What the Heck Do I Do?

For those of you who don’t know her, Peggy McKee is a leader in the medical sales career field. For more about Peggy, see: http://www.phcconsulting.com/WordPress/  I had a chance to interview Peggy recently. The following is that interview – brief – but to the point: the basics you need to know to land your desired position in medical sales. What I want to point out for the reader is the reality that we are entering the most competitive marketplace in our lifetimes – you have to invest in your ongoing education and improvement or you will be left behind. Those who don’t have a sense of urgency about this will be those who “almost” get the job. That money you “saved” not investing in your improvement translates into extra weeks – and months – in your job search.

Q: How does the career future of medical sales (devices/equipment) compare with the career future of pharmaceutical sales?

A:  I see the career future as very bright – high growth; unlimited, high growth, no doubt impacted by regulation. I don’t see pharmaceutical  sales as high growth – it’s too diluted. If you are in pharma, I suggest you develop a specialty call point – then transition over to medical sales.

Q. What are some the biggest mistakes people make in their job search efforts – trying to get into medical sales (what should we avoid doing)?

A: They don’t prepare enough! You need to have the complete package: know how to sell in the interview, have an excellent resume that speaks to accomplishments. People often don’t do enough homework about the company they are interviewing with. You need to go to tradeshows – you need to go on a (medical-sales) preceptorship. When I ask “How many hiring managers have you contacted this week?” the phone line goes silent.  And some people get into an emotional rut – they get discouraged; they don’t realize the employer is picking up on that. You have to be enthusiastic and positive.

Q: What are the top “hot buttons” I need to know an employer wants to hear when I interview for a medical sales role?

A: There are 4: Do you understand the role?; Can you do the role?; Will you do the role? And, lastly, do you pose a risk to my continued employment with this organization if I hire you?

Q: Are there particular segments of the medical devices/equipment industry where I should target my efforts, e.g. capital equipment, surgical equipment, DME, MRI.

A: I think people get hung up on this –  they probably should not be targeting. Consider medical jobs as a whole – the industry is evolving so quickly you will find excellent opportunities in areas you may have not considered.

Q: As a pharmaceutical sales rep – trying to get into medical sales, what are some good points to know? (for the job search, for the resume, for my interview skills).

A: Yes – for the resume: be sure to list numbers, dollars and percentages. For the job search – prepare and reach out to a number of hiring managers. For the interview – be sure to role play. What I’ve learned over the years: it is Interesting how very little it takes to fix a problem with interview skills; the small things count – and can be deal makers or deal breakers. There is that “ah-ha” moment in my training of clients when we realize what has been thwarting our success.  

In conclusion: I think Peggy’s interview training for medical sales careers is something readers should seriously consider. There is a mindset that any investment in career-improvement (be that interview skills training or any other service) is a “cost” to you – and, yes, we’re obviously in a cost-conscious economy now. But from a purely ROI standpoint – the question becomes simple: would you invest 1-3% of your new salary in your career advancement? That’s about a 100:1 ROI. If you can find a better ROI than that – let me know. I know gold stocks are doing well – but not that well. . .

Here’s the latest stats, according to the U.S. Labor Department. In May of 2008, the average length of “unemployment” was 16.8 weeks: 120 days. We all know what has happened to our economy since the; let’s flash forward to May of 2010 – we now have an average length of unemployment at 34.4 weeks: 240 days!  Houston, we have a problem. . .

Our biggest challenge in seeking new roles in this economy is we tend to do things the old way – we post our resume on every board we can imagine and we write our our resume. Or perhaps we take up better methods: we join Linkedin, TheLadders, etc. But truth be known we aren’t dramatically changing how we find a job. Until now. . .time to talk to the “winners” in this job new search game. Nothing better for the spirits than to speak to someone who has done what you are hoping to do. I should clarify I have the coolest job in America; well perhaps the 2nd coolest job (I’ve always wanted to be an ice cream taster for Ben & Jerry’s). My job is getting people into medical sales roles: devices/equipment; I write their resume and cover letter; I help them land interviews for unadvertised jobs by using my own network of clients I’ve worked with for the last 13 years.  I don’t know of anyone who provides this kind of specialized service other than myself.

Half of the people I work with come from a background in general corporate sales – the others come from a background in Pharmaceutical Sales. And they are all told one thing: You Can’t Get There From Here – one hopes these naysayers never work a Suicide-hot-line.  But listen to this – the internet has changed everything and there are some really amazing new ways to shorten your job search – emphasize the word “new” – as in a road less traveled. It’s quite simple – and the folks on this road are getting into their new roles much quicker than the 240 Days faced by so many of our brethren. When I speak to my candidates I find most landed their jobs in an average of 90-120 days. Pretty cool – and I’m very proud of this accomplishment.

