there’s a lot more freedom to work independently, establish yourself and build relationships with practices than colleagues in the rest of the UK. This is due to the management being based in England, who tend to take a hands off approach compared to other reps on the mainland who can be more intensely looked after. If you aren’t a self starter, good at problem solving and an independent worker then this isn’t the right role for you. Company car is a perk, however, disappointing that they discourage you from taking the company car allowance so you can sort your own car. The team across the UK are all very friendly and great to work alongside. Staff turnover is high for many reasons mainly good (people moving on, it’s a grad scheme after all) but some bad. So you’ll be exposed to many people who end up in various jobs/places after. Good from a networking point of view. The vets and practices you work with in this territory are amazing. You’ll never have a dull moment.
Cons
All ASM’s are told about promotion opportunities from day one in the business. My personal experience, is that they are used like a carrot and stick approach to get you to conform. I found that the reality of the opportunities offered after 2 years was a tad disappointing and unambitious. This heavily influenced my decision to leave. There were three ASM promotions in my time at the company. Roughly 1 a year. You are required to get a credit card, if you just use it for work and don’t get it paid off before the end of the month. You will get charged interest on the debt you’ve taken on for the benefit of the company which you aren’t allowed to claim back. This is a cross border roll, if you have a UK bank account you can get charged non-sterling transaction fees covering the southern counties. The company should provide a card to reps working in this territory as its cross border. Travel between NI and the mainland is very intense for the first six months. Sometimes with flight delays cancellations you’ll not get home until 2AM. This has happened at least 10 times in 2 years, this is out of the companies control, but still noteworthy. Some meetings could have been done over teams taking consideration of flights.