What first attracted you to J&J?
As somebody who studied medical engineering at University of Bradford, it was the crème de la crème of companies to work for, and my first taste of working for J&J was when I did a placement at the DePuy Synthes engineering site in Blackpool, where they develop & manufacture bone cement.
I then rejoined as a graduate engineer, where I had the opportunity to work on the launch of a game-changing new product. I realised quickly that I was working in an organisation where, no matter how junior you are, your experience and insight is valued even on the biggest company projects. That level of autonomy is what really excited me about working here, and it’s one of the reasons why I’ve stayed working at this organisation for 10 years.
What has your J&J journey been?
I was a quiet teenager growing up, this meant that I naturally gravitated towards more technical roles and never considered sales or customer-facing roles to be something I would ever be interested in, or good at. When I was studying my master’s in biomedical sciences at Bristol University, I realised that working in a lab wasn’t something I enjoyed; there was an appetite there to be in a more customer-facing role, but I thought I didn’t fit the ‘traditional salesperson’ archetype.
It was only after joining J&J and having the opportunity to collaborate with the commercial teams, that I realized you didn’t need to fit into that box to succeed here. Having drive and ambition, in whatever form is most comfortable to you, is celebrated by the company, and so I did feel confident making a move into sales.
I made the move from Bioengineer to Orthopaedics Sales Rep in the Trauma team and progressed within this business unit into my current position as Regional Sales Manager.
In my engineering role, I saw first-hand the development of these implants and instruments, and now being able to play a critical role in supporting surgeons to use those products to help patients…I can’t even tell you the level of job satisfaction that brings!
What makes you proud to work here?
Something that J&J employees will always tell you is how accessible our organisation is, especially our senior leaders. Your insight and experience are always welcomed, even if you want to get involved in projects beyond your day-to-day remit. This gives everyone the ability to impact upon how we operate as an organization and in turn I believe this is how we manage to continue to provide the best for our customers and ultimately patients.
I’ve always worked in orthopaedics, both in my engineering and sales roles. We’re seeing a an incredible positive trajectory in gender diversity since I joined, which is brilliant. Having that visibility of female role models has made such an impact and I hope I can do the same for my team as I continue my leadership journey in orthopaedics!