Why you should never work for Stryker (the surgical equipment company)!
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.
Written by Peggy McKee - the medical sales recruiter
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5 Responses to “Why you should never work for Stryker (the surgical equipment company)!”
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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.
U.S.Surgical is now Corvidien.
Is it still “old wine in a new bottle” with regards to how they treat sales reps?
I read your article and I don’t aggree with your viewpoint. I’ve worked for a division of Stryker for over 2 years and I haven’t felt any pressure what so ever. As a matter of fact when I was hired on by my manager he told me it would take me at least 3 years to make an impact in my territory. It’s a demanding job but to be honest I like it and guess what I also find the time to be a fantastic father to my children! The culture is definitely changing within certain divisions of Stryker including the one I work under. Great company with great products….what more could you ask for. I appreciate your insight but it isn’t entirely true. Never once have I felt like this experience has “ruined” my abilities.
Thanks,
Aaron
Zero Fail!
Peggy ,
How utterly short sighted . Stryker is a huge global organization so to suggest all Stryker sales people are a no-no in your eyes is , well, quite frankly, your loss. There exists in all sales companies a system of letting go those who do not fulfill their contractual obligation. Noone has been fired from Stryker in the way you have described .
I have worked for Stryker, Zimmer and Depuy and theyre ALL THE SAME .. large multinational corporations with a duty to the share holders..
I new work in recruitment and some of the most highly skilled people have come from Stryker with plenty of energy to tackle new challenges .
Think about what you say .. “When I see ”Stryker” on a resume, I don’t want to even talk to the person” is a dreadful approach .
Good luck . you’ll need it with that attitude
Dave R
Stryker hires the best of the best. The days of the 20% growth or you are fired is over. I currently work for Stryker and I love the people I work for and the culture of Stryker. My manager inspires me, my co workers truly work as a team. The job is very hard and has a lot of stress associated with it. But in todays market what job isnt facing the same situations. At least at Stryker I do not have to worry about a lay off. I do not get how you can say that you wouldnt hire a Stryker Rep. Yes we make a lot of money but we hunt what we kill. The reason why we are making that much money is because we are bringing that much profit to the organization. So why cant we feel that we are worth the money we make? It is a full commission gig. Are you going to hate on Bill Gates for being a billionaire because he went out on a limb and took a chance and created Microsoft Corp? With big risks come big rewards and that is the Stryker way. Its simple sales 101! People who have an issue with Stryker are either people who got passed on during the process or are jealous that they will never have the earning potentials that we do. Please dont hate on Stryker. Its truly foolish of you!