The Key to a Shortened Job Search? You take 2 tools and put put them together. One of these tools you already have some knowledge of – the other is far less known.  The 2 tools? RSS NewsFeeds and Linkedin. We will be working with very specialized RSS News Feeds and with carefully selected Linked Groups: all RSS News Feeds and all Linkedin Groups are not the same.

The Official New “5/50 Job Seach Plan”- note this is only for the Healthcare Industry.

a.) Join 5 excellent Linkedin Groups - these are groups that consistently lead you to interviews. (Entire articles will be written on this subject in the future. And, yes, I have my favorites). 

b.) Build your Linkedin Network to 50 quality contacts – these MUST be people you would invite into your own home. Why 50? Because you’ll realize that each of your contacts has, on average, about 20 quality contacts. Do the math: 50 x 20 = 1000 quality contacts are now your ears and eyes for finding your next job.

c.) Go into RSS News Feeds – here’s some great ones (12 in fact!): http://www.fdanews.com/rss And now welcome to an entirely new way to find a job – you are about to spend time doing something you have never done before in a job search: you are going to read business news articles. Via these NewsFeeds you will see golden opportunities with smaller-mid-sized companies that need your talents within your geographic area. Write down the names of those companies. Most of them you may never have heard of; they may be startups, rapidly growing companies or spin-offs from the Big Guys, e.g GE, Boston Sci.

d.) Go back into Linkedin. Here’s where where it gets fun and it’s simply a matter of statistical magic: we typically find at least 1-2 “2nd level” contacts at that company – via one of those 1000 (recall 50 x 20 math) contacts we have in our network. Or we find someone at that company who belongs to one of our 5 Groups. It is – as they say – a very small world.

What Do we Do Next? I’ll tell you in my pending article. For now your “Honey Do List” is to build your Linked in account to 50 people who you trust, respect, and would invite to your house for dinner. Which means you have a relationship with them and know them on a first name basis. This is a markedly different approach to using Linkedin, BTW, where we have some folks who love to brag about how many contacts they have – yet don’t really know those contacts. It’s all about relationships. Relationships are all about trust. Trust starts with rapport. Rapport starts with “Hello, my name is” and does not quickly proceed to “Let’s get married”. We have some steps along this road less traveled. I will cover those steps shortly. . .meanwhile, get your contact base up to 50 and stay tuned.

And Food for Thought: I’m going to launch a new online club: ”The 5/50 Club” where we tell the stories of the winners – those who landed their desired positions in medical sales. This will irk the naysayers – but perhaps that is our motto: “The 5/50 Club – we’re here to irk naysayers”. I like it. Those who wish to be trained on the entire process – please contact me; I’m at the end of Beta-Testing this concept and it will soon be a fee-based product (price point likely around $250) for now it is still free to the next 6 applicants. Call now if you are interested: 863.248.6105.

I hate it when I learn something new. I figured at my age I could simply stop learning. But, apparently, there are still a few things left for me to know. For example – did you know that the #1 way my clients are landing interviews is via news feeds in specialty Linkedin groups? Amazing stuff. Most folks go right to the “Jobs” section – but here is why you should go to the “News” section first. For starters, most of the jobs in medical sales go unadvertised – it’s true. Hard to find viable stats but we can assume it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of over 60%. Why? Because those jobs are filled by other means. “Other means’ in the past used to mean “inside contacts” – but like anything else, change has come to how people land jobs. Here’s what happens when you start reading those news feeds. You’ll find the names of smaller companies – most of the time you will have never heard of those companies.

Time to start writing down the names of those companies. Here’s what you’ll find: that in many cases you are finding a company that just got FDA approval on some product – and that company is likely a startup. Which means they probably have not invested yet in an HR Group because HR is not a profit center – HR tends to be a luxury that companies acquire later. So, you come along, and you happen to have worked for some industry-leading companies. That means you have seen the business development best practices of those industry leaders. You know where this is going: think that smaller company might want to tap your “wisdom” in regard to what you learned? They obviously want to move into the big leagues one day. And these smaller companies also want to know what “mistakes” you saw during your tenure with the big players – so they don’t repeat those mistakes.

