Why you should never work for Stryker (the surgical equipment company)!

From Medical Sales Recruiter Tips & Quips | August 5, 2009

Stryker
is a surgical equipment/instrument company (like Guidant, Sklar, Roboz,
Millenium, and others).  For me as a medical sales recruiter, Stryker
stands out.  The reason I believe that you should never work for
Stryker is that I have never seen anyone have a long-term relationship
with them in my 17+ years in the medical sales industry.  They don't
invest in their people, they don't promote well, and they don't have a
problem firing people-I think they pink-slip the bottom 25% almost
every quarter.  You might say, "Well, I'm better than the bottom 25%,
so I don't have a problem."  But, there are circumstances that can
easily be beyond your control-for example, maybe there's a GPO (Group
Purchasing Organization) or some other group organization your hospital
belongs to...if they sign a contract with another vendor, then they quit
working with you.  You did nothing to cause that, and you have no
control over it, but it makes a massive difference in your sales
territory numbers.  All of a sudden, you drop to the bottom 25%, and
you're let go.  Is that the kind of commitment you want from a company
that you work for and invest sweat, blood and tears for?  I don't think
so.

Surgical companies do pay tremendous amounts of money, if you do
well at it.  However, you have to be able to be in the surgical suite
at 5AM in order to be available to surgeons, and those surgeons are a
pain in the tail.  They (mostly) have egos as big as Texas, and they
expect that you will pander to them.  And if you don't, they have 3 or
4 vendors sitting right behind you who will.  (Story:  I had a friend
who went to work for one of these companies-for a year and a half,
although he no longer works there.  He did make $300,000, but he also
said that was the year his hair turned gray.  He had no family life, he
felt stressed the entire time, and he felt as if the competition was
right on his heels.  You could say that's just him, but that's some
tremendous job stress for anybody.)

When I see "Stryker" on a resume, I don't want to even talk to the
person.  In my mind, they're somewhat "ruined."  They've been able to
make very big money, and they will always think that's what they're
worth, in any job.  In reality, they aren't worth that unless they can
continue to work at that particular pace, selling that particular
product, dealing with that particular nasty little customer-surgeons.

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One Response to "Why you should never work for Stryker (the surgical equipment company)!"

1. 
   
   
   Steve Dill
   on
   August 6th, 2009 11:13 am
   

   Peggy,
   I read your article regarding Stryker with a smile on my face. What you
   say about their corporate culture is absolutely true. And, your
   feelings are shared by many recruiters. Stryker and the former surgical
   company named U.S. Surgical wrote-the-book on the old
   "churn-'em-and-burn-'em marketing philosophy regarding their sales team.

   
   

   However, one positive aspect of hiring a former Stryker rep,
   especially one who has been able to survive for 2-3 years at Stryker,
   is the fact that these individuals are self-starters, who have proven
   that they could excel in a very demanding sales environment in which
   they had to pay their own expenses and thrive with very little
   home-office support. Just a positive to consider.