Why I Quit Nursing After Making $75 Per Hour

0:00for that nurse that's making $115,000.

0:03What if in a year you can be making

0:06$200,000?

0:07What if you have a job where you can

0:10provide so much more for your family

0:11because you've got these great benefits?

0:14Sit down and ask yourself, what if? It

0:18is a grind. It is so fulfilling to see

0:21your hard work. And even if you aren't

0:24driven by numbers, I'm driven by both

0:27numbers and by what I can [music] do for

0:29my patients and how I can help people.

0:32And the fact that I get to do that every

0:34single day and touch so many more lives

0:36than I was doing as an ICU nurse, that's

0:38such [music] a phenomenal feeling.

0:40>> From nursing to well over six figures in

0:42medical device sales and now running at

0:45well over 100% to plan. Jessica, welcome

0:48to the podcast.

0:49>> Thank you. Thank you so much for having

0:50me. I'm so so happy to be sitting here

0:54today watching you come through the

0:56program being a part of New to Medical

0:58Device Sales and now breaking in with an

1:00amazing company and people are going to

1:03learn so much about you and what you

1:06went through to get into this industry

1:08and because you have a great story and a

1:09great background and it's going to be

1:11encouraging to a lot of nurses out

1:12there. But before we get too much into

1:16your story, tell us who is Jessica. So I

1:20am somebody that did not come from a lot

1:22of money. Always wanted to be in the

1:24medical field and I um you know wanted

1:28to be a surgeon actually but that just

1:30was in the cards. Um so uh you know

1:33because of money I decided to get into

1:35the dental field and then became a

1:38dental assistant and I work my way up to

1:40office manager. um never gave up that

1:43passion for trying to you know excel and

1:46trying to get my degree and so I put

1:49myself through nursing school and um and

1:51then along the way I had my own business

1:53that was was really successful and um so

1:56I was a ICU travel nurse for 5 years and

2:00that was that was amazing but um you

2:02know I think a lot of us nurses

2:05especially ones that are very driven

2:07like I I've always been um we get to a

2:09point where we're thinking okay what's

2:11next? What can I do? And a lot of us

2:14default to the nurse practitioner route

2:16or we default to maybe the manager

2:19route. And um I knew that I had to do

2:23something. So I did go to nurse

2:25practitioner school and um met some

2:28medical device sales reps on the way and

2:30that kind of led me to this next

2:32chapter.

2:33>> Yeah. Talk to me about nurse

2:35practitioner school because many people

2:37we talk to that are nurses either want

2:39to go office manager or they want to go

2:42be lead nurse or they want to go to

2:45nurse practitioner school to go be an

2:47NP.

2:48Talk to me be what made that decision

2:50for you to go start going to NP school?

2:53>> Yeah, like I said, you know, I I've

2:55always been very driven. um always had

2:57my side business and always wanted to um

3:00just see you know what could I do and

3:02and how far could I take my career and

3:06we just really there's not much other

3:08path to go besides the NP route or the

3:11manager route um but uh you know I

3:15always believed in education and so I

3:17ended up going the nurse practitioner

3:19route um and um yeah

3:22>> let's talk about the NP route the nurse

3:24practitioner route because many of the

3:26nurses we talk to, right, they either

3:28are saying, "Hey, I'm going to go be a

3:30lead, right, which then usually is not a

3:33good trade-off what we hear because it's

3:34more stress and the money usually

3:36doesn't make up for the more stress and

3:38hours that they end up working." Or they

3:40decide to go become a nurse

3:42practitioner, which is usually at least

3:43$30 to $50,000 for schooling plus

3:46anywhere from 18 to 24 plus months of

3:50time. And then all they did was buy an

3:53hourly job, right? because now they went

3:55into the debt and now it's an hourly job

3:58is how they get paid on their salary.

3:59Yes, a little bit more and now you spent

4:01two years getting it and then you're

4:03going to spend another couple years or

4:05more paying it all off. So now you're

4:07four, five plus years to just have

4:09another capped salary. So talk to me

4:12about you did that but then you actually

4:14saw some of the light and ended up not

4:16keep going with that.

4:18>> Yeah. Yeah. Know you're absolutely

4:19right. So, and that that was a big

4:21factor for me sitting back and thinking

4:24um am I really going to be happy in this

4:26role because it is an hourly job. Um

4:29unless you have your own practice and

4:33you know you're you're able to to grow

4:34your business that way. Um really you're

4:37just seeing patients every day and maybe

4:39you get a raise, maybe you get

4:41compensated on how many patients that

4:42you see, but there's no I think I would

4:46feel stuck. I would feel stuck like I

4:47felt as an ICU nurse. Um, even as a

4:51travel nurse, even having those

4:52opportunities. Um, I still knew that I

4:55don't want to do that again. I don't

4:57want to be in a position where I'm

4:59thinking, okay, what's what's next? I'm

5:01I'm done with this career. Let's find

5:04something that I can do long term that

5:06has so many endless opportunities.

5:09>> And you said you met some medical device

5:11sales reps during that process. Talk to

5:14me about that interaction. Yeah. Um, in

5:17the ICU, you know, we use so many

5:18different devices. Um, and so I came in

5:21contact with reps all the time and my

5:24interaction with them was that they were

5:27happy. They weren't burned out. You

5:30know, they were able to really um, you

5:33know, provide for their families. They

5:34were able to um, depending on the job

5:37make their own schedules and they were

5:39able to uh, really feel fulfilled

5:41because they were helping people. And

5:43that was something that I was very

5:46attached to being a a nurse was that I

5:49just wanted to help people. And um and

5:52it and that kind of dawned on me like,

5:54hey, wow, this is sounds like a

5:56phenomenal career. I can still do what I

5:59love, which is helping people every day.