Which brings us back to that list you have of all these little companies – your next step is to do your homework on them; Yahoo Finance is a great resource: http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/521.html and try to find contacts in Linkedin – you’d be amazed how many “2nd” level contacts you have. And if you don’t have any direct or 2nd level contacts, go into your groups and be sure to link to as many people as you can – because you will quickly enhance your changes of getting a 2nd level contact with that employer.

Next? Call them. You’ll be amazed how quickly you can reach a living real person who just got told ‘We have this new product – go find us some rep’s’ And you are obviously saving that next employer the expense of finding sales talent by being the proverbial “right person in the right place at the right time”. And if you find you are on the phone but it doesn’t sound like something you would be interested in? Tell your colleagues in your Linkedin Group about the opportunity – one more way to market yourself.

I like Steve Job’s line: “If you follow the rules you’ll be invisible”. Little of the advice I offer is about following the rules. Which is what this blog is all about.

Just when they say there is nothing new under the sun. Well, actually everything changes so why wouldn’t the job search tactics used to get into a Medical Sales postion? For those of you following this blog, you know I don’t rehash old stuff; we won’t be talking about networking in this article or the latest resume-scanning processes – we’ll be talking about something entirely new.

Here’s the scenario. You’re an older sales rep. You’re in pharma. Pharma is going, well… enough said. And you want to move into Medical Sales. But you’re worried – too many medical sales reps to compete with, no medical sales experience, etc. If we all thought about the hurdles we face each day none of us would get out of bed. So – something more than words of encouragement here; there is a new way for you to get hired by a medical device/equipment company and you “ain’t” heard it elsewhere.

The idea is a 6-month contract. You propose to the prospective employer you are willing to “prove yourself” to the employer over a period of 6-months. The T&C’s (terms and conditions for all of you non-contract folks) are laid out in this contract. Bear in mind the biggest challenge you face as an “older” sales pro making a change: ROI. The employer knows you are a performer – but they typically have to convince themselves (or their boss) that you are a safe bet as an ROI. So – instead of simply hiring you as a “permanent” employee (the term “permanent” is losing its meaning these days, isn’t it!) and hoping for the best the employer gets to “kick the tires before they buy”.

Here is what you need in your contract. And I am not a laymen here; my background is in F500 HR where I wrote and edited hundreds of employment contracts – and I do stay up on the labor laws.

a.) Have the employer state in writing the specific start date and stop date of the contract.

b.) Have the employer state in writing what sales-performance will be measured. Will it be % increase vs. last year? Will it be % increase of a given geographic market? (If so – define what the “market” consists of – X number of accounts – a geographic region?). Will it be a given $ figure? If so, what is that figure? Most sales reps are given a specific $ figure over a specific period of time – and they are to achieve a % of that $ figure; so what is that %? (100% or better?)

c.) Have the employer state in writing “how” the performance above will be measured. Who will be doing the measuring? When will they be doing the measuring (you might want status reports at quarterly progress points to assure you are on target). What specific tools or processes or reporting will be used to determine your performance? This is actually the most important question of all as it is easy for you to perform up to spec and not get credit for it! (I won’t mention the term PODS here as I know someone will strike me hard with a stick).

d.) You’ll want to list – with the employer’s agreement – what options are to be considered if you do perform “up to stec” I.e., what happens now? This is really a powerful positon for you now because you will either have in writing what your compensation will look like (because you determined that up front in the contract – including car, expenses, salary, bonus), or you have now “proven youself” and are in a very good – at least much better – postion to demand what you want. And further icing on the cake here: you built relationships with potential customers – so don’t sign a non-compete clause on this 6-month contract. And further icing on the icing on the cake: you bought time in your job search to consider other (now open) career opportunities.

Don’t tell any HR folks about this article. BTW, I’m married to an HR exec. and I’m not going to tell her about this article.

Go get ‘em. And please tell me your success stories so we can share with the whole group; my direct e-mail is director@WhatTheHeckDoIDo.com

There are certain things in life you just don’t want to experience; e.g.

a.) Coming across your wife and mother-in-law carefully going over your will,

b.) Your son asking you, “Dad, why do I look so much like the Schwan’s ice cream man?”

This week we’ll cover something else you don’t want to experience: a really bad job search experience. To be specific, there are 2 “Silver Bullets” that are anything but. . .and these 2 relate to an old way of thinking, to “rules” of the job search game which are now obsolete.

