Medical Device News and Careers

Sometimes finding the best employees for your medical device company may feel like you’re looking for a needle in a haystack. By carefully using behavioral interviewing techniques you can tap into their behavioral characteristics and traits that you believe are necessary for the job or position you have.

When you draft your job description, determine what traits and characteristics your ideal candidate will exhibit to be successful in the position. A great place to start is to begin with your best employees. What kind of behavior do they exhibit on their best days? What type of skills do they bring to their job?

Whenever possible, screen your candidates in person or by video conference. You will get a feel for their personality and behaviors in these ways much better than if you conduct only a telephone pre-screening interview or read through their resume. When you are interviewing them, make sure to refer to these desired behaviors and to ask questions from a prepared list. Switching between traditional and behavioral interview questions will give a predictable structure to your meeting but will also give you a chance to make comparisons between answers and approaches of your interviewees.

Here are a sample of keywords used to describe behavioral characteristics:

• Adaptable
• Articulate
• Accountable
• Listener
• Energetic
• Focused
• Enthusiastic

Here are a sample of questions you can use for behavioral interviewing:

• Tell me about a time when __________
• Give me an example of when ____________
• Out of this list of five qualities, which three do you think is most important and why?
• Please tell me about your approach when ___________
• How have you handled situations like ________________

Many companies have started to realize that employees that know how to handle themselves at work not only increases efficiency and ultimately the bottom line, but also decreases liability as well. In the medical device field you find many knowledgeable scientists, engineers, marketers, accountants, and more. However, understanding complex concepts in regards to the medical device industry is only the beginning to being successful in the workplace.

“From showing empathy and optimism to extreme self-awareness to knowing what’s going on around them, these vital competencies are an integral part of a progressive organization,” says Carole Nicolaides, author of “A Leadership Wake-Up Call.

Although soft skills aren’t learned in the classroom nor are they taught in labs, they are indicative of a hyper-aware employee who demonstrates attention to details. That’s someone you want on your staff. “The use of these skills is what elevates your organization above the competition.”

In demonstrating awareness of skills like proper etiquette, attention to detail, attention to protocol and appreciation of the chain of command, hiring managers of medical device companies can quickly differentiate refined candidates who will add more than just quantifiable value to their staff.

If you are looking to add some very skilled people to your staff, let Ncompass Recruiting Services know!

When you are looking for a new job in the sciences or engineering, the differences between a resume and a CV can be jarring. For most other jobs that don’t require a lot of detailed information on your academic training and technical expertise, a resume will suffice. However, if you are competing for a medical device job, you will need to prepare a curriculum vitae that is detailed, honest, and accurate.

Here are some suggestions about what information to include in your CV:

1. Contact information.

2. Academic background. Make sure you list this in reverse chronological order from most recent to least recent. List your degrees, majors, minors, theses, dissertations, titles, and honors if applicable.

3. Professional licenses and/or certifications.

4. Academic or Teaching experience. If you were a TA or a research assistant on projects, this is a great place to detail your work experience.

5. Technical and/or specialized skills.

6. Professional development, such as workshops or conferences you’ve attended or participated in.

7. Publications or scholarly activities: if you’ve been published or cited in a journal or magazine, this is a great place to link to those articles.

The medical device field is highly specialized and requires a very specific skill set, no matter what field you may approach it from: mechanical engineering, software engineering, marketing, research, accounting, etc. There are opportunities all around the country and many of them are highly concentrated here in the San Francisco Bay area.

While your copious amounts of academic experience may seem like a job “slam dunk” for many outside the field, for the medical device industry, that is really just the beginning. There is a lot more to finding a job than just having experience! Here are some tips for you as you look for your next move in the medical device industry.

Structure a Proper CV: Knowing what information to include and what order to put it in is crucial. Communicate with your headhunters to ensure that your information is formatted in a way that makes it easiest for them to find the most important information quickly. Include your contact information, academic experience, relevant work experience to the industry, professional certifications, journals and publications, grants, service, consulting, and volunteer work.

Hire a Headhunter: NCompass Recruiting Services helps you find the right position that matches your skills and qualities. We do it with integrity and the highest level of quality placements in mind. We don’t just want to place you in any job — we want to place you in the best job that’s available for you right now.

Brush Up on Interview Skills: The art of the interview is especially difficult to master. Practice speaking about your field and what you do on a daily basis. Network with folks outside of your field so that you get a lot of experience explaining complex scientific concepts as concisely as possible. If you need extra help you can enlist the help of headhunters. Call ahead to set an appointment and let them know that you want just five minutes of their time for a quick interview session. If you have friends in the medical device industry, let them know too!

Regardless of how you choose to go about finding a job in the medical device industry, don’t give up on your dream to help others. The medical device industry is lucrative and rewarding for those who put the right amount of time and effort into their job search. Don’t forget that NCompass can help you find the right medical device job! Contact our skilled staff for more details.

A medical device company is seeking a property-tax abatement to offset costs associated with a $1.1 million expansion of its facility at 3735 N. Arlington Ave in Indianapolis.

The Metropolitan Development Commission will hear the request from New York-based Greatbatch Medical Inc. at its Wednesday afternoon meeting.

Greatbatch expects to create eight jobs at an average wage of $12.75 an hour and retain 146 jobs at an average wage of $14 an hour, according to the abatement request.

The expansion is expected to make room for additional assembly areas and improve shipping and receiving capabilities, the company said. Greatbatch also expects to purchase water-jet, Swiss-lathe and laser-manufacturing equipment.

The commission estimated the $1.1 million investment would result in an annual increase to the tax base of about $440,000 of assessed value. Greatbatch should save about $52,000 in property taxes during the seven-year abatement period.

Greatbatch specializes in cardiovascular products but is expanding into the orthopedics market, which is prompting the expansion, the company said.

via Medical device firm eyeing Indianapolis growth | Indianapolis Business Journal | IBJ.com.