How will the 2,000 workers who are or will be eliminated from Medtronic find jobs? Here are some tips.

May 22, 2013

2 Min Read
Here are Some Job Hunting Tips For Those Who Lost or Are About to Lose Their Jobs At Medtronic

Medtronic may have wowed analysts and shareholders by beating expectations regarding its quarterly job performance Tuesday. But that's small comfort to the 2,000 workers globally that are no longer going to be employed by the device maker.

Medtronic made that announcement as part of its earnings report Tuesday. Most of the job losses have already occurred. Others will happen soon in the company's new fiscal year. 

As Medtronic reaps the benefit of not having to pay their salaries, what should these workers do to land on their feet? Here are some tips:

Build a Social Resume

An overwhelming majority of employers are now looking for candidates using social media. So, build a resume that can go to work for you. If you don't have a profile on LinkedIn, get one and pronto. If you can sell and/make devices for diseases and procedures that most people can't pronounce, it won't be that hard to create a LinkedIn profile. Or for that matter Facebook and Twitter.

But even better, use the power of web technology to build a social, multimedia resume using video, audio, charts. Here are some sites that can help you do that - VisualCV.com, ResumeSocial.com, Razume.com and Ziggs.com.

Join an Appropriate Networking Group

The LinkedIn Medical Devices Group is a large professional networking group of people in the industry that specifically answers questions from time to time on careers. Join the group and begin to participate.

If you search the group using the word "career advice," you should be able to find a post by group owner Joe Hage, who provides a link where all recruiters who want to be contacted provide their information. The link should appear as http://www.medgroup.biz/MedDevRecruiters but unless you join the group, you are unlikely to be able to access the page.

Remember that the long-term unemployed may not find recruiters to be too helpful. In this case, contact companies directly.

Don't Panic and Withdraw but Engage

Managing your emotions is a big part of losing your job. Panic and depression are natural responses but you would fare better if they were controlled. Instead make yourself visible in a smart way. Instead of firing off 10,000 emails to everyone you know, find ways to engage online that makes yourself known to people who might not even know you.

Twitter may prove fruitful here. Find Twitter hashtags that are appropriate for you. For instance, if you were in a sales position, a twitter hashtag worth following and participating in is #medsales. Twitter is great in that it is a source of information as well as an avenue to communicate your expertise concisely. Use it.

-- By Arundhati Parmar, Senior Editor, MD+DI

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