6:00But it sounds like I really need to look

6:02into this a little bit more.

6:04>> Yeah. And many of the nurses we work

6:06with, it's funny, many of them either

6:08had their own business before or they've

6:11done some side hustles, right? They're

6:12not the person just sitting there just

6:14waiting. So, talk to me a little bit

6:16about you and your drive of not just

6:19doing nursing, right? You also had your

6:20own business and you you've made

6:22changes. Talk to me a little bit about

6:24that experience and then what eventually

6:26got you to go into nursing for five

6:27years.

6:28>> Yeah. Yeah. So, uh it was just a funny

6:30story. Um I've always been, you know, a

6:33girly girl, hair and makeup and all that

6:35good stuff. And um uh it was in 2008, my

6:39neighbor, she was getting married and

6:40she said, "Your hair and makeup always

6:42looks so great. Can you do my wedding

6:44for me?" And like um sure. Um I can do

6:49that. So I did her her hair and her

6:51makeup and it went so well that I got so

6:54many referrals from that and I just had

6:56to make a decision. Was I going to go

6:57ahead and roll with this and take it

6:59seriously? And me I I cannot do anything

7:03at 50%. it's either a no-go or it's

7:06110%. And so I did I got um you know got

7:10a uh an accountant and went ahead and

7:13established the business an LLC and

7:16built that up to a team and it was very

7:18successful. We um went to uh on site to

7:22all these weddings and events and was

7:24asked to be on Fox 45 morning show and

7:27that that was pretty cool. Um, and uh,

7:30unfortunately because of nursing, we had

7:32to work every other weekend. I couldn't

7:34do a lot of those events anymore. And

7:37um, so I had to actually actually give

7:39that up. And and and that's that's

7:42definitely something that I I had missed

7:44was being able to really see those

7:47tangible results from all your hard

7:50work. And it's very exciting because,

7:51you know, that's how medical device

7:53sales is is you're going to get get out

7:55of it as much as you get put into it.

7:57And I knew how that felt and that was

8:00something that I really was craving.

8:01>> Yeah. And what took you from that and

8:03like you always wanted to help people

8:05but then you went into nursing, right?

8:07Talk to me about that of like, hey,

8:09you're a driven individual, but you went

8:11into nursing and then you started travel

8:13nursing. Tell me kind of about that

8:14experience.

8:15>> Yeah. Yeah. So, um, you know, once

8:17again, even though the side business

8:19ended up kind of just happening and

8:21worked out great and I was pretty good

8:23at it, um, I I never never closed the

8:27door on pursuing what I always wanted to

8:30pursue even though I had the adversity

8:32of not uh, being able to afford it

8:35growing up and, you know, affording

8:37college. So, and like I said, if I put

8:40my mind to something, I'm going to do

8:42it. and I just really wanted to go back

8:44to school and fulfill that career in

8:47medicine. Um, and that was and at that

8:50point I was it was my second career. I

8:51was in the dental field before that. I

8:53was a little bit older. So, I just felt

8:55the return on investment for school was

8:58going to be more beneficial going the

8:59nurse route versus um going to medical

9:02school position.

9:04>> Yeah. And let's talk about that because

9:05you've made a couple changes, right?

9:06>> Yeah, I've made a lot of changes. you

9:08made some changes, but most people, and

9:10we were talking off air of most people

9:11will sit here and think, "Oh, I'm 25.

9:13I'm 28. I'm 32. My life is just this is

9:16what it is, right?" You've made multiple

9:19changes, right? What has led you to make

9:21those changes every time?

9:23>> It's just I I just, you know, you have

9:26this one beautiful life that God gave

9:29you and why not take advantage of the

9:34opportunities. And if you are uh not

9:37happy or if you are happy but you just

9:39want more I mean why not go and get it.

9:43Um you know I I I never wanted to look

9:48back and of course seeing a lot of

9:50unfortunate you know death and dying in

9:53that that process. And I never wanted to

9:56be um patient in that hospital bed

10:00looking back at their life saying I wish

10:02I had done this. I wish I had done that.

10:05I wasn't happy. But,

10:07>> you know, fear held me back. Whatever

10:08held me back. So, that was that was just

10:10never something that I wanted for

10:12myself.

10:13>> Yeah. And then you went into nursing.

10:15Talk to me a little bit. What did you

10:16love about nursing?

10:18>> Um, I just I loved the

10:21taking care of people. Well, I think

10:23there's just something that is just so

10:24satisfying to the soul to be able to go

10:27home and say, you know, there was

10:29somebody who was sick and of course in

10:31the ICU dying and I made a really

10:35important impact and I was in the ICU. I

10:38was able to actually save a life, you

10:40know, because we we do encounter that

10:42quite a bit and we are part of that team

10:44that does try to revive a patient if

10:46that does happen. And um it's just it's

10:49it's a different kind of feeling that I

10:52had than with dentistry um or even with

10:55my side business. It was it was pretty

10:57great. Um also I I just I love medicine,

11:01anything that has to do with the human

11:02body. I've always been uh you that

11:04weirdo kid that liked to watch um you

11:08know kind of gory like open heart

11:09surgeries or whatever whatever books I

11:12could get and the other kids are like

11:14and I'm like oh that's so cool. So I I

11:16always loved it.

11:17>> And so you did that. Then you also went

11:20traveling. And let's just talk about

11:21this because you also weren't one of our

11:23normal nurses who are only making, you

11:25know, 70 $80,000. You were doing well as

11:29a nurse. Can you just kind of talk to me

11:31about that of just being a travel nurse

11:33and the money that you were able to make

11:34there?

