You've evaluated your current situation and your career prospects where you are. Whether it's more flexibility to work from home, a promotion, a higher salary, or the chemistry isn't right with your boss, whatever the reason, you are 90% sure you need to start looking for a new job. How exciting! So, what next?
Get yourself ready to market yourself!
Your CV is a good starting point.
Structure and present your CV/resume clearly - using consistent fonts and formatting styles. Use section headers, bullet points, and white space effectively.
Get into the STAR mindset – this is a great framework to base your CV on, but also getting you ready for applications and interviews for future steps. See an article on STAR here.
Profile Summary - A profile summary is your chance to make a solid first impression. Start with a concise statement about your professional background and expertise. Highlight your critical skills and accomplishments, and tailor them to the specific job you're applying for. Use action verbs and quantify your achievements whenever possible. Remember, it's about showcasing what you bring to the table.
Below are some points to consider when putting together a profile summary.
Start with a Strong Opener: Begin with a powerful statement that immediately communicates your commitment to MedTech and your value proposition.
Highlight Your Expertise: Mention your specialisation within MedTech (e.g., medical devices, diagnostics, health informatics, SaMD) to give the reader a clear understanding of your focus.
Emphasise Relevant Skills: List crucial technical and soft skills critical in the MedTech industry. This list could include skills like regulatory compliance, product development, quality assurance, proficiency in specific technologies or commercial value.
Showcase Achievements: Share specific accomplishments or projects that demonstrate your impact. Use metrics to quantify the results of your work.
Express Passion for Innovation: Highlight your enthusiasm for staying abreast of the latest advancements in MedTech and your commitment to contributing to cutting-edge solutions.
Demonstrate Team Collaboration: Mention your ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, emphasising the importance of teamwork in the MedTech development process.
Address Regulatory Compliance: If applicable, underscore your understanding of regulatory standards and your experience navigating compliance requirements in the MedTech industry.
Convey Commitment to Patient Impact: Emphasise your dedication to improving patient outcomes and how your work aligns with enhancing healthcare delivery.
Work history – a chronological career section with your most recent employment at the top
Quantifiable achievements - within each role are more important than a massive list of duties – can a client see how you added value to the organisations you have worked for? Think of the STAR technique (See above). Even if you haven't worked in a numbers-focused role, there are still ways to communicate your professional contributions to an employer effectively.
More detail in the last five years – is it that important what you did at Mcdonald's over 20 years ago? A job title, dates of employment and company name will suffice for roles further down unless it is relevant to the role you are applying for.
Academic summary – where you put this on your CV depends on the importance highlighted in the vacancy advert/JD.
How does your CV appear on a mobile? Some studies suggest that many job-related activities, including resume screening, occur on mobile devices. So it's worth checking how your CV looks on mobile.
Your LinkedIn profile.
It is common practice that prospective employees and recruiters use LinkedIn for roles they want to fill. So consider 1. Will you be found? 2. A profile that makes it attractive for them to approach you.
It is essential that your profile is up to date (arguably more than your CV, as it's always on show) and has relevant information.
Use your CV to help you with this (and visa-versa).
A key difference is limiting information to only achievements (less of the responsibilities under each position).
Click on "open to work" in settings. This feature will alert recruiters you are on the market without it being visible to your current employer.
Searching for Vacancies.
Remember, the more specific your criteria may be, the fewer options for vacancies you will get. In no particular order, see a list of job search activities to find relevant roles in Med Tech:
Google & Job board – as well as now having a jobs search filter, it will also highlight in the search results other job boards advertising your job titles.
Emedcareers (life science job board including MedTech and HealthTech)
LinkedIn – jobs section
Set up job alerts - so you receive relevant vacancies on these job boards.
Specialist Recruiters – start building rapport and get their feedback on your background and what you seek. They may give you helpful insight into how much you are worth and whether there are challenges with what you are looking for.
Make the most of your network – where have your old colleagues/friends gone? That boss you loved working for? Most would have updated their LinkedIn profiles with where they work. Reach out and find out how it's going, and explain you are keeping a lookout…you never know how the conversation may pan out.
Applications - Tailor and follow up
You've found a vacancy you want to apply for!
Some roles can attract dozens of applications, so 10 minutes' worth of work to tweak a CV and add a message/cover letter can make you stand out and make it easier for a recruiter/hiring contact to decide whether it is worth arranging a call with you.
For that same reason, it is worth following up on applications, especially if you can see you are a good match – call, send them a follow-up email, and a LinkedIn connection request with a message. Myself and other recruiters will always prioritise applications that have followed up with me, so I know this works!
To help organise your job search, you can use a spreadsheet or Teal https://www.tealhq.com/. This application uses a widget on your desktop that saves vacancies from job boards (including LinkedIn) to help you keep track of your applications. Very handy, worth a try and free!
To learn more about your job search journey, refer to the Indo Search Resources page.
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