19 min reading time

Unemployed members write me for help so often I developed a standard reply which included the line, “I have an executive recruiter I trust for medical device industry placements. Would you like an introduction?”

Last week my recruiter friend Tamara wrote me, saying, “Joe, thanks so much for the referrals but please don’t send any more candidates. I’m dropping pharma and medical device recruiting for now. These companies are not paying their employees well and they’re cutting down on commissions. I’m sticking with technology, a very busy sector right now.”

She continued, “It’s been very difficult to help candidates understand that getting your foot in the ‘medical device door’ requires at least three years’ capital equipment sales. Candidates who ‘want to break into the business’ argue with me! I helped with their resumes and, now, it’s just time to move on.”

I don’t know what to make of it.

Do you agree with her assessment? Should candidates focus on a different industry?

If you’re a meddev recruiter, are you ready to give up too?

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Army-tested medical device recruiter Erik Zikos is sticking around.

I send leads to Erik because he spent 10 years in industry sales (Kyphon, Globus, HydroCision) before discovering his innate ability to place the right candidates with the right managers.

If you, a medical device company HR or hiring manager, need a hand with placements, email Erik at Erik@EZExecutiveSearch.com. Tell him I sent you.

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Conversation picked up this week (in 2012)

Would faster reviews compromise patient safety? http://medgroup.biz/faster

10 tips for medical device business in China http://medgroup.biz/Chinese-tips

What 3 things are needed for meddev startup funding? http://medgroup.biz/for-funding

Marketing a 510k device with off label uses? http://medgroup.biz/off-label

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Thank you for being part of our Medical Devices Group community!

Please   to educate your network.

Make it a great week.

Joe Hage
Founding Principal,
Medical Devices Advisory Group

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Darshana Nadkarni, Ph.D.
1) Recruitment: BioTech & Medical Device 2) Training – Diversity and Inclusion
I am medical device and biotech recruiter. I am neither ready to give up, nor unwilling to connect with potential candidates. I know that I bring value and serve my clients well in this space. But I do agree with Tamara that if you have transferable skills and can work in some other industry then go for it. I have had two challenges. 1) At times, employers are seeking SAME skills like other industries (e.g. software) but they offer extremely low pay and I have a hard time telling them that they will never find such a candidate (because Zinga or Microsoft or Amazon or Google will take them first). 2) The job seekers sometimes hound me. While I am happy to connect with everyone, I cannot make up jobs. I can only fill what I have. So if someone persistently sends me 6 back to back emails with pleas to help, that is a waste of their time and mine. The best advice I have for those contacting me who have skills & experience in life sciences is – 1) feel free to send me a linkedin invite at wd_darshana at hotmail dot com and 2) feel free to check out JOBS category on my blog www.darshanavnadkarni.wordpress.com and if you find anything that is a match then let me know. All the best to all working in this area – it is a labor of love & commitment to enhancing quality of lives.

Jerry Robinson
Consulting Designer: mHealth, IoT, Embedded Products, Wireless Commun, Consumer, and Disruptive Innovation Tech.
There was a “job posting” locally from a “leading” med tech company (I would not want want to mention the company name… but they are located in Irving, Texas).

First, their web site allowed for the posting job applications.. So I went to the site to post a resume and apply… It was the WORST job application site I have ever been to. It was a true “intellligence” test challenge to actually post a resume – that I have ever seen… It took over 2 hours to wade through – and THOROUGHLY was designed to filter out any possible creative or innovative application based resume. Amazing….

Second, I later got an email for “job opening” from an Indian (India) based recruiter… Actually got eight or ten different company emails – all from India…. I responded, because I DO HAVE the critical and secondary skills the were seeking….

The POSITION was for an “Engineer II” potion – with particular PCB design level skills… It was a short term development contract position – something I like to do… After going back and forth for a while… I found out that the effective compensation was about $0.65 less per hour than what Costco pay’s its shelf stockers. With 30+ years experience – multiple management and development positions – and a lot of very specific knowledge – I found that the compensation was a bit astonishing…..

Honestly, I would rather stock shelves than do an engineering design position for the lowest pay that I can recall…

So… Revathy….. I think your experience is not so unusual… But it is also a BIG OPPORTUNITY, if you can figure out how to leverage it… the “Company” experience I ran into (from the Irving, Texas outfit) just shows that they block out all innovative and experienced applicants – leaving start-ups and new tech BETTER PORTIONED to compete.

