Preparing for RAQA Interviews featuring SVP Shelly Gallup

Getting your foot in the door is only the first step. In this episode of Medtech Snapshot, Shelly Gallup, SVP of RAQA at Glidewell Labs, shares what actually matters once you’re in the interview and why so many candidates miss the mark.

Everyone spends so much time trying to get their resume right. And don’t us wrong, that matters. It’s what gets you in the door.

But according to Shelly Gallup, that’s not what gets you hired.

Once you’re in the interview, your priorities need to shift. The first thing she pointed to was something simple, but honestly, easy to overlook.
First impressions.
Even now, even with how common virtual interviews are, people still show up underprepared. Sweatshirts on Zoom. Wrinkled shirts. Just a general lack of effort, and it sends a message, whether people realize it or not. Her mindset is pretty straightforward.

how up like you care. If anything, be a little overdressed. It’s a small thing, but it tells the interviewer how seriously you’re taking the opportunity.

But it doesn’t stop there.
What really stands out is how someone communicates. A lot of candidates fall into the trap of talking too much. They ramble and try to say everything they know instead of saying what actually matters.

What she’s looking for is the opposite. Someone who can answer a question, pause, and actually have a conversation. Not just fill space.

And then there’s probably the biggest one: examples. This is where a lot of people miss an opportunity to show the proof of their resume.

They’ll say things like, “I can bring products to market faster,” or “I’m really strong in regulatory submissions.”
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But when you ask how, it falls apart. What she wants to hear is specifics:

• What did you actually do?
• What was the outcome?
• What changed because you were there?
• Did you shorten a timeline? By how much?
• Did you get a submission cleared? How quickly?
• What was different about your approach?

That’s the kind of detail that sticks, because at the end of the day, it’s not about what you know in theory, it’s about what you’ve done in practice.

And then there’s one last piece that doesn’t always get talked about enough.
Fit.
Not just whether you can do the job, but how you show up around other people. How you communicate, interact, and whether the team can actually see themselves working with you. That’s why she brings candidates in to meet the broader team. It’s not just her decision. It’s about how that person will function day to day.
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When you step back, none of this is complicated, but it does require being intentional.
How you show up, communicate, and tell your story is important because the resume might open the door, but everything after that is what determines whether you walk through it.

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