Posted By: Ralph on July 31st, 2009 | No Comments
This is one of those tricky and touchy subjects that no one likes to discuss, AGE!
The truth is this, although we would like to believe that “the age factor” should have nothing to do with whether you get consideration most companies do care.
If you’re making a 180 degree career change (example) spent 18 years in Industrial Widget Sales and you want to transfer those skills to Medical Sales it’s probably not going to happen unless the hiring manager is your brother-in-law.
It has been my experience that the “un-written rule” is generally mid 30’s OR 10-12 years removed from college as a benchmark no matter what your track record or field.
It’s not that anyone feels you can’t learn or do the job it’s simply a matter of FIT. Most hiring managers feel the person that fits better regarding money being offered, different sales habits and style, overall chemistry with the sales team is dependent on age.
Even though you bring great sales experience, desire and determination there are younger jobseekers that possess what’s necessary. The rule is that if a company (in their mind) is going to train their new hire then previous experience to determine as to whether you can get the job done is based on your performance over the past 3-4 years.
Now there’s always the exception to the rule and over my 30 years in recruiting I have seen people outside the norm get hired, usually a personal referral, great chemistry or simply in the right place at the right time.
I always advise people that it can happen but have plan B working also. If you’re reading this and it applies my suggestion is to broaden your search base and you just never know what can happen.
If you can share any stories or experiences on this subject please sign in and use the comment area.
Ralph Steeber, CPC
Posted By: Ralph on July 23rd, 2009 | No Comments
Are you a new jobseeker wanting to break into medical sales but finding it hard? Well, maybe you’re not looking in the right places. If you can’t secure interviews with major pharmaceutical and hospital device companies maybe you ought to explore the “Specialty Markets”
Over the past few years a number of specialty market areas have developed. They allow jobseekers the opportunity to begin a career in healthcare by entering thru the side or back door without “the perfect education and sales experience”.
Two of the fastest growing of these specialties are the nursing home and home care industries. Today there are 80 Million people in the “baby boomer” generation who 
are between 55-62 years old. In the next 3-10 years, these people will be reaching retirement age.
Services directed to this group are IV infusion, nutritional care, skilled nursing services, rehabilitation therapy, dialysis treatment, and peritoneal services to name just a few. New services and products are constantly being developed to take advantage of this trillion dollar market.
Another growing segment is the durable medical equipment marketplace. This market is generally retail operation with both inside and outside representatives.
Products such as specialty beds, wheelchairs, walkers, ventilators, surgical and medical supplies.
New area keep developing because as technology advances. Insurance and goverment are constantly changing guidelines; they want products and services that save money.
So OPEN YOUR EYES to the specialty markets, IT JUST MIGHT SURPRISE YOU!
Posted By: Ralph on July 14th, 2009 | No Comments
great article for us on the cell phone all day!
By MADISON PARK, CNN.COM
If your pinkie and ring fingers tingle or feel numb, you might not want to pick up that cell phone to call the doctor.
“I thought: ‘I’m turning old and falling apart,’ ” Malloy said.
Constant cell phone use could “stress out the ulnar nerves,” said Dr. Leon Benson, an orthopedic surgeon and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The ulnar nerve, which travels through the forearm and branches into the hand, can become weakened and scarred after being stretched repeatedly.
“The more you bend it, the more it stretches,” Evans said. “It diminishes the blood supply, and the blood is not flowing through the nerves.”
While the nerves are designed for stretching, “it’s not normal to be in a position to be stretched for an hour,” Benson said.
People with severe cases of cubital tunnel syndrome, like Malloy, require surgery. But most cases require simple behavioral changes. The condition is not as common as carpal tunnel syndrome, which affects nerves in the wrist.
This doesn’t mean that cell phone use is dangerous, doctors said.
“It’s like anything else, any sporting activity,” Benson said. “You can hit balls at the driving range — just don’t hit 300 of them, because you’ll be sore. So common sense would dictate not to talk on the phone for hours if your small and ring fingers go numb.”
After surgery, Malloy said her hands are “fine now. It doesn’t bother me.” She still talks on her cell phone, but she uses a Bluetooth headset.
Cubital tunnel syndrome doesn’t affect only cell phone addicts.
Elderly people who rest their elbows on the arm of a chair can develop the syndrome, as can truckers and people who use wheelchairs who lean on their elbow, Evans said. Some people who sleep curled in a fetal position with their elbows overly bent can develop the syndrome. Another factor could be occupational. People who type in front of a computer, with their elbows bent tighter than 90 degrees, could damage their nerves.
Bending the elbow tighter than 90 degrees for an extended period of time will stretch the ulnar nerve by 8 to 15 percent, Evans said. The remedies are simple.
– Avoid activities that require the elbow to be bent tighter than 90 degrees.
Too much cell phone use can lead to overextending nerves, causing what doctors call “cell phone elbow.”
Orthopedic specialists are reporting cases of “cell phone elbow,” in which patients damage an essential nerve in their arm by bending their elbows too tightly for too long.
When cell phone users hold the phone to their ears, they stretch a nerve that extends underneath the funny bone and controls the smallest fingers. When talkers chat for a long time in that position, it “chokes the blood supply to the nerves. It makes the nerves short-circuit. The next thing you know, there’s tingling in the ring and small finger,” said Dr. Peter J. Evans, the director of the Hand and Upper Extremity Center at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
When that happens, the advice is simple: Switch hands — before it gets worse.
