Recruiters are part of every industry. Medical sales is no different. A medical sales recruiter helps match suitable candidates with job openings. They are paid by the company if a position is filled. If asked, they will say that they have the best interest of both the candidate and the company. They need to identify a candidate that is a good fit and who will be happy in the role, otherwise it does not offer a whole lot of value to the company. But at the end of the day, they are getting paid by the hiring company. This is where their loyalty aligns.
How To Work With Medical Sales Headhunters
The better the candidate you become, the more helpful recruiters can be. If you have the right medical sales experience, skills, education, and personality the phone will ring off the hook. More accurately, your LinkedIn inbox will fill up on a weekly basis. If you are still trying to break into the industry, I do not recommend relying solely on recruiters.
Related: Where To Look For Medical Sales Job Openings
To be fair, I do know instances where candidates with limited or no sales experience ended up in entry level medical sales jobs through recruiters. Especially in the current job market environment where companies have to work even harder to find qualified applicants. Though, typically it is easier for companies to fill entry level positions without recruiting services. There are a lot of candidates with a little bit of sales experience who would love to break into medical sales. A medical sales recruiter becomes more valuable to a company trying to fill a position that requires an experienced sales rep, with a specific background.
Challenges With Medical Sales Recruitment Agencies
I am not someone who likes games. I like when things are transparent and straightforward. I get frustrated when medical sales recruiting firms post generic job descriptions which make it difficult to understand the specifics of the job. They do this so candidates must apply to the job through them, rather than going directly to the company. I understand that everyone wants to get paid. But I am not a huge fan of spending time talking to someone about a job that may not even be closely aligned to what I am looking for.
I had a job seeking experience in which I saw a generic job listing posted by a medical sales recruiting firm. At first glance, it seemed like a good fit. It was the right role for my experience level, based on the information available. I setup a phone call with the recruiter to go through the details. After about 10 minutes, the job started to sound very familiar to a job I had already interviewed for. I finally asked the recruiter for the name of the hiring company, and he hesitantly told me. I explained that I had already applied for the position and turned down an offer at the company in question. He then arrogantly asked me why I did not take the position. The call quickly ended from there.
Related: Sixteen Tips On How To Break In Medical Sales
The job would not have been a good move for me. The compensation package was underwhelming and difficult to make sense of, and I questioned the stability of the role. I knew all this from speaking directly to the company. But of course according to the medical sales recruiter, it was a great role than anyone would be lucky to have.
Things For Medical Sales Job Candidates To Consider
Once you get some industry experience, recruiters will start reaching out. Without putting in any effort, you get to quickly see what is out there. The positions at start up companies and the roles for innovative new technology always catch my interest. I have seen jobs for genetic testing, new OB/GYN offerings, specialty imaging equipment, etc.
Some recruiting firms have the tendency to overstate the benefits of a job to attract applicants. In the initial posting, they will describe upside compensation targets that are clearly not realistic. Especially for someone just starting out in a territory. They may refer to a territory as warm, when in reality maybe it is lukewarm. It always good to ask why the previous sales rep left the company.
Tips For Working With Medical Device Sales Recruiters
- Submit a keyword rich resume.
- Do not sign anything up front.
- Do not pay for access to jobs openings.
- Be honest and forthcoming.
- Remember, the job search process takes time.
- Ask for feedback.
Some medical device companies have their own internal recruiters and some use outside firms. Some companies even use both in efforts to identify the best candidates.
Best Medical Sales Recruiters
I have included a list below of some of the largest and well known medical device recruiting firms. There are many other organizations out there. Recruiting firms can be regional or product specific. There are recruiters that focus on filling roles for orthopedics sales jobs and others that focus on finding reps with capital equipment and imaging experience.
- EliteMed Recruiting
- Global Edge Recruiting Associates
- Apex Executive Recruiting
- Warner Search Group
- David Bagga Company
Related: How To Break Into Medical Device Sales According To Reddit