Opportunities are everywhere for professionals in the medical devices industry. The landscape has grown significantly in the last couple of years, driven by higher demand for technology and tools to enable incredible patient care through all stages of life.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global market for medical devices will hit around $657.98 billion by 2028. As the technology available to medical professionals evolves, the demand for talented people who can manage these devices grows too.

If you’re ready to start developing your medical devices career in 2022, you’re in the perfect position to take advantage of the skill shortages and new opportunities in the market. Here’s what you need to know to get started.

Start by Finding your Ideal Role

The first step in developing a plan for your medical device career is exploring your available job options. In the last few years, medical devices have emerged as essential components in the effective prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of disease and illness. Every year, these tools become increasingly more intelligent and compelling.

Depending on your preferred route in the medical devices space, you could end up travelling the world, working with the latest AI and disruptive technology, and influencing public health decisions.

Working with medical devices means operating, using, or interacting with any device intended to be used for medical purposes, such as products for:

• Diagnosing, monitoring, and treating disease
• Sustaining or supporting life
• Controlling contraception
• Providing patient data for better healthcare

Step 1: Consider Your Options

As a medical device expert, you can take on a range of jobs, including:

• Product specialist: Using experience in medical devices and sales to help improve the spread of crucial medical device products into facilities across a certain region.
• Procurement management: Responsible for effectively managing the logistics and procurement team, helping with the management of medical devices.
• Office manager: A professional working in the medical device industry, but also responsible for screening telephone calls and managing calendars for senior employees.

The right role for you will depend heavily on the kind of job you feel most comfortable in. For some people, an office manager role will combine medical device knowledge and people skills with the opportunity to work remotely, allowing for greater flexibility. Alternatively, a product engineer position might be ideal for someone with technical knowledge and a hands-on approach to work.

Step 2: Shake Off the Last Year

With an idea of what kind of medical devices role is suitable for you, you can begin to shake off the previous year and look forward to what’s ahead. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t learn from what’s happened in your career so far.

Consider what you’ve liked and disliked about your job opportunities up until this point. What kind of things would you like to carry forward into your medical devices job search?

If you have experience in sales, would a territory sales manager position give you the kind of responsibility you want from a new role? Do you want to focus on managing the running of the business rather than making sales?

Think about your long-term and short-term goals. For instance, what kind of medical devices position will you want to have in 10 years, and what do you need to do now to get yourself on the right path? Should you be looking into new training opportunities or a chance to gain experience?

Step 3: Update Your Personal Brand

With a good view of your short and long-term career goals in place, you can begin to work on your personal brand as an industry leader. Your CV and cover letter don’t just demonstrate your personal brand; it also shows through in what people can find about you online, in forums connected to medical devices, and on social media.

Audit your existing personal brand and ask yourself what kind of image you’re sharing with the world. Do you think your current identity would get you the job you want?

If you’re not sure you’re having the right impact with your personal brand, it might be a good idea to start working on your “USP”. Everyone brings specific skills and expertise to their role. What will make you a particularly valuable addition to a medical devices team? Maybe you have prior experience working with cutting-edge products, or you’ve helped other medical companies to reach their sales goals in the past. Make this evident in your personal branding.

Step 4: Expand Your Potential

After updating your personal branding, you can begin to look for ways to make your application to any future medical device jobs as appealing as possible. If you can’t get the exact career you want straight away, look at working in roles that can still give you a doorway into the industry.

You might start as an office manager in a healthcare sector if you want to be the office manager for a medical devices company later in your career. If you want to get involved with sales, start working on your sales skills with positions in virtually any selling environment, but try to focus as much as you can on the health and medical industry.

You can also take classes online, attend webinars, and even visit events to show your interest in the medical devices sector. Sharing stories online on how you’re pursuing your passions will make you more appealing to future employers.

Step 5: Get Connected

Being properly connected to the right people is essential in the medical devices industry. Networking with people in your industry will help you learn more about the sector and what it takes to succeed in your space. It’s also a chance to reach people who might help you find the job you want.

No matter where your medical devices career might take you, you’ll always find it much easier to get the job you want if you’re working with the right recruitment team. The best recruitment professionals will know how to make you stand out in the eyes of potential hiring managers.

Recruitment experts also have connections with clients who will be looking for people with your specialist set of skills, which gives you access to some fantastic opportunities.

What Next?

Reach out to Kinetic for help making sure you can apply to all the best medical devices roles available in your area. As a specialist in medical devices recruitment, Kinetic will help you to stand out when the time comes to find your ideal job. Reach us via phone (+971 (0)4 442 0921) or email!

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