Networking is crucial to business careers and is one of the main benefits of LTEN membership: The chance to meet, connect and learn from your life sciences peers. For this new Bonus Focus feature, we’re happy to introduce you to LTEN member Nick Fifield.
Fifield is sales training manager, Australia & New Zealand, for Johnson & Johnson Medical and has been an LTEN member since 2013. His main responsibilities are to drive sales force effectiveness through the implementation and execution of enhanced sales skills and business process. This Q&A article will tell you more about Fifield and his life sciences career.
Bonus Focus (BF): How long have you been an LTEN member and what led you to join?
Nick Fifield (NF): I joined LTEN in 2013 having gained my first role as a medical device sales trainer with Zimmer Biomet. I took advice from a senior colleague in the United States who brought LTEN to my attention. Being based in Australia with a limited network of likeminded professionals, LTEN connected me with counterparts and industry peers to network with to develop my skills and evolve my career.
BF: What value has LTEN brought to your career?
NF: LTEN has brought me opportunities to focus on developing my career as I aim to become an industry expert. Opportunities to raise my profile and network with counterparts in the U.S., where the industry is far more established.
BF: What is the best career advice you received?
NF: In order to get a job, you must do the job. Essentially, acquire the responsibilities of a future desired role and take ownership of demonstrating your capabilities. Don’t just sit around waiting for someone to tap you on the shoulder and offer you your next step, positon yourself as the “next taxi off the rank.”
BF: What advice would you offer someone seeking a career in training?
NF: Passion, as with any role, is critical. A career in training requires drive and creativity, ultimately you can’t fake it. Get involved in training for the love of it, not because you see it as a step toward marketing, management or an alternative role.
BF: When you think of great leaders you worked with, what made them great?
NF: Openness, a lot of leaders claim to have an “open door policy,” but few are able to genuinely execute it effectively. Those leaders that have the charisma to connect with all staff across a business, keeping them informed and treating them as equal contributors to the success of the business, are among those that have impressed me the most.
Share Your Story
Interested in sharing your story through this Bonus Focus feature? Email LTEN Editorial Director Tim Sosbe at tsosbe@L-TEN.org.
