A Case Study for anyone who's been under a toxic work environment.
(actually)
And how one of my clients went from I'll do anything to get out of here to landing interviews (with the companies she wanted) in ONE WEEK with a better resume and the 5-5-5 Networking Strategy.
(that is, admittedly, a VERY long subtitle ;) But hey, I know you're breaking down white papers all the time...so let's get to this case study...)
For six months, she was stuck.
Let's call her "Alex".
Now listen, there are a lot of "toxic work environments" out there but let me paint you a picture of the pharma h-e-double-hockey-sticks where you don't want to be. Ever.
A field reimbursement manager and single mom, Alex wasn't being paid for an additional role thrust upon her after a colleague quit.
Just as you'd expect, it required her to travel twice as much. So, they gave her a company car... wait, nope.
So, they put her up in low-end Marriotts... oh, actually no.
Travel or food expenses? ... uhm, still no.
Instead, they encouraged Alex to pack her lunch (for a few days), then stuck our hardworking, big-hearted Alex in cheap motels with no food or expense allowance and had to be picked up and dropped off by the reps to said motel in the area every. single. day.
Reps who often had been drinking before the drive.
Yes, illegal.
Yes, scary.
No, not worth fixing.
Anyway...she was doing two jobs and paying for childcare due to the extra travel, money was tight and she was working more than ever -- not to mention applying to every possible job on Linkedin.
>> by the way, if you're in this situation now, hit reply and let's talk <<
If you're a working parent, you know this mental anguish.
If you're not a parent, you know what I mean, too.
And then, like a gum-on-your-shoe surprise -- up sprouts carpal tunnel. 🎁
For which, she'd put off the surgery she needed, feeling competely unwilling to even share that with her employer out of anticipation of the PIP or firing that would ensue. She was likely right.
Every day was a draining, scrapping, seatbelt-of-a-stranger-gripping journey and she was scared -- and miserable.
What's worse, she's an excellent field reimbursement manager and despite actively searching for new opportunities, it was crickets.
The job boards led to dead ends, and the lack of responses made her feel invisible.
This is when she called me in tears.
"Claire, I will do literally anything, just please get me out of here."
To put it simply, Alex had triple challenge:
- Owning and telling her value
- Short on time, bandwidth, and cash
- Confidence and hopelessness had taken over
This is where we come in -- with a plan you can keep in your pocket, too.
1. Owning and telling her value
On paper, she showed her history and results -- but she was light on:
> how she gets them repeatedly
> what market + companies she gets them for
> what vision of results she can set for those companies
You must rework your resume to convey value > activity.
We leveraged our Triple S System to knock this out.
2. Using the time she did have on high-ROI job search activities
(namely, systematic networking)
She leveraged her new 'value-packed resume' to land 3 interviews in a week.
Below is how she did it:
(And I want you to use and share this strategy, too.)
She stopped relying on job postings and started relying on people.
>> People were and are her superpower <<
To do this, Alex committed to my 5-5-5 networking strategy, reaching out to 15 people a day—five from each of these 3 categories:
✔️ People she knew in the past
✔️ People she knows now
✔️ People she wants to know
3. Confidence Restored 😅
She had a plan and worked 'the plan'
Confidence overcomes hopelessness when you have a plan. Particularly when you feel like you've "reached out to everyone, Claire, and now I'm out of people."
I get it. I do!
Alex put these people on a 'follow up plan' because the fortune is in...
(I know you're already saying it in your mind)
:-)
If this sounds like sales, you're right.
In sales, you don't touch the customer one time. The same as you don't knock one time if you want someone to let you into their house.
If I had a crystal ball, I'd wager you make multiple touchpoints, right?
- You research
- Focus on them
- Then reach out
- Start to build rapport
- Send multiple messages
- Repeat check-ins and follow ups
- When you're job searching, you're moving people through your sales funnel to buy -- you -- for 6-figures a year in medical sales!
Knock, knock (...knock, knock, knock! oh hello!)
Your job search is a sales funnel.
Opportunities at the top
Get them in the funnel
Qualify those leads
Nurture the best
Close the deal
So what happened to Alex?
Alex did these things and had 3 interviews lined up within the week.
THREE
After months of nothing.
*and I've got dozens and dozens of stories just like hers.
Moral of the story:
✔ Build the plan and work the plan so people to think of you first, whether it's:
... medical sales, diagnostic, oncology, pharma, AI health, healthtech, med device, medtech, wearables, biotech, disposables, you name it!
(and hey if you didn't before, now you have a plan!)
tl;dr
If you’re stuck in a job search that’s going nowhere, stop refreshing job postings and look hard at your value on paper.
Then, start reaching out to people -- and commit.
The 5-5-5 strategy works because you become the hidden job market —that's where most great opportunities live.
Stick with it past the awkward first week. Push through the slow second week. And by week three, watch what happens.
So, who will you reach out to today?
—
Claire Davis
To your great success,
PS – Want individualized guidance restructuring your networking approach? Simply reply 5-5-5 and we can do it together.
Not in medical sales? Not your cuppa tea? That’s okay! Unsub below and don’t worry, we can still be friends on LinkedIn. Rooting for you either way!
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