Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

George - any thoughts or feedback?

Sarah Rogers ⋅ Los Angeles, CA U.S. Air Force, Captain ⋅ 8 years served

When I first got out I went through a recruiting company that had ties with medical device companies (Orion). It wasn't my thing, but that might be an option for you. Best of luck on your next steps.

Susan Cerbone ⋅ Newtown, PA ⋅ 30 years experience

Hi George. As a former HR Hiring Manager for a medical device company, I would say many, if not most medical device companies want medical sales experience. Since you are working as an anesthesia tech, you might consider seeking out medical sales reps. who visit the facility where you work, to ask them about their companies and how they got their jobs in sales. Establishing relationships and making contacts in companies that hire medical sales reps would be beneficial, as would looking at medical device company's websites to see what skills and experience they require. Don't waste your time with companies who state medical sales experience is required, unless you have a reason to believe they would consider you anyway (i.e. because of a company contact, etc.). You might also look at company start-ups where your science and anesthesia experience would be valued. Also, consider getting a non-sales job in a medical device company that promotes from within. If you go that route, emphasize in the interview that you're willing to put in whatever time and effort it will take to get into sales, and be sure the company promotes into sales. Last, I know some pharmaceutical companies hire sales reps. without previous sales experience, so that might help you get one step closer to device sales. Good luck, George.
Susan

Sherry Finkel Murphy, MS, RICP ⋅ Saratoga Springs, NY Northwestern Mutual ⋅ 25 years experience

Hi George,

I can imagine you'd be in great demand. One approach might be working with a local business librarian to develop a list of medical device firms you'd like to work for and and reach out to them via LinkedIn. (Is your LinkedIn profile suitably spiffy? Does it articulate, in ways civilians can understand, not just what you've done but what you bring to the table? A summary of "what I can do for a civilian employer" is a powerful way to begin.) If you visit the company web sites, you should be able to see which have veteran programs...but, by all means, play the veteran card no matter what. Have a focused, organized plan for connecting with a list of 30-50 companies. Really take the time to create individual messages that show you understand what they sell. Since you're headed for sales, you should know that prospecting is a numbers game...whether it's prospecting for your job or for a customer. *Selling* is a quality game. You will learn from your conversations/outreach. You will then put more effort into specifically articulating why, regardless of what the job description says, a company should hire you because of what you can do for them.

Best of luck!
Sherry

Trevor Heringer ⋅ Bellevue, WA ⋅ 15 years experience

Hi George,

You might also benefit from joining medical device related LinkedIn groups and asking the same question there. Groups such as MDSP and the Medical Devices Group.

Best,
Trevor

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

see http://www.medtechvets.org/
and
http://www.mvp.mentoringportal.org/register

"This site benefits military veterans returning to the civilian workforce by preparing them for new careers in the medical technology industry. Here you can update your online profile, access career training resources, share knowledge, connect with other veterans and find a mentor in the industry. Recruiters from companies in the medical technology industry can also post jobs and internship opportunities and gain access to veterans seeking employment."

* Also request a mentor from ACP's one-on-one mentoring program.