11:35>> Yeah, I I was really really fortunate.

11:37Um I I during the time of COVID, um I

11:40definitely hopped on that train, that

11:42travel nursing train.

11:44Um, and that gosh, we were making so

11:47much money back then. But um, I I kept

11:49with that and uh, because I I liked

11:52having that salary and and nice things.

11:54So, um, yeah, I as a travel nurse, they

11:58kind of were able to do local contracts.

12:01So, you instead of having to bounce

12:02around and I have to travel to this

12:05state or that state, you could stay

12:06local and just get contracted to the

12:08hospital. And that's what I did. Um

12:11gosh, I was making like 75 an hour um

12:14before I transitioned into medical

12:16device sales. So, it was I was making

12:18good money, but

12:19>> I just wasn't I wasn't fulfilled.

12:21>> Yeah. And let's talk about that because

12:22again, you were most nurses that are

12:24going to be listening to this be like,

12:25if I was making $75 an hour, I would

12:27have never left. But let's talk about

12:30why you ended up leaving. What made you

12:33want to start looking? and how we got on

12:35a conversation of like what made you

12:36start looking even though you were

12:38traveling and you actually got to stay

12:39somewhat local and you're making good

12:41money like what actually made you start

12:43looking into medical device sales from

12:45nursing.

12:46>> Yeah, it was it was kind of what we had

12:48talked about where I was reflecting on

12:50what's the next step? Um even though I I

12:53love nursing, I still feel like it

12:57wasn't fulfilling. I love that word

12:59fulfilling. Um, it wasn't fulfilling to

13:01me because, you know, just somewhat of

13:04how healthc care is these days, it it

13:07makes it very difficult to feel like you

13:11had an amazing shift and you did

13:14everything you could for the patient and

13:16it was it was a great day. There's just

13:18so many barriers to a excellent patient

13:21care and that was really starting to

13:23weigh on me. Um, I'm a a very dedicated

13:26person to, you know, to helping my

13:29patients and it was it was pretty

13:31devastating when I felt like, um, I just

13:35I wasn't making the difference that I

13:36thought I would make when I first became

13:38a nurse. Um, and so that's that was

13:41really the biggest factor for me looking

13:44into what's next.

13:46>> Yeah. And it's interesting because many

13:47of the nurses that we talk to who end up

13:49coming and joining the program then we

13:50get hired they always say that there's

13:51usually like a retirement of someone

13:53who'd been there for 20 30 40 years and

13:56they're like for me I wanted more. I

13:58didn't want to be the person there. I

14:00can't see myself doing that cuz I I'm

14:01only in year five or 10 right? talk to

14:04me a little bit about that because like

14:05you're saying is like hey you're looking

14:07for something that was more fulfilling

14:08like yes you're helping people yes

14:10you're helping change people's lives but

14:12also one thing that comes is they're

14:13like I'm on one to one or one to a

14:15couple compared to now you get to be on

14:17one to many you teach a surgeon how to

14:20do something they're going to go impact

14:22a bunch of people and so talk to me a

14:24little bit about that

14:25>> um yeah so it's when you think about it

14:28in the ICU you know we touch on we get

14:31to take care of um you know do sometimes

14:34three patients per shift. And um I just

14:37do it in medical device sales. You know,

14:39when you talk to that surgeon, that

14:41surgeon is going to go and he's going to

14:44take your device and take that, you

14:46know, education that you've given him

14:48and he's going to see all all of his

14:51patients all day long. And um so I think

14:54it's just a lot bigger impact. You get

14:57to to help more people. And that is what

15:01what makes it fulfilling for me.

15:03>> Yeah. It's what we've heard a lot of

15:04times and why we talk about it is many

15:06nurses talk to us about like, hey, I'm

15:08just having one-on-one or oneon-ree like

15:10you said,

15:11>> but like you said, if you go talk to a

15:13surgeon, a surgeon can go learn what

15:15you're using or the device and then go

15:18have hundreds if not thousands of

15:19surgeries in their career. And now if

15:21you're touching different lives in so

15:24many different aspects, that's where it

15:26comes into it. And it also talk to me a

15:28little bit about you know right now we

15:30kind of mentioned you're not a salaried

15:32employee like you also get commission

15:34and you are running that over 100% which

15:37only makes it more fun for you but talk

15:39to me about like how your hard work is

15:41actually paying off and how it can help

15:42your life as well.

15:44>> Yeah. Um, it's, you know, going back to

15:47when I had my business, like I said, you

15:50when when you own your own company and

15:52same thing, medical device sales, you

15:53whatever you put into it, um, you can

15:56get that back if you work really hard.

15:58Um, and seeing that return this uh,

16:02quarter was amazing. We worked really,

16:04really hard since since we've been

16:06there. Um, but that that's something

16:08that, you know, not a lot of jobs you

16:12can say, "Hey, I'm going to crush it

16:15this quarter. I'm going to crush it this

16:17year, and I I want to make this amount

16:19of money." You know, usually it's just

16:20hourly. So, you know, it's Yeah. It's

16:24just a little bit different in medical

16:25device sales, but it's in a great

16:28different way.

16:28>> Yeah. And many nurses think about, well,

16:32I'm not a salesperson. I don't want to

16:33go be a territory manager. And what we

16:35always have to talk is most of our

16:36nurses we don't get hired as full line

16:38reps. Some of them we do. Most of them

16:40we put in the clinical role or the

16:41clinical specialist role because that's

16:43more patient facing. It's the product

16:45specialist, right? Your quotas are

16:48different. You might be not having a

16:50dollar amount for your quota. You might

16:52have different things. Can you talk

16:54about just a little bit difference of

16:55like you're not the territory manager.

