The 3 Most Common Problems for Job Hunting C-Level Medtech Executives

Since executive search became part of my service mix seven years ago, it's been my pleasure to meet some of the medical device industry's best and brightest leaders from startups, SMEs, and strategics.

Getting to see them on all sides of the talent table - as members of the hiring committee, executive candidates, prospective Board members, and references for candidates - gives me insight into their own unique characters and processes, which is endlessly fascinating.

It also affords me an opportunity to see patterns in perspectives that may not be apparent or understood by the stakeholders themselves.

Three common perspectives of hiring committees that I encounter regularly can be problematic and frustrating for executive candidates who can't understand why they're not getting C-suite offers despite their obvious talent and experience.

Here they are, and how to solve them:

1. You're a strategic lifer: startup hiring committees get twitchy when considering candidates who have little stealth/startup/SME experience. Their biggest fear is that you're going to roll in with big medtech energy that isn't agile enough to stick handle the typically shorthanded startup medtech melée on a tight budget. The exception to this is if you were a C-level or SVP at a strategic. The cachet and connections you bring to the table cancel out that fear neatly. If you're not among those rare few, you'll need a few tactics to quiet the quakes: A.) Volunteer or Mentor a startup; B.) Go to startup funding events and immerse yourself in the culture so you can demonstrate understanding and use the language that signals your familiarity with the scene; C.) Get active online, answering questions on Reddit or in startup groups; D.) In your introductory calls, congratulate them on their milestones to date and mention one or two specific hurdles inherent to the space that they've overcome; E.) Reference other startups in the space and their milestones, similarly.
2. You've gone off the radar: t'is the curse of comfort. Most medtech executives' comfort zones do not extend to self-promotion, especially online. CTOs and COOs tend to hunker down into their roles, never to be seen again, while CEOs and CFOs only emerge to conduct quarterly investor calls or drum up funds at roadshows and pitch events. I was bemused when a Board Director of a tiny startup in a very modest medtech hub exclaimed that a candidate couldn't be that great because he'd never heard of him! But that's medtech; very cliquey. So you're going to have to get known. The best way to do this expediently is to A.) Commit to going to 1-2 events per month (and talking to people); B.) Posting or commenting in device and/or region specific Linkedin medtech groups; C.) Participating in some collaborative showcase or webcast events. These are table stakes. If you really want to command your value, you'll want to build industry authority through media interviews, podcasts, and speaking engagements.
3. You've got nothing to hang your hat on: I've no doubt you've been a solid executive but if you don't have specific wins that hiring committees can clock as evidence of prowess, you're hooped. Obviously the all-star hooks are favourable exits, dramatic turnarounds, and massive capital raises. The public laurels for those achievements are usually worn by the CEO so if you're a CFO/COO/CTO you're going to need to carve out your role in the glory. A.) Determine at least one critical contribution you made to the success and figure out how to convey it as a technique or framework; B.) If you have no such corporate glory in your career history, choose three specific instances in which you mitigated disaster, cleaned up a mess, or developed a process that had a tangible, positive outcome; C.) Figure out a way to package those separate achievements together as a special talent, technique, or framework that is unique to you.

Obviously there are myriad reasons why otherwise well suited executive candidates don't get the offer but the three above seem to come up in almost every search I've done. While #1 is often not too difficult for hiring committees to identify and articulate, the second two are less so and often require some teasing out and diplomatic discussion.

Given the volume and pace at which many executive search professionals work, it's very much in your best interest to understand and mitigate those negative perspectives rather than relying on headhunters to do it for you!

This article is from my Linkedin newsletter, Medtech Executive Life, where I share tips to enhance your industry authority, news to give you a competitive edge. You can subscribe here.