1.) Expecting recruiters to be Silver Bullets

2.) Expecting resume distribution systems to be Silver Bullets

Expecting recruiters to be Silver Bullets. In the good old days you could send your resume to a recruiter and be expectant of a returned call and some interest in your resume. But everything changes. Look around and you will notice a trend: recruiters are disappearing as quickly as real estate agents. Which is sad because there are some great recruiters out there. But we live in a capitalist market – this is all about supply and demand. And the demand from employers for “outside” aka contingency recruiters is waning. Why? The economy: employers are trying to save money.

Gone are the days when recruiters could charge 30% of your first year’s salary. About 5 years ago, we started to see a trend to slashing recruiter fees – from 30% to 20% to 12%-15%. Ask any medical device/equipment or pharma company what they pay outside/contingency recruiters – and you’ll find this is today’s “fair-market” value. You’ll also find these employers are going elsewhere to get talent. The fastest growing areas? Professional associations, their own corporate website, and LinkedIn. So don’t give up on recruiters just yet – just be aware of this transition. As they say, everything changes but change itself.

Expecting resume distribution systems to be Silver Bullets. These systems work long-term, but they are not the silver bullet everyone is seeking. In reality your resume is usually going into a database of a contingency recruiter – not an employer. Very rarely do resume distribution systems go direct to employers – and employers almost never read resumes sent to them that do not indicate a specific job posting. The reason: HR simply doesn’t have the time. Is this changing? Good news; yes, but slowly. Relating to the recruiter issues above, employers are paying more attention to what is in their database. But, again, HR is a non-profit center, which means they are overworked and understaffed. Go to any SHRM meeting and you will get 100% consensus on that statement.

There is some false logic at work here, and we human beasties tend to not always be so logical. So let’s express this in a story: you go down to the shooting range. You see the target. You pick up a shotgun and fire. Nothing. Didn’t even hit the target. What to do? According to our current logic, we pick up the shotgun and keep trying. Wait – isn’t there an old definition of “insanity”: something about trying the same thing over and over and yet expecting different results?

The wise stop, realize the shotgun isn’t working to achieve their goal, and they select a different weapon. Say a rifle. With a really great scope. . . They fire some shots off. Oh – now we’re close. Let’s adjust a bit. Closer still. Obviously resume distribution systems are not your best “weapon” for your immediate goal: hitting a bull’s eye with your job search. You NEED TO DO WHAT OTHERS ARE NOT DOING. See all those guys still using shotguns – and note all of them are still missing the target? Yes – time to pick another weapon.

An interesting thing about change. It creates opportunities. Our mothers always told us there are “silver linings” in every cloud. So don’t be discouraged. Just realize that everything you knew about job searches has changed. And those that master the “new rules of the game” win the game. Which is what this blog is all about: learning those new rules. Playing the game to win.

Just when I thought there was nothing new under the sun. I just had a conversation with an HR exec for a $1B company. I was asking her opinion of photographs on resumes. Have you ever seen someone with that expression that they just ate a very bad pickle? Turns out, with our economy now facing 10%+ unemployment, people are “desperate” and when it comes to having their photos on a resume – these folks are taking legal action against employers who do not interview them – claiming discrimination based on their photo on the resume!

The backdrop is the EEOC (some call this the EOC), which stands for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. For this is where the desperate go to file their claims of discrimination – I’m the wrong age, sex, race, color of hair; I have a T-shirt that says Go Mets and the employer is a Yankee’s fan. . . you get the picture.

So – how do we get around this issue – simply stop using photos on resumes? No. The trick is when you have not yet met an employer do not use a photograph to present yourself. Think Joe Friday of Dragnet fame: “Just the facts, mam.” This means social networks as well: nice to show AFTER you have met the employer. You can show up with a resume with a photo on it – but what’s the point?

Does that mean FaceBook and Linkedin? Yup. For now, if you are using those tools to promote yourself BEFORE meeting the employer, don’t have a photo in place. I think Linkedin  urls on a resume are a great idea – but if you want to do that, the latest wisdom is hold off on the Linkedin photo.  

For networking, a photo on Linkedin, FaceBook or your resume is fine – for promoting yourself to an employer, stick with the old-style of resume: no photo. Do I like this idea? Heck no. I’d rather see who I’m dealing with. But my opinion doesn’t count here; we’re all about “real world” help  for you- and this is the latest.  Just a short blog today; I have to go to the photographer.  I have these two photos I want him to merge into one photo of me. Yes, I know, I look a great deal like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.  I get that comment all the time; I was just blessed with handsome parents.