16:57You're not the full line sales rep for

16:59all my nurses. You are in a clinical

17:01role inside of medical device sales.

17:03talk to me a little bit about what that

17:05role actually entails.

17:06>> Yeah, the clinical specialist role is I

17:09recommend most nurses to go into

17:12clinical specialist because it's a lot

17:15of it's education. Um I go and I educate

17:18the accounts on new devices, educate

17:20them, do in services, see, you know, are

17:23you utilizing this device or this

17:25technology? What could I do to help you

17:27guys be more comfortable with it? That

17:29way we can get, you know, more benefit

17:30to the patients. Um, and then also it

17:34does take a little bit of that stress of

17:36having that bur uh the quota burden

17:39away because I know that can be very

17:41intimidating like you said nurses think

17:43I'm not in sales. Y

17:45>> um but if you think about it um we

17:49actually do a lot of sales every single

17:51day, little transactions. Uh you just

17:53don't really realize it. um you know,

17:55you're selling the patient on doing this

17:58type of treatment. You're selling the

17:59patient on let's get up out of bed,

18:01let's go sit in the chair, you know,

18:03you're you're educating the patients on

18:06their disease process. Um you're already

18:09doing all of these amazing things and

18:10you're working with the technology

18:12already. You probably know some of the

18:14devices in the ICU better than the rep

18:17that just got started um at that at that

18:19company. So, I think I think it is my

18:23most recommended role. If if any nurses

18:25come up to me and say, "Hey, you know,

18:27I'm thinking about getting into medical

18:28device sales." I think you should

18:30definitely look into clinical

18:30specialists.

18:31>> Yeah. And that's where we normally

18:33encourage all of our nurses and clinical

18:35backgrounds to start because we've

18:37talked about this. They also are like

18:38the best undercover salespeople out

18:40there. But I just want to put this out

18:42there for anyone listening. Most people

18:43don't like sales reps because they think

18:45it's used car sales. And I always just

18:47want to put this out there. used car

18:49salesmen, why they don't get a lot of

18:52love is because they sell you something

18:54you don't need, right? But in medical

18:56device sales, we're truly selling

18:58something that's going to change the

18:59patient's life, right? You're working

19:01with something. And so also, when you're

19:03talking to that surgeon, you're just

19:05positioning it. Maybe they use it, maybe

19:06they don't, but it's only from a need of

19:08it's going to change that patient's life

19:10or it's going to change the procedure so

19:11it makes a positive impact. And it's not

19:14hardcore selling like everyone thinks it

19:16is. So, I just want to put that out

19:18there for any nurses going to it. Also,

19:20the great experience you already have

19:21because like you said, you're selling

19:23the patients many times, but you're also

19:25talking to their family, which can be

19:26difficult at sometimes, and you can have

19:28very emotional interactions, right? But

19:31also, you talk to the surgeons, you sell

19:33the surgeons or the doctors that you're

19:35dealing with all the time as a nurse,

19:37and then you also know how to

19:38communicate with them, right? So,

19:39there's all of these great

19:41characteristics and experiences you all

19:43have that we can actually put into the

19:46interview process. But, let's talk about

19:48the interview process because most

19:50people don't understand it can be 5 to

19:52seven interviews, 6 to 12 plus weeks,

19:55and you can go up 500 plus people,

19:57right? And so, it's not a normal, hey,

20:01I'm a nurse. I have a certification and

20:04I can say a sentence, so I'll probably

20:05go to get a job somewhere. It's you're

20:08coming into a career that by joining

20:10will put you in the top 10% of Americans

20:12in the in financially income, financial

20:15income, and also you're in something

20:17that has trajectory for growth. You get

20:20a lot of benefits, right? They can give

20:22you a car, pay for your gas, they can do

20:23a lot of that stuff. And let's talk

20:26about that process. So, we started

20:28working together. Let's talk about what

20:31made you want to go get a mentor instead

20:34of just going and trying it on your own.

20:36Well, I think uh a lot of your students

20:38like myself do try it on their own and

20:41find out very quickly that uh like if

20:44you're on LinkedIn and you see a hundred

20:46people have clicked apply and you're

20:49thinking, uhoh, um I don't know if this

20:52is going to work because I'm up against

20:55a hundred individuals. Um how am I going

20:58to stand out? And um I I've always been

21:01really big on investing in myself. Um, I

21:04remember seeing one of your uh YouTube

21:06videos, I think it was, and I was like,

21:09hm, who's this guy? This guy, he kind of

21:11I think he knows what he's talking

21:12about. Yeah. So I, you know, just kind

21:15of did a little bit more research on you

21:16and by the time that I had a phone call

21:19with you our first time, I I already had

21:23an idea that I was going to to work with

21:25you because I I I do think that because

21:28it is so competitive. Um, and it is such

21:31a phenomenal career. That's why it is so

21:33competitive. You you need to have some

21:37kind of mentor, some kind of coach. And

21:40I mean, I might be biased, but I think I

21:42got the best one. But, you know, there

21:44are there are a lot out there, but um I

21:47said I think that signing with you was

21:51it was a game changer.

21:52>> I appreciate it. And the big thing we do

21:54is we just do podcast to show it works

21:56and hundreds of testimonials, right? But

21:58let's actually talk about your interview

22:00process as a nurse, right? What what

22:01were some of the biggest challenges

22:03especially when you first joined and you

22:05started going through that process and

22:06you even said hey maybe you tried on

22:08your own for a little bit and it wasn't

22:09going like what did you notice was the

22:12biggest challenge you kept going through

22:13as being a nurse trying to break into

22:15medical device sales as a clinical

22:17specialist.

