Melanie Anderson

I am originally from Bay Area, California, but I moved to Arizona four years ago to attend college. I am a recent college graduate from Arizona State University where I worked as a sales and marketing intern for a start-up tech company and held a leadership role in Greek life. Shortly after completing my Bachelor?s of Science and becoming a first-generation college graduate, I attended Medical Sales College, with a specialization in Extremities and Othopaedic Reconstruction & Trauma.

There are three things that are most important to me in a job: Ability for personal and professional growth, competition, and both a challenging and stimulating job. I had done my research and talked to many individuals who have worked in the medical device industry for years, each of them stating how this line of work will not only check each of those three boxes, but exceed my expectations. I could not be more excited to get my foot in the door and dominate my territory utilizing the education from MSC.

I was referred by a graduate.

After researching more about the medical device sales career path and connecting with those in the industry, it was clear how competitive the market is and the difficulty it may be to get your foot in the door. I thought that MSC would give me the leverage and foundational understanding of what is necessary to know before entering this next chapter of my life!

I attended Medical Sales College with a specialization in Extremities and Orthopaedic Reconstruction & Trauma. What I obtained from this education was a greater understanding of what is to be expected by someone working in the role of a medical device sales representative, an introduction to dynamic consultative selling, and a range of products and procedures needed to know and master for this specific field in the industry. I also intensely studied and experienced various degrees of product presentation, surgeon profiling, and product assessment offered by various companies.

I think I not only made an investment for my career and also in myself by attending Medical Sales College. I was investing in something that I was truly passionate about and saw it as something that would help push me to land my dream job.

The entire process took about two months from the initial phone screening with HR to receiving the offer letter. The initial phone screening was about 30 minutes long with one of their HR representatives, who then sent me forward in the process to have a phone interview with one of the territory managers. The interview with the first territory manager went great! I was then sent onto the next round of interviews, which included an in-person lunch with the Territory Sales Manager. The next step was to participate in a ride-along with one of their warehouse drivers. It included driving around to 8 hospitals in the Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe area, dropping off and picking up surgical trays. This was followed up by another in-person interview with the territory manager. At this interview, I was informed that the last step in their hiring process was to create a sales presentation and present it to their entire Phoenix sales staff in the following weeks. This presentation included an overview of a specific procedure and the clinical advantages it makes, key NuVasive messaging around this procedure, a competitive product overview, a 90/180/365 Sales/Development plan, and a "Why should we hire you?" section. After fulfilling the needs of my presentation, I heard the news that they were offering me the job a few weeks later!

I think the most valuable piece of information I learned was understanding what it takes to be a part of this industry. Medical Sales College helps individuals build confidence in themselves and their ability to work in such a competitive market. After going through the 12 week course, participating in various product presentations, journal article analysis, etc. I felt that I had the skills needed to be a successful individual in the industry.