I’m really excited to share this one because it comes from a conversation that matters. I sat down with Jim Hunt, someone I respect a lot in this industry. He’s spent over 20 years in medical device sales at Medtronic and has grown from the sales side into a US product manager role. He’s also a husband, a dad, and just a genuinely solid human being. This wasn’t just about sales, it was about how to build a career and a life at the same time.

Jim’s path into medical device sales

Jim didn’t start in healthcare. He came from a business-to-business sales background, selling office equipment and services. When he moved into medical device sales, he knew almost nothing about hospitals or the OR. What separated him early wasn’t experience, it was effort.

His training was intense. A full month, nonstop testing, presentations, labs, and evaluations. At the time, three mistakes meant you were fired. No second chances. That pressure taught him something important early on: training doesn’t make you great. It just gets you started.

One thing a VP told his class stuck with him. Even after all that training, you’re not truly ready in a few months. It takes about two years to really understand the job, the territory, and the people.

Effort matters more than confidence

One of the biggest themes Jim talked about was effort. These companies invest a lot in you salary, training, benefits, cars, travel. They don’t expect perfection, but they do expect you to try, learn, and show up every day.

Jim spent years driving long hours to cover huge territories. Sometimes it took more than a year before people even remembered his name. Instead of getting frustrated, he saw that as progress. Relationships take time. Trust takes time. Results usually come later than people want.

A lot of reps think they’re crushing it when a territory was already strong before they arrived. Real growth is when you build something that wasn’t there before, and that doesn’t happen overnight.

How Jim stood out and got hired

When Jim was interviewing, he didn’t just apply and wait. He went all in.

He studied procedures. He talked to nurses. He interviewed a surgeon about what makes a good rep and what ruins trust. He wrote everything down. After ride-alongs, he sent detailed follow-ups about what he learned — not what he thought he knew.

Nobody told him to do that. He just wanted to leave no stone unturned. That’s what made him stand out.

One important thing people need to hear: the hiring process took months. Delays had nothing to do with him. People got busy. Quarters ended. Managers had to cover cases. That’s normal in this industry.

What really makes someone successful long-term

Jim believes being genuine matters more than anything. You can’t fake caring. Surgeons, nurses, and techs can feel when you’re just trying to sell versus when you’re actually trying to help.

Curiosity is another big one. Jim spends a lot of time thinking about his territory, his team, what questions to ask, and how to get better. He sees himself as his own brand inside the company, not just a rep with a number.

The team also matters more than people think. Medical device sales can feel lonely, but the best reps help each other. Sometimes success comes from giving an assist, not just scoring yourself.

He also talked about emotional control. Bad days happen. Bad interactions happen. Sending an emotional email or reacting fast almost always makes things worse. Sometimes the smartest move is stepping away, resetting, and coming back calm.

Career, family, and balance

Jim has stayed in this industry for 20 years because he protected what mattered most outside of work. After long days, he’d take a few minutes to decompress so he could be fully present with his family. Phones off at dinner. Real conversations. Cooking as a way to reset.

He never wanted to look back and say a commission check was worth damaging his family. His lifestyle didn’t grow with his income, and that gave him freedom and peace.

Final thoughts

If there’s one takeaway here, it’s this: medical device sales rewards people who are patient, curious, humble, and consistent — not the loudest or the most entitled; if you focus on effort, relationships, learning, and staying true to who you are while protecting your life outside of work, the career usually takes care of itself.

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All the best,

Jacob McLaughlin