22:17>> Yeah that that's that's a great question

22:19and um my biggest um issue that I had

22:23when I was interviewing was that I had I

22:26had put away my sales cap. I put away I

22:30I I had forgotten that I was, you know,

22:32in in the dental field. I forgot that I

22:34was an office manager, that I was

22:35already presenting treatment plans and

22:38uh, you know, trying to to work reports

22:40with with the practices. I forgot that I

22:42had owned my own business and um had

22:45staff. Um, I had put those hats aside

22:49because when I graduated nursing school,

22:51I was no longer that. I was nurse

22:54Jessica. And um it it took a little

22:57while in your program for me to realize

22:59like wait a second like what am I doing?

23:02I I I do know sales like you're like

23:05weren't didn't you own your own

23:06business? I'm like yeah yeah I did

23:08actually. So it took it took a while for

23:10me to to get rid of that imposttor

23:12syndrome

23:13>> and just really realize, hey, you're not

23:16just a nurse. You don't have to be tied

23:18down to that title. You can be so much

23:20more.

23:21>> Yeah. And that's one thing I just want

23:23everyone to always hear is that's why

23:25again whoever you work with a coach is

23:27so valuable because you and I would have

23:30these conversations and you would many

23:31times tell me things but a lot of times

23:33they were limiting factors and I was

23:35like well that doesn't sound right and

23:37you told me ABC I look at these as

23:40strengths and what we've noticed

23:42especially from clinical backgrounds and

23:43nurses especially we love to focus on

23:46the negatives or what we think is

23:48deficient in us instead of the positives

23:52and the strengths we bring. And I just

23:54want to put that out there for anyone

23:55who's going through this interview

23:56process is you can't focus on what you

23:58don't have. You have to focus on what

24:00you bring. Because everyone wants to

24:02talk about, oh, there's someone who has

24:04more experience and we always teach

24:05this. Losers focus on winners and

24:07winners focus on winning. Right? It

24:09doesn't matter if you're going up with

24:10somebody who has five years experience

24:11in the industry. What are you bringing?

24:14What background? What about you makes

24:17you the best fit for this role? Right?

24:19And I just want to put that because you

24:22had so much to offer. And many of the

24:24times it was us just being like, let's

24:26bring that confidence back up. Let's see

24:29who Jessica is. Let's talk through some

24:32of the things that might be the big

24:34mountain that you feel like you have to

24:36climb up so we can break it down into

24:38chunks that you can go accomplish. And

24:40then that puts you in a process where

24:41you broke in with an amazing company.

24:43And so that was really fun to see. But

24:46let's talk about that real quick. is

24:49you're going to get told you don't have

24:51the experience. You're going to get told

24:52that you're not the greatest fit. That

24:54is the whole goal of a medical device

24:55sales interview, right? They want to see

24:56your resilience. They want to see if you

24:58follow up or if you just quit, right?

25:00Talk to me again about that process of

25:02you going through, hey, you're just a

25:05nurse. And I put just because you guys

25:06bring so much, but that's many times

25:08what we hear. Oh, you're just a nurse or

25:10you you're a nurse, but you need to go

25:11get all of this experience. Talk to me

25:13about how you overcame that to get

25:15yourself with an amazing company.

25:17>> I think the biggest thing that I did was

25:21I I had to really do a lot of internal

25:24thinking, a lot of internal reflecting

25:26and and just take those hats that I'd

25:29put away, the sales hats, and try to

25:31bring that back and and then, you know,

25:33I think working on the resume really

25:34helped because I was able to say, "Oh,

25:36wow. I I did achieve this. I did reach

25:39this. I sold this much this year." and

25:42retraining myself to go back into that.

25:46Um, and not just saying I'm I'm just a

25:48nurse. Um, with your help that it worked

25:52out pretty well. Yeah.

25:53>> Yeah. And one thing I want to touch on

25:54for nurses is whether you're going for a

25:56clinical specialist role or a full-line

25:58sales rep role because many of our

26:00nurses, you can go for all of them.

26:02Associate sales rep, clinical

26:03specialist, full-line sales rep. The one

26:05thing I want to share is you have to

26:07have different resumes for each one,

26:09right? Because a clinical specialist is

26:11more focused on patient facing, right?

26:13Account management more compared to a

26:16fullline sales rep is where's your

26:18numbers? How can you grow a territory?

26:21And so just for everyone watching is you

26:23do need to have probably a couple

26:24different versions of your resumes, but

26:27for yourself is, you know, we were able

26:30to do mock interviews, we did calls, we

26:31we did all of these things. you know,

26:34what do you feel got you the most

26:36prepped when you you know, I remember

26:38driving in Florida when you called me

26:39and said, "I got the offer, right?"

26:41Like, talk talk me through that process

26:44of like, "Hey, you're going through it.

26:45You're going through a a big company's

26:48interview process."

26:50>> Talk to me about that process of getting

26:52it and then getting the offer.

26:53>> It was nothing like any other interviews

26:55that I went through with other

26:57companies. Uh it so I was actually

27:00pretty stoked when my manager didn't

27:05really interview me. It was and I knew

27:07that that was that company was different

27:09because I did interview with a lot of

27:11the other bigger companies as well and

27:13it was like you said it was you know

27:15this interview and that interview and

27:17and and it was it was making my head

27:19spin and and I was um

27:22definitely trying to prepare more and

27:25more and more. Um, however, I think I

27:27lucked out with this one because it was

27:31it wasn't it was just a coffee talk, a

27:33coffee conversation. Um, but but I know

27:35that that's not the norm. Um, like I

27:39said, the other interviews I had were

27:41were quite lengthy.