Look at a different class of company – and be patient…

–jr

Revathy Subramanian
Project Engineer at Bechtel Corporation
As a Chemical Engineer Graduate with Biomedical research experience, I have found that breaking into this industry is far more difficult that traditional industries like Oil and Gas. I have pursued this industry very hard and time is a big factor while searching for jobs. I am still looking for opportunities in this field. But my overall experience is it is hard for a graduate to have a interview call from this industry.

Perry Mykleby
Customer Activation, Engagement & Retention
Random questions: Does everyone who wants to get into med device want to be a sales rep? I see a lot of postings for RA/QA positions, for instance.

Is there a better way to connect talent with hiring managers?

Is there an industry survey that delineates the skills required for the med device sector now and, say, for the next ten years?

How much A+ talent gets overlooked due to lack of segment-specific skill?

What benefit is there to hiring people from outside the sector who could bring fresh perspective?

John Dick
President/Owner
Couple of comments:
1)I’m always interested in knowing about experienced candidates.
2) when I look at the speed which new technology comes to market…I see how essential the role of the sales rep is in facilitating the education of decision makers.

Christophe Cognard
Sr Marketing Manager Medical Oncology at BD
To be a bit provocative and follow-up on Mark post:

Health Care Spending as a Percentage of GDP, 2009: => USA close to 18% (expected to be above 20% in the coming years) => The Netherlands (second highest country): 12% of its GDP (source: OECD Health Data 2011) => Japan below 10%

A US orthopedic surgeon is on average paid twice a German orthopedic surgeon (source: M. J. Laugesen and S. A. Glied, “Higher Fees Paid to U.S. Physicians Drive Higher Spending for Physician Services Compared to Other Countries,” Health Affairs, Sept. 2011 30(9):1647–56).

Healthcare will remain a great business but things will change if only because it isn’t sustainable. And not only for the industry. I know of many cardiologists closing their private practice and going back to hospitals as employees. Lower salary but less uncertainty.

henri flechner
consultant
Please do look at www.bls.gov/ooh
Future is not that bleak.
Regards
Henri

Pat Ridgely, MD
Consultant in medical devices and education
Mark, you are dead-on in your comment about what is in effect a re-setting of the price points for rep compensation, at least in the US (and in other developed markets, I expect). George, I agree that there will always be the need for reps of some form, but I do think the role will continue to change dramatically, and the number needed will be fewer than in the past. I am not advocating that people with a passion for this type of work give up, but they need to go in with their eyes open, with realistic expectations on comp, and with a Plan B. My sense is that we are seeing more 1099-based positions, with a fair amount of turnover as companies navigate the product-approval process.

George Mills
Retired Chief Financial Officer
Ecclesiastes 7:12 Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves those who have it.

Guys. Its probably not every day you see a CFO quote biblical scripture but this seems to have real value here. We know this: there are 75million baby boomers who are aging and require more medical services. That is not changing. The situation in the Medical Device Sales is temporary. New technologies are best marketed by knowledgeable passionate reps. Main stream or mature products need to be maintained. The housing market is oversupplied and overvalued and is still recovering. But recovering non the less. So let the waters receed and in the mean time get fed were the feeding is available. Jim Ricker has found his cheese! Even animals know when to find a new watering hole!

henri flechner
consultant
Never give up.
Never.
Medical Field is the future.
We were talking 10 years ago about Mems.
It is like wine.
It has to mature.

Julie Bey
Radiologic Technologist/Riverside Univ Health System.
I’m reading a lot of conflicting opinions but I agree to not giving up in the face of adversity. In the “early” days, having a Bachelor’s or higher level education wasn’t required as people could make money quicker with 2-yr program. That being said, as an xray tech and experience with vacuum-assisted breast biopsies and steroetactic devices, I have found that the new rule to get into device sales requires, at the minimum, a Bachelor’s and sales experience. I currently am working on finishing my Bachelor’s in Science and am not in the medical field but I miss it terribly and the rewards that it has. The money is secondary. A career is a career and I like learning new things and challenges. Career boredom is not an option. But with my emphasis on the sciences, I worry about business and sales. I was in real estate for 4-yrs, conveniently, when the bubble burst but I’ve been told I can sell sand in the desert. I’m a woman and Lord knows some of us have the “gift of gab”. So what does an outgoing, perpetual student with a passion for the medical field do when all dressed up with no place to go? Science, experience in sales, a Bachelor’s in business and/or medical field…and all at once. I think, at times, it would be easier to be a pregnant pole vaulter but I will continue to keep up with my schooling and if the right fit comes along while I’m on my academic path, I’ll take it. There is no such thing as coincidence so I’ll enjoy my education, albeit miss getting my hands dirty in the medical field, and keep on the rails. But I will NEVER quit. I never have and now is not the time to start.