We live in a world of paradoxes: of things that seem absurd – yet are true. Who do we take our sex advice from? Dr. Ruth – who looks remarkably like Radar O’Riley in a dress. Who do we take our weight-loss advice from? Richard Simmons – who is always 20 pounds overweight.

Paradoxes extend into the world of job searches. If you asked any job search coach or professional resume writer, they would share the following with you. One of the biggest mistakes people make in their job searches and resumes is to try to be all things to all people, and they don’t know who they are.

Which leads us to dating. Imagine going on six dates. And you tried to please each date, i.e. you changed who you were for each date. How would you feel at the end of that road? Tired? Frustrated? Yet this is exactly what the great majority of people do when it comes to their job search and resume: they try to be all things to all people – and, in the end, they have fogotten who they are today.

So, before we go out on that date, we stand back from the mirror. And ask 2 very critical questions:

a.) As a sales professional, what are my “Top 5″ areas of expertise?

b.) How would that list look if ranked in order of my current passions?

We need to build the job search and resume around that newly ordered list. If we don’t? We’ll probably end up in interviews for jobs similar to the one we currently hold. If we do this exercise? This is consistently the tried-and-true way to land interviews for positions you are excited about!

You see where we’re going here. See that person in the mirror? That’s not the same person you saw 5 years ago – you have changed. And you need to know how you’ve changed – in order to understand who you are today – in order to know your unique value (this is Marketing 101). The result? You now only date someone who appreciates who you are today – and understands your unique value = no more bad dates.

Which brings us to your job search and resume. Be sure you “brand” yourself for who you are today; this means you may be getting into areas of interest that you are not yet an expert on – that’s OK. And it means you know – without hesitation – what your top 2-3 areas of expertise are – for which you have a great passion right now – today. Remember – there is a whole cottage industry of “tests” now given by employers to be sure they don’t hire you for things you are good at, but burned out by. That’s smart business: it helps the employer hire right and retain the best talent.

But it’s a free country. You can always go back to trying to please all your dates. Here’s a tip in that regard, when they ask if you are a democrat or a republican, state “Yes”. And keep the wine flowing.

Being the sort of fellow who hates theories – and loves real-world intel fresh from the field, here’s the latest of the “Cool New Stuff” you are really going to enjoy: IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER.

Let’s be brutally honest (you’ve figured out by now I am that sort of fellow who says it like it is), what was one of the greatest classes you ever took? Which classes do you use nearly every day in your life? I can think of 2 classes. One is typing. Come on – admit it; one of the best classes you ever took. Second (for me) was a Kepner Tregoe Decision Analysis course. This is “Great Stuff” that really works in our everyday lives.

So – we’re starting a new series – I’ll report to you great – can’t live without it ”stuff” – you try it out, and tell me what you think. We report back to the group regarding what works and what does not work. This is sort of like the theme of the “secret shopper” who provides retailers with brutal candor regarding their experience buying in the retailer’s store.

First up: you are flying from where to where? Now do you see that crazy- looking woman waddling down the aisle and probably suffering from a.) tourettes, or b.) a nervous bowel disorder? Where do you think she is going to sit? Yup – you just know it, don’t you. Sort of like when the toast with jam falls to the floor – which side will it land on? To protect yourself from this sort of scene, consider this great service (which is free): Seat Guru.  

And do you remember, as a kid, discovering a cool new place – a cave – a place in the woods that no one else knew about (obviously I didn’t grow up in NYC)? Check this out: Click Here 

As products come off that assembly line and get FDA approval, employers (many of whom you may have never heard of and who don’t yet have an HR group) are seeking. . . you got it: top Medical or Pharma sales reps. You definitely want to approach these companies BEFORE they start posting for jobs. Get on the phone and call them today – before someone else does.

Happy hunting – I’m reviewing more “Cool New Stuff” for my next report. Let me know what you find.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water – we reviewed a sample resume from a major resume-writing firm and found 22 errors in the resume.

What is most interesting: those 22 errors are not subjective – they are undeniable and relate to four areas: grammar, punctuation, typos, and non-parallel sentence structure. Does anyone but that forever single and starchy English teacher of yours really care? Well, yes. In this day and age you must be pretty much flawless with your resume; you are competing against 300+ other applicants in many cases, so the difference between “good” and “great” is the difference between landing an interview and not landing an interview.

So, how do we find a great resume writer? I won’t bore you with the usual dribble (find a specialist, check references, etc.); here’s the “new stuff”:

1.) Make sure the resume writer has either an ACRW certification (Academy Certified Resume Writer; this is considered the hardest certification to get) or a NCRW (Nationally Certified Resume Writer; also very hard to get this certification).