27:42>> Well, let's talk about this as well,

27:43though, is because why it wasn't the

27:45norm because we've always talked about,

27:47you know, people have seen us get people

27:48hired in 3 weeks or two weeks and

27:50they're like, well, the interview

27:51process at least takes this much many

27:53months just to get through, right? But

27:55if you know the steps, right? We always

27:57talk about if you know how to play the

27:58game, you can win the game. For you, it

28:00wasn't you just talked to one person,

28:01you got the job. It was you because of

28:03the compounding and the way you

28:04hadworked and done the right moves.

28:08That's why you didn't have to go through

28:09five to seven interviews, right? So,

28:11let's talk about that a little bit

28:13because it wasn't just one call and you

28:15got it. It was the work that you had

28:17done talking to people. So, talk to me

28:19about that.

28:19>> Yeah, absolutely. It's it's I feel like

28:21the the the process really prepares you

28:24for what it is like to be a medical

28:26device sales rep because you you're not

28:29going to go into an account all the

28:31time. You're going to be like, "Yes, I

28:32want this. I want this device. I'm going

28:34to place an order today." You know, it's

28:36not going to be like that. Um you have

28:38to have a lot of resilience and you have

28:39to really just learn and and try to

28:41develop and be better every single day

28:43at what you're doing. And that's the

28:45same with the interview process was. By

28:47the time that I had um gotten on a call

28:50with my now territory manager, I was

28:53prepared. I had my talking points. I

28:56knew who I was. I wasn't nurse Jessica

28:59anymore. I was going to break into

29:01medical device sales Jessica. And that

29:05conversation ended up getting me this

29:07job because he was like, um, I I just

29:10want to let you know that I have looked

29:13at a lot of other clinical specialists

29:14and talked to a lot of other but but

29:16there's just something about you and I

29:18see your drive. I see how much

29:20preparation that you've you've have uh

29:22before you called me and um I just want

29:25you to know that I'm switching companies

29:27and um I would like you to be my

29:29clinical specialist for this new new

29:31role. Um, and so by that time when I

29:34talked to the my regional manager, my

29:36manager, um, she had already heard

29:39everything about me from my territory

29:42manager and it was already a done deal.

29:44So, um, but yeah, and that was and I

29:47knew and I knew it was a done deal

29:48because I had I had witnessed that with

29:51others in your course of how that laid

29:54out where it was just boom.

29:56>> Yeah.

29:57>> So,

29:57>> and then that's what we always talk

29:58about, do the job to get the job, right?

30:00Because what you just said is it's not

30:02going to be like you talk to one person,

30:04you get into a job usually, right?

30:05There's lots of things that you have to

30:06do and are you prepared for that

30:08opportunity, right? And it's the same

30:09thing for once you're in the industry,

30:11right? Because now you've been able to

30:13break in and now you took a territory

30:16that your team and you wasn't number

30:18one.

30:19>> Oh, it was last. It was dead last.

30:21>> And now you all are leading, right?

30:24>> Yep. Yep. This quarter we're number one.

30:26>> You guys are doing it. And so kind of

30:27just talk to me real quick about, you

30:28know, we always talk about do the job to

30:29get the job and we're teaching you this

30:31process because yeah, we can tell you to

30:33answer a couple questions, but that's

30:35not going to get you guys to be at over

30:36100% your quota. Talk to me about why

30:39you feel like the process helps you

30:41actually go be successful in the

30:42industry.

30:43>> Yeah. Be because it it it prepares you,

30:46like I mentioned, it prepares you for

30:48those nos um that you get and it builds

30:51that resilience. Um, it also prepares

30:54you for having conversations, um,

30:56uncomfortable conversations like I I

30:58didn't know who these, you know, I was

30:59networking on networking calls. I didn't

31:01know who these people were. So, it was

31:02very intimidating, but it helped me

31:04build that confidence. And I think you

31:07need that kind of confidence that they

31:09want to see that because you're going to

31:11be put into some, you know,

31:13uncomfortable positions and you're

31:14you're learning this device and as you

31:17know, the training is like training from

31:18a fire hose. Um, and so you you have to

31:21be confident um in what you're doing.

31:24>> Yeah. Do you feel through the program

31:27that it prepared you to be where you're

31:29at today or do you feel like you could

31:31have done it without it?

31:32>> Yeah, absolutely. And and that with a

31:34with the company who I wanted to sign up

31:35with with coaching, I wanted to make

31:37sure it wasn't just somebody who was

31:38going to help me with my resume and tell

31:40me some talking points on what I should

31:42say during interview. You know, chat GPT

31:45can help me with that. So, I wanted

31:46somebody who was going to really prepare

31:49me to not only break in, but also be the

31:53best version of myself that I could be

31:56so I could be one of those top high

31:58performers and high achievers.

32:00>> Yeah. And now that you are on a team and

32:02you guys are doing very well, right, and

32:04you're starting to grow your territory,

32:06let's talk about a little bit about

32:08positivity um and and the mindset with

32:10it. And why I want to spend some time on

32:12this is because many of the clinicals

32:14and nurses we talk to usually the

32:16environment you're in is usually a

32:18negative one. And it's not bad, but it's

32:20it's because of what you guys deal with

32:22on a day-to-day, right? You're always

32:24looking for the next problem, right? And

32:26that's what you have to react to. But I

32:28say that because many of the nurses, I

32:30was just on multiple uh calls this week

32:32where they always want to say, "Well, I

32:34want to play worst case scenario." And

32:36I'm like, but you playing worst case

32:38scenario is why you're where you're at

32:40compared to what if you played the best

32:42case scenario, right? And I always just

32:44say this, they're always like, "What if

32:45I invest myself and it doesn't work

32:46out?" And then I say, "You'd be in the

32:48exact same spot you're already in, which

32:50is where you don't want to be, right?

