Thursday 6 September 2012

Employee Stories


Cathy
Strategic Talent Sourcing Consultant,
Corporate Human Resources
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Former Chair Medtronic Women's Council Employee Resource Group

Before joining Medtronic, I was a field engineer for a company that designed and manufactured anesthesia equipment. After servicing equipment in a variety of hospital settings, I was promoted into a quality assurance engineering role, bringing the voice of the customer to the R&D and Manufacturing teams. While I loved contributing to the launch of a new platform product, the future work looked like it would be more iterative than true R&D, so I started paying attention to industry trends. Medtronic was acquiring a lot of companies, which was marvelous to watch as a stockholder. So, when a headhunter called about some exciting opportunities in Quality in the Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management group at Medtronic, I knew the company was investing in technology and had a strong pipeline of new products. After meeting a few people, I knew it would be rewarding to work for Medtronic, even though it required moving from Madison to Minneapolis – a tough move for a Green Bay Packer football fan.

Once I was here, I quickly moved up through the ranks in Quality. At the same time, the company tapped me to help recruit new engineers, because they knew I had a strong professional network. I was an active member of both the Society of Women Engineers and the American Society for Quality. Recently, I had the opportunity to move into a companywide Talent Acquisition area full time. I realized it was a great match for my functional and business skills, and provided an opportunity to broaden my leadership experience.

A key part of my role is to attract high-potential diverse talent in Quality, Regulatory, and Clinical functions. It can be challenging in locations that don't have diverse community demographics, but the culture within Medtronic is certainly diverse and inclusive. On one of my very first days at Medtronic, I remember my new team members talking about lutefisk, a Scandinavian dish that I'd never heard of. I shared my ethnic food experiences, and we all learned something that day. That memory has been a constant reminder that everyone here is very open to knowledge sharing, whether it's about cultural backgrounds, operating best practices, or product details.

Summer Associate Program


Summer Associate Program
Our MBA Summer Associate Program is designed for highly talented MBA students who want to test their skills and make meaningful contributions to the world's leading medical technology company. The program gives you exposure to and a better understanding of our core businesses, technologies, and culture. In addition to a challenging 10-12 week internship assignment, you'll have opportunities to network with peers, managers, and our leadership team, as well as experience our dynamic culture though social events and volunteer activities. High-performing summer associates are considered for full-time opportunities in our Leadership Development Rotation Program.

Functional Tracks
Depending on our business needs, internship opportunities may be available in the following functional areas:

Clinical
Finance
Human Resources
Information Technology
Marketing/Business Development
Operations
Regulatory
Locations
The majority of our internship opportunities are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota – our World Headquarters. This gives summer associates the opportunity to learn about our company and culture, and provides a sense of community with other interns. We may also offer internship assignments at other major locations in Memphis, TN; Northridge, CA; Santa Rosa, CA; and Tolochenaz, Switzerland. If you're relocating for the summer, we cover your travel expenses to your internship and back to campus, and subsidize your housing costs.

Candidate Qualifications
We're looking for high potential MBA candidates who demonstrate strong communication and leadership skills and who are open to exploring a variety of assignments and business units.

Successful candidates must meet the following minimum qualifications:

Three to five years of professional and relevant work experience
Pursing an MBA; other master's-level degrees are considered for Clinical, HR, Operations, and Regulatory tracks
To be considered for the program, US-based program participants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis and must not require sponsorship in the future for an employment visa.