Mark Shelton
Western Regional Manager – EMS at ZOLL Medical Corporation
As a hiring manager for a worldwide Medical device manufacture, I can tell you that one of the challenges I face is in not being able to place reps with years of heavy experience into the income level they desire. 15 and 20 year veteran’s complain that they can’t get a second look, and it’s because they have years of W2’s that are in high 100’s to low 200’s as sales reps. With the current economic realities manufactures face such as meddev sales tax, increased petroleum prices (which affects every level of manufacturing from raw materials to final shipping, to paying the reps gas cards,) increased costs of providing them medical benefits, and increased competition, the profit margins are shrinking and cost reductions become critical. Combined with the FDA moving at a snail’s pace to approve new products, the opportunities to come in and make the types of incomes we enjoyed 6 to 10 years ago are farther and fewer between. This drives us to lower our sights a bit towards solid B2B performers, and those with less experience. Often, this leaves the most experienced and talented candidates out of the picture, while they all compete over a smaller pool of available positions, victims of their own successes. I’d love to hire them. However, they will need to take less money than in the past. That is the world we all live in now. I fear we will continue to see a retraction in the level of professional in the device industry over the next 10 years given the initiatives to drive cost out of the system. The reality is that quality knowledgeable sales reps are necessary to bring new beneficial medical technologies to market. Quality has a cost, whether it is in medical care, or in automobiles. In the US we have been driving the Mercedes of healthcare for a long time. Our future is not so certain, and as the costs are lowered to make care available to more and more people (not a bad thing on the surface, as I too dream of healthcare for everyone) the equal and opposite reaction will be that the quality of care must come down. The brightest students will no longer seek becoming doctors, and the top sales talent will no longer seek medical device.

Ruth Clark
Teacher / Designer at Stitching Arts and More
Bill, I agree with you fully. I get so very frustrated when people refer to ‘technology’, yet what they really mean is computer based technology. There is a whole world of other ‘technology’ out there. When I have brought this up in the past, in other discussions, I have had strong and negative feedback. I wish there was a way we could get the message out better. Please feel free to contact me directly if you like, maybe we can initiate this as a discussion topic in some of the groups we belong in and see if we can raise some awareness.
Ruth J Clark

Pat Ridgely
Consultant in medical devices and education
No, John, I don’t think such a tax is without negative consequences. But neither am I willing to ascribe to it all the challenges that the industry is facing. For example, some of the same factors that have been affecting pharma in the US for years have been coming home to roost on the device side, at least in the US.!

John Eckberg
Media Relations
I’m convinced that the recruiter is giving up because companies are on the ropes with their elbows in tight (taking body shots) because their government is actively engaged in privateering, that is, taking jobs and research work away with a new medical device tax. Do folks really believe that a tax and spring full-born upon an industry and there not be consequences: smaller payrolls, fewer new hires, jobs headed to low-tax nations overseas? Tamara is feeling the brunt of the impact of the tax. No doubt in my mind about that, either.

Donnamarie Tonelli
Senior CRA, PM Sponsored Research at DePuy Spine
Brad – I have a BA in Biology and when trying to enter the CRA field, all the bigger, better paying positions were being filled with RNs. Ever try to convince an interviewer that a BA in Biology is sometimes more advantageous – I am sure you have! And, I think that recruiters also need to think ‘outside the box’ / outside the company wish list when assessing candidates – gems are usually uncovered when the candidate is not the ‘perfect’ one. Best of luck in your search.

Mark Neidert
Senior Regional Director at Takeda
In the early 1990’s I interviewed with a medical recruiter, who in looking at my background at that time (which was an English/Communications Major with radio sales experience) said I would never get into pharmaceutical sales. I remember telling her, “Lady, you don’t know me and how persistent I am.” In the end, I did break into the industry, but it was tough. Now after 20 plus years in pharma and medical device I find myself looking again. Make no mistake, it is tough out there right now. I am looking for a Regional VP of Sales position and quite frankly, there aren’t many out there to be had. All that said, I refuse to throw in towel. The key in good times and bad is to keep the faith, keep your eyes and ears open and try not to let others define who or what you are. Oh, and network, network, network.