32:52Compared to what if it does work out and

32:54now you work for a great company and it

32:55all does stuff." So, can we talk about

32:57that? Because it's also like we always

32:58try to paint. Medical device sales is

33:00not going to be sunshine and rainbows

33:01every day. You're not gonna walk in and

33:03everyone's like, "Oh, Jessica, you're

33:04the rep." So take all of the orders and

33:07our life's easy. Like most people don't

33:09know the grind of medical device sales.

33:12And so just talk to me a little bit

33:13about that process for you cuz you've

33:15made that shift and now you're having

33:16success with it. But tell me about like

33:18how you keep staying motivated to now

33:20have your territory doing well.

33:22>> You know, it's it's so funny. I don't

33:24know why we do that to ourselves. We

33:26it's it's that self-sabotaging

33:29um negative thinking and it it's really

33:33holds us back from a lot. I don't know

33:35if it's because we have to question

33:36everything for the sake of our patients.

33:38Maybe we question orders. We question is

33:41this doctor, you know, treating this

33:43patient the right way. Like we're

33:45questioning things all the time. So, um

33:47I I really had to work work on that. And

33:50um but the the transition and you're

33:52right, it is a grind, but it is so

33:55fulfilling. It really is to to see your

33:57hard work and um even if you aren't, you

34:02know, necessarily driven by numbers, you

34:06know, I'm I'm driven by both numbers and

34:09by what I can do for my patients and how

34:11I can help people. And the fact that I

34:13get to to do that every single day and

34:16touch so many more lives than I was

34:18doing as an ICU nurse, that's that's

34:21just it's a phenomenal feeling.

34:23>> Yeah. And let's talk about the benefits

34:25that come with it. Right? We were just

34:27talking that you know you've been able

34:29to travel to San Diego and you know

34:32Nashville and do trainings with

34:34surgeons, right? And also most people

34:37don't ever understand is like once you

34:38get into medical device sales, there's

34:40great packages. They could pay for your

34:41car. They can pay for your gas. They can

34:43give you stipens. They'll pay for your

34:44travel. Great matches, great insurance.

34:47It's like I say this because most

34:49nurses, let's just say they're making a

34:50h 100red grand even if you got a job

34:52offer at $90,000 in medical device

34:54sales. You would actually make more

34:56money from the medical device sales

34:59world than you would from the 100k

35:01because of taxes and the benefits you

35:02get, right? Can you just kind of talk to

35:04me about how your life is different from

35:06that aspect of like the benefits and

35:08also just you're not going to the

35:10hospital every single day to the same

35:11place and doing it like you're

35:12traveling, you're going around. Yeah.

35:14>> Talk to me about that. and and like we

35:16had mentioned u I was making 75 an hour

35:19as a travel nurse. Um and I did take a

35:23very small pay cut for this position.

35:26However, I'm not I don't have to pay for

35:29a car. They provide my own car. So, no

35:32car payment, no gas. Um

35:35you the benefits are phenomenal. As a as

35:37a travel nurse, I wasn't getting any

35:39benefits. So, all that's taken care of.

35:41401k, you know, all the good stuff. Um

35:44and then the opportunities I I get to go

35:47I get to fly with these doctors to these

35:50you know training courses and just um I

35:53get to learn too as I learn something

35:54every time I take them and then I get to

35:57help this you know amazing position who

36:00gets to then take that information and

36:03help even more people. So um so that's

36:06that that's also awesome.

36:08I do. I I never liked going into a job

36:11and and it being the same thing over and

36:14over again. Um that I I did appreciate

36:16that as an ICU nurse is that um even

36:19though I kind of tried to plan my day,

36:20there was always like, you know, some

36:21deviations, I never knew what what

36:23patient I had, what what were they going

36:25to have going on. And you can transition

36:28that into the medical device sales is

36:30that um every day is different, every

36:32account's different. Um, it's it's

36:35pretty rewarding.

36:36>> As you look back as you left nursing to

36:39come into medical device sales, do you

36:41feel like it was the right decision or

36:42would you go back to nursing?

36:43>> Oh god, it's the right decision. No, no

36:45joke. And and I I also wanted to mention

36:48that um you know, whatever you start off

36:52with uh whenever you transition,

36:55typically if if you're doing okay in

36:58medical device sales, that's that's the

37:00least amount of money you're ever going

37:01to get. I'm I'm not going to take a job

37:04that's going to be making less what I'm

37:06making. Um I'm going to prove myself and

37:08I'm going to be making a lot more. So

37:11that initial quote unquote pay cut, even

37:13though I'm getting the benefits of it to

37:15make up for that, I'm not worried about

37:17it because there's so many opportunities

37:19with my company. They're really big on

37:21that about, you know, moving you up and

37:24giving you other opportunities. But

37:26gosh, it's just so many so many

37:28opportunities.

37:28>> Yeah. And that's a great point because

37:30we have this conversation with nurses

37:31all the time of they're like, "Well, I

37:33already make $115,000." Let's say

37:35they've been there for 15 years, right?