The person who wrote the above-noted resume? She had no ACRW or NCRW. There are “other” professional resume associations and I think they are worth, well, warm spit. They need to be sterilized – you get the picture. I can’t imagine why they don’t send me Christmas cards. . .

2.) If we don’t get the reader to whisper “wow” in the first 15 seconds or so, we ain’t gonna get an interview. I am using the word “ain’t” here to see if any non- ACRW/NCRW’s call me. How do we get the “wow”? Here are some thoughts:

Challenges – show a challenge you overcame that is something similar to what the reader (an employer) is facing. Use terms like “Faced with. . .” or “Challenged by. . .” and DRAW UP THE MONSTER. This will resonate with a reader facing a similar monster today. They figure if you overcame this beast once you can do it again. 

Take the test: want to scare yourself? Take a look at your current resume; I bet you’ll find your current resume is 90% action statements, 10% results, and 0% challenges – this means we’re missing 1/3 of a story!

Another wow-inducing concept: numbers/stats. You should have at least 3-4 sales achievements that are so awesome the reader whispers wow. Don’t bury those stats in the resume; put them near the top – put them where the reader will spot them in the first 15 seconds.

Referrals/Endorsements. We no longer buy things the way we used to: we don’t buy a car because we saw a car commercial (that interrupted our evening) on T.V. We buy a car because we talked to someone who owns that car. Referrals are everything. As is trust. Just ask marketing guru, Seth Godin.

One of the best ways to get a “wow” is to put a very brief endorsement of yourself by either a Dr. (preferably a specialty Dr.) or a sales rep (who works within the industry niche you are targeting, e.g. Ortho) on your resume – probably up in that 15-second “window” at the top of the first page of your resume. Something like, “As a medical professional, I know what it takes to be an elite sales rep – Jane Doe has the traits of those elite performers and I know she’d be a great asset to your sales team.” – (Dr. XYZ).

Go kick some butt.

And I should say a “retained” recruiter. Let’s talk about the difference between retained and contingency recruiters as they are two different animals. You want to zero in on retained recruiters. These are the folks who typically sit physically with the HR group at larger employers (e.g. Medtronics). They are paid a salary – sometimes a commision based on performance as well. They are often 1099 contractors who represent a certain function – in our case, medical or pharma sales.

Contingency recruiters: some people are going to shoot me for what I am about to say, but what do I care – I live 10 minutes from my MIL so I like to live life on the edge. Contingency recruiters are much like travel agents. Remember travel agents? They were a middle man between you and the airlines. Now travel agents are pretty much gone from the scene – likewise with contingency recruiters – employers see them as middlemen who are cutting into their profits.

So, with our focus on getting found by retained recruiters, how can we get their attention? Here are 2 Great New Ways. 

1.) If you are submitting a resume for a posting at a major employer’s website, you will likely have your resume scanned into an HRIS system – this converts your Word document (which you probably sent by e-mail) into a digital form. So – in your cover letter – in the first bullet point of reasons that employer should consider you, write a 100% customized reason mentioning at least 3-5 very specific key words that are found in the job posting you now pursue.  Why? Because some poor person in HR will be handed the job description by their boss and told to go find candidates in the HRIS system. (By the way, I’ve done consulting on buying these systems with 2 major employers, so, yes, I really am a geek). That poor person in HR (let’s give them the moniker of PPHR), will plug in key words like: ortho, neuro, cardio, medical devices; perhaps names of major customers the employer is targeting; and “always” will be seeking someone based on a geographic element.) So, here’s a head’s up: if you live in Granville, OH, mention “Granville, OH (greater Columbus)” in your address because no one will likely put in “Granville” as in an HRIS key word search.

2.) Scratch my back and I’ll . . . Imagine being a recruiter seeing resumes come in all day when suddenly one resume comes in via e-mail with the subject header: “Seeking your Ortho Sales Role in NYC; can also help you find candidates” Would the recruiter notice? Yup; and they do – we’ve tested this. Get a group of people you are not directly competing against, and have them in your portfolio of potential “star” candidates to provide to the recruiter. You will get noticed; follow up with a phone call to the recruiter, “Yes, I am that 1 person in the last 3000 e-mails you got who offered to actually do something for you.” The word ‘altruistic’ comes to mind here – but, this is actually just smart relationship building.

Happy hunting. And remember: if you follow the rules of today’s job search, you will be invisable. Time to break the rules.