Kim Johnson
Senior Manager at FDAGUIDANCE.net
It is recommended we continue learning and develop and sharpen skills and knowledge. And we expand our expertise.

Pat Ridgely, MD
Consultant in medical devices and education
Richard, congrats on your success. I think your experience illustrates that there is certainly still opportunity for people who want to do business development (as opposed to traditional sales), though as you say, it is not for the faint of heart (or wallet)!

To Pappy’s point about not giving up: when young people ask me about carrers in sales in the medical-device sector, I try to be honest but not doomsday. Field-based jobs in the US that focus on clinical support or on economic aspects (e.g., setting up major contracts that cut across product lines) are still going to exist. In the emerging markets, I think there is tremendous opportunity for even traditional sales, though my fond hope is that such markets will learn from the US experience and NOT repeat our mistakes.

Richard Brautigam
Business Development
Pat reflects the reality of the “marketplace” since I entered the industry in 2007. There are any number of qualified individuals with direct hospital sales experience, and early stage companies can have their pick of these people with or without the help of a recruiter. I came from “one degree of seperation”, having worked with med tech companies on major new product developments that successfully got in to daily use in diagnostics and gene expression. I became an investor, board member and active participant in the growth of a great business targetting minimally invasive surgery. Not a path open to many, unless you are willing to risk considerable capital.

Pat Ridgely, MD
Consultant in medical devices and education
I applaud Tamara and commenters for their honesty on what can be a touchy subject.

As I mentioned before, the “medical device” sector is in some ways heterogeneous; most (but not all) of my experience is in the subsector of programmable implantables in the US. I think that anyone considering a field-based career (or commenting thereon) needs to consider the context of what they are encountering or recommending.

Also, there are a lot of experienced pharma or device reps who have been laid off in the US in the last few years, so the competition is fierce; hiring managers typically get a lot of interest from people who already have experience.

Scott EM Roberts
House of Lords, Westminster, London with Lord MacGregor. (Ex Chancellor of the Exchequer, UK)
Lingling, your comments are extemely valid. Questions you raise are also valid. But may I suggest you consider what Tamara faces. I dont want to answer for her, particularily as I am based in Europe, and not in the USA. However, Tamara has touched on an evolution within the industry. So lets see what my, (meager contribution) can add.
Look at demand and supply as a critical factor. Tamara works hard at what she has built. But if the demand is reduced, (see my previous comments) then she will doubt about her business format.
Experience Vs skills and mid entry or new entry may possibly be the current battle ground of recruitment. Is it possible to niche? I Dont know. No consultant will turn down a project. Is pipeline rotation a good thing for the industry or just the recruiters. Why would MBAs want to be a salesman? Transferable skills are rare at mid /entry level. But as I say i think European so you may very well be right. Comments?

Lingling Chen
Head of Growth & Product Marketing @ Uniform Teeth
I am not sure if we are only talking about Sales&Marketing people at medical devices industry.

Tamara, maybe you can describe a little bit about why it is hard to get into this industry? What are the skills recruiters are looking for? Which one is more valuable, experience in the industry VS skill sets?

Also, are we talking about mid-level or entry level positions? I did notice that many medical devices companies (Such as BD, Zimmer, J&J) have pipeline rotational program for MBA graduates, and I do have friends hired by those programs without any prior industry experience, the only thing they have is the transferable skills.

Nathan McCole
Managing Partner, Human Capital Solutions ME
I am an experienced search and recruitment professional and have been kept busy recruiting b2b sales & distribution staff for the energy, life sciences and O&G sectors. I recently took on a project to recruit a number of MENA regional sales staff for a leading international medical manufacturer. My first and last time I will recruit sales staff for the Medial device sector. It was a complete waste of my time and that of the many candidates I engaged with. Filtering down a quality target list of 65 candidates on salary and bonus alone is not quality recruitment!

I read your group message email this morning and fully understand (based on my experience) why recruiters would not want to touch the medical devises sector!