37:36One of the podcasts we did, he was

37:38making 115. He'd been there for over 15

37:41years. But then we had to have the

37:42conversation is you're maxed out. You're

37:45not going to go anywhere else. You're at

37:46the you're at the top of the top

37:48compared to 115 in medical device sales

37:50is not very high, especially as a

37:52clinical role. And it's like that's the

37:54least amount of money you're ever going

37:55to make. And so I just share that for

37:57everyone listening because especially

37:59when we're talking about return on

38:00investment, investing in yourself, most

38:02people don't want to spend money because

38:04they want to stay stuck, but then

38:05they're already capped compared to

38:08everyone who comes to us wants to feel

38:10fulfilled. They want to have a career

38:12trajectory. They want to be able to

38:14financially make more and they want to

38:17make sure that they have a work life

38:18balance that fits their life, which

38:20depends on what division you go in and

38:22what company. But we share that because

38:24most people get a mental block. And the

38:27mental block is, well, I already make

38:29that. But what they always forget is you

38:31might make even, let's say, $10,000

38:33more, but you're capped compared to you

38:36get in medical device sales at let's say

38:38150,120. That's entry level for a lot of

38:40clinical roles. And there's plenty of

38:43clinicals making well over 180, 200. It

38:46takes time, but you can go climb and

38:48still get all the benefits. And there's

38:50a good chance you're working less hours

38:53than a nurse because again most people

38:56don't talk about and we know this from

38:57working with a lot of clinicals. You all

39:00say 12 hours then I can turn my work

39:02off. You never turn your work off.

39:03You're thinking about the patient you

39:04just left. You're thinking about the

39:06hard day you just had. It draws in. And

39:08then if you are a nurse is working

39:10overnights that bleeds into your social

39:13life and that bleeds into your personal

39:14life. And we've just heard that so many

39:16times. And so I appreciate you sharing

39:18because you've truly changed your life.

39:21You're now, like you said, your career

39:23is only going to go up. Your opportunity

39:25for your life and your professional side

39:27is only going to go up and now you're

39:29with a company that you truly love. You

39:31love your team and you're continuing to

39:33grow. I guess what's one piece of advice

39:36to the nurse that's on the edge right

39:38now saying, "Well, I don't know. I just

39:40watched a couple of podcasts or I I've

39:42been thinking about this for a while. I

39:43don't even know about med devices." I

39:44was like, "What's your advice to that

39:45nurse watching?" I would say sit down

39:49and ask yourself what if. For that nurse

39:53that's making $115,000,

39:55what if in a year you can be making

40:00$200,000

40:01plus? What if? What if you find a job

40:07that is so fulfilling because you can

40:10actually touch more patients and you can

40:13you make more of a difference. Um, what

40:16if you have a job where you can provide

40:18so much more for your family because

40:19you've got these great benefits? Um, you

40:23know, what if you have more

40:25opportunities to, you know, learn and

40:28develop on yourself because you're

40:29learning about all these amaz technology

40:31and all these devices. Um, so just ask

40:35yourself what if. Yeah.

40:36>> And see how you feel after that.

40:39>> Yeah. And just understand most people

40:41that we talk to, what if they want to

40:43tell us about Chicken Little and how the

40:45world's ending?

40:46>> And what if because many people that are

40:49even considering this and will watch

40:50this, most people are already at the

40:53place where they're not happy. That's

40:54why they're watching this right now.

40:56>> Yeah. What what you got to lose?

40:57>> And that's what most people don't what

40:59they always like, oh, the money, but we

41:01always talk about what about the cost of

41:02inaction. Even if you stay in the same

41:04spot for the next 3 months, what about

41:07the mental tax it's taking? because

41:08you're thinking about it every day. You

41:10would actually just be better to just

41:11make a decision yes or no. Just do it or

41:14don't do it. But like the mental task it

41:15takes for 3 6 9 months, right? And so

41:18just if people can see that, but I know

41:21a lot of clinicals will watch this and

41:23say, "Hey, Jessica, what's your advice

41:25to someone like myself?" What would you

41:27say to them if they want to break into

41:29medical advice sales? I would say the

41:32biggest

41:33biggest key point that I learned is to

41:36have confidence in yourself and just

41:39know that you can do this. You can be a

41:44clinical specialist. You can break into

41:46medical device sales. Um I think

41:49building that confidence is is so

41:51important, especially when you're in the

41:52interview process. Um and and and also I

41:56think just be your authentic self.

42:00Um, I think if we try to be this person

42:04that um, we think that the interviewer

42:08or the company wants to see, we tend to

42:11to lose some of the best parts of oursel

42:14and and these companies want to see you.

42:16And so I would just work on that. Work

42:19on your confidence and work on getting

42:20to know who who are you? Like who is

42:23Jessica? Who is Jacob? and really

42:25leaning into your strengths so you can

42:27take that um into the interview process

42:30and and break in just that much faster.

42:33>> That's great advice.

42:34>> Yeah,

42:34>> Jessica, I'm so proud of you. It has

42:36been amazing to watch your journey and

42:39when you sent me that message of you

42:40getting over 100% in your first quarter

42:43in the new fiscal year. It just made me

42:46so happy and proud for you and I know

42:48you're only going to continue to keep

42:49growing and so I just want you to know

42:51I'm so excited for you and I truly can't

42:53wait to see what you accomplish. Thank

42:54you. And thank you so much for giving me

42:56the time to share my story. I hope that

42:58there are nurses out there listening to

43:00this and um really reconsider uh what

43:04they're capable of

43:06>> because then they can just be like you

43:07because you went from nursing to well

43:09over six figures and now you're just

43:11going to keep climbing. So I just want

43:13you to know can't wait to watch what you

43:15accomplish. Thank you so much.