I’m currently trying to transition into medical device or diagnostic sales and would appreciate some advice from those already in the industry, particularly anyone with hiring or recruiting experience.
My background includes approximately 4 years of B2B sales experience earlier in my career, followed by several years working in healthcare, primarily in oncology and radiology. I’ve been applying to medical device sales and clinical specialist positions and have made it through multiple rounds of interviews, but haven’t landed an offer yet.
I’m considering removing two short-term positions from my resume because they weren’t particularly relevant to my long-term career goals, and I’m wondering whether doing so would help or hurt my chances.
Here’s a simplified timeline of my employment history (company names and job titles intentionally omitted):
- April 2013 – June 2017: B2B/B2C sales
- July 2017 – January 2018: Insurance industry (7 months)
- February 2018 – April 2021: Major cancer center (3+ years)
- May 2021 – August 2021: Academic medical center (3 months)
- August 2021 – April 2024: Returned to the same major cancer center (2 years, 8 months)
- April 2024 – Present: Large health system
The two positions I’m considering removing are the insurance industry role (7 months) and the academic medical center role (3 months).
I left both voluntarily because I realized they weren’t the right fit for me professionally. At the time, I was still figuring out the direction I wanted my career to take. Neither departure involved performance issues or termination.
In the case of the academic medical center, I actually returned to my previous employer, where I remained for nearly another three years before moving on to my current position.
My concern is that removing these positions would create two gaps in my employment history: approximately 7 months in 2017–2018 and 3 months in 2021.
My questions are:
- Would you recommend leaving these positions on my resume or removing them entirely?
- Are employment gaps of this length likely to raise red flags with medical device sales recruiters or hiring managers?
- If I remove them, how should I address the gaps if asked during an interview?
- Would the fact that I returned to my previous healthcare employer after the 3-month position make that gap less concerning?
- Given that I’m transitioning from healthcare operations/IT into medical sales, would removing these less relevant positions help make my resume more focused?
I want to present my experience as effectively as possible without being misleading or dishonest. I’d obviously disclose my full employment history if required during a background check or formal application process.
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from medical device sales reps, hiring managers, or recruiters who have made similar career transitions.
Thanks in advance!
EDIT: For the record, I have applied for medical sales positions and interviewed using versions of my resume without the both positions listed. For the 3-month position, I simply just put my cancer center role from Feb 2018 to Aug 2021 and left a time gap for the 7-month insurance position. One job did ask me about the gap and didn't seem to mind when I explained it.