Rebecca Orellana
Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist
Sorry, I didn’t realize we were just talking about sales reps. I recruit for the clinical research sector of pharma/biotech. Things are moving along nicely in our world for now 🙂

Tamara R Pearlman
Senior IT Recruiter, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur! Making a Positive Difference in the World of Recruiting!
Since, I’m the one who is “throwing in the towel” on medical device sales reps, to Pappy, giving up in an industry where the supply is greater than the demand is a no brainer! However, you did make me laugh. Thanks for the seratonin input!
Linda, you make a great point; however realistically after 20+ yrs. of recruiting, 13+ yrs. of owning my own recruiting firm and a lifetime of sales experience I’ve got to state that pharma companies are most likely to hire right out of college. Medical device companies still want 3 yrs. of capital equipment sales experience. Thanks for your input tho!
Scott, I choked a bit on your reply; however decided that I like you anyhow. It’s not that I don’t want to help candidates, the finite answer is that one has to realistically advise candidates that are in the market that they are up against supply and demand. As for candidates wanting to break into medical device, I liked Brad’s and Pat’s honest answers. One may be able to sell the Brooklyn Bridge; however they may not land a job in medical device sales. This market has tightened up tremendously. And, candidates that I speak with have advised me that they are looking for a change as their companies are cutting commissions!!! I’m not sorry about the lost commission @Scott; I feel sorry for a once viable sales industry (and there are more sales industry verticals hard hit as well) that is not as it once was. As we emerge from the recession is medical device sales going to be on the rebound? That’s a good question for all of us to think about. Lastly, I’m sticking to my guns with all new candidates who want to break into medical or pharma sales, and that is find another career endeavor; as you are striving to break into one the toughest sales markets at the worst of times!

Todd Staples
Account Representative, GYN at Medtronic
Sometimes things happen for a reason to push us one way or another, and sometimes they happen to test us. After rapidly growing my own career up through the ranks and gaining a vast amount of experience over a relatively short 13 year career in devices, I suddenly found myself in a place where too many past jobs was seriously “out of style”. It doesn’t matter that with each job change it was a recruiter that called me out of the blue to propose the next job promotion, it is my career, and all I could see was blue sky.
whether you are on the outside looking in, or on the inside but unemployed, it is up to each of us to pave the way for our own future.

Scott EM Roberts
House of Lords, Westminster, London with Lord MacGregor. (Ex Chancellor of the Exchequer, UK)
Search and selection companies who go the route of “I give up” is an easy play for recruiters just wanting to get out of a decreasing market because there is a slump. Just “niche” is my suggestion. (If they dont know what “niche” they should get out now.) But it is a also reflection of reduced expenditure and possibly an excess in USA healthcare spend which needs to be, and is being tamed. Just look at the % of send against GDP agianst the European model and the picture is clear. Excessive. Therefore the USA sector will cut out exuberance in the future. It has to.
So you have to be realistic. Opting for centralised purchasing systems and price in the European model is the way it is going. Hence the the salesman in Europe may earn $25,000+- rather than the USA salaries. So will recruiters plump margins be trimmed as a consequence. The medical device business, is or is not, depending on the the system, driven by downstream personnel ie sales reps. (or “up stream” depending on your interpretation). But it is also driven by the purchasing mechanism in each country which dictates the importance of the sales efforts, and their impact. Or not.
In many countries, the system is biased towards tendering procedures reducing the sales force leverage. The European system has reduced the cost of healthcare by cutting through corporations excesses and streamlining services. In ROW, the situation varies with each country allowing itself a “healthcare spend”. Indeed, patients have to bear the brunt of costs in many countries, ie India, Pakistan greater Asia etc. (I add, as some USA patients are cut out).
So whats the BOTTOM LINE. For recruiters, are you vicims of a reduction of costs in general or are you too used to the good life?? The answer lies, as all things, in what you do and what the circumstances are. Have a good one!!!

Pat Ridgely, MD
Consultant in medical devices and education
Joe, does Tamara’s comment focus on device sales-reps? I do see a lot of tightening in that area, especially as the role of sales-reps has changed so much. Also, “devices” covers a lot of ground, and I don’t think the hiring environment is the same across capital medical equipment, implantable programmables, non-programmable implantables, etc. Ditto for geography: companies are ramping up their fieldforces in emerging markets, while being pretty tight in the developed markets.

Brad Driggers
Senior Financial Advisor
I am an extremely well qualified strategic sales person with a history of $2.5m to $7.7m capital equipment sales and completely transferable skillsets. My experience is in selling IT, my degree is in biology and as I try to transition back to science (and medical equipment in particular), I have failed to garner any attention whatsoever. I am also about to “give up” on an industry that doesn’t seem to understand the value of selling skills that cannot be taught, but are learned over many experiences in the field.

Jim Ricker
Owner at Arizona Fix-it Pros
Outside the box. New technology devices for “health restoration and enhancement” addressing symptoms of many conditions from pain to immune to sleep to ortho etc. A little bit of product homework might help one see how options are changing, and quickly.
The market is not limited to medical but also consumer. Who wouldn’t want chronic pain relief in just a minute or two without any side effects and nothing entering the body?
The market is seeking, and even demanding, these types of new tech products today and the field is wide open for those who want to put their sales abilities to work.
It does require stepping outside the traditional structures and a willingness to create your own parachute, but the market is exploding and the rewards are mightily impressive.
Everything changes, and today, those who can change with it will get the cheese.
I’m discussing one of the cutting edge tech advances that’s coming on the radar now.
Contact me off thread for a door opener and then you do your research. After that I’ll be happy to offer all I can to help you move forward.
There are still excellent options despite a not-so-excellant traditional market environment.
If you’re only after the money, it’s here for the developing. If you enjoy benefiting others, you’re going to have many deeply touching experiences, you’ll literally see some lives change before your eyes. If you enjoy development and people work, this is a place to excel.
Who’s ready?
“Cheese” available here.

Christophe Cognard
Sr Marketing Manager Medical Oncology at BD
I can share my own experience: I have over 16 years of worldwide marketing and sales experience, including 7 years in healthcare (EP/cardiology) capital equipment.
Usually interviews go well, they like my experience and unusual profile. But, at the end of the day, they still prefer to hire people already selling/marketing devices. The “funny” part is that most often I am approached by head hunters rather than applying myself to the positions…

It is indeed very hard to “break in” even if, as admitted by an HR manager I met once, the device companies should be more open as they certainly miss excellent candidates.

PS: I learned a lot from these experiences and I won’t give up! 🙂

Erik Zikos
Principal at EZ Executive Search
Julian, you may wish to consider exploring and uncovering who the various medical devices distributors are in your area. These are often LLCs who utilize sales reps on a 1099 (and sometimes W2) basis, and often represent smaller companies and/or blue-ships who prefer an indirect sales model.

Julian Avery
Sales Data Analyst at Spartan Chemical Company
Thanks Joe, as someone who is trying to break into this industry this was a great read. What does someone like myself do to get a foot in the door?
BTW, i’m not going to give up on the industry as I know it’s where I belong!

Rebecca Orellana
Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist
My primary focus is in pharma, but I also have some medical device clients. As far as “getting your foot in the door,” it is always going to be difficult to break into any heavily regulated industry without any experience. It’s all about networking and finding ways to gain industry exposure (internships, certifications, transferable work experience, etc). And I do not see any major slow down in hiring. Compensation has been affected in recent years by a variety of factors, including the rise of the CRO, but there is still plenty of money to be made and lots of interesting products in development. If this is where your interest lies, I say don’t give up!

Darshana Nadkarni, Ph.D.
1) Recruitment: BioTech & Medical Device 2) Training – Diversity and Inclusion
Thanks Joe – good discussion. I do advice candidates coming to me that if they have good transferable skills to other industries then this is a time to leverage that and look for opportunities outside the medical arena. People with background in software, hardware, marketing, sales etc. can more easily do that. However, those with background in biology, pharmacology etc. are more trapped and not all of them will get hired soon. What advice can we give them? Yes, I would still like to continue to talk to these candidates. Appreciate all referrals :). BTW, I am looking for software programmer urgently – fresh grad ok.

Erik Zikos
Principal at EZ Executive Search
Thanks Joe! While I certainly agree we are in challenging times, companies continue to seek and hire talented people, although quality over quantity is the name of the game. To echo Linda’s comments, those currently with industry experience are what the vast majority of managers insist upon. For candidates, start thinking outside your comfort zone. Those in spine for example may wish to look to new and emerging verticals such as mollecular diagnostics for example.

Bill Clemmons
Sr. Patent Attorney at Smith & Nephew
“I’m sticking with technology, a very busy sector right now.” By this, I assume you mean the electronics and software industries, right? When did they obtain a monopoly on “technology”?