“I heard him say
Gotta find me a future
move out of my way
I want it all,
and I want it now
Listen all you people,
come gather round
I gotta get me a game plan,
gotta shake you to the ground
But just give me,
what I know is mine
People do you hear me,
just gimme the sign
It ain’t much I’m asking,
if you want the truth
Here’s to the future for the dreams of youth
I want it all and I want it now”
– Excerpt from “I want it all” by Queen
There is nothing quite like trying to build your credibility in the realm of physician recruiting by introducing yourself with some lyrics from a song by Queen.
Surprisingly enough, my odd attempt at being somewhat disarming in my approach actually has some truth to it.
Humor me ….read the lyrics and ask yourself “What do they actually want?”
Well Mr. Trebec, it appears that they want it all.
True, but what have they actually defined? What does “all” mean to them? The point I am making here is in the realm of recruiting, and not just physician recruiting, the vast majority of people want the best possible package that they can get. But that best possible package is defined differently according to each person.
Those lyrics actually resemble a lot of conversations that I have with physicians on a daily basis. We will talk for about 20-30 minutes and define what the physician’s skills are, malpractice, certifications, and practice history. But then we get to the question, “What do you want?” Easy right? Now for most practicing physicians this is not a terribly difficult conversation to have. They know exactly what they want and what is important to them professionally and personally when undergoing the search for a new position. Their job search is stream-lined; we know what to put in front of them and what not to, in order to avoid wasting their time.
However when it comes to residents, fellows, and Visa candidates, “What do you want?” becomes an extremely difficult question to answer. Now some of that comes down to a question of time. After all, who has time to think about what they want when they are performing cases all day in addition to all of the other responsibilities that are heaped upon a resident or fellow?
The other part of it, I believe, comes down to the thought process of “If I leave the parameters of my search as open as possible, then I will be able to be considered for every opportunity and eventually find the best opportunity that is out there.” Now in theory, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that approach. After all, those who cast the widest net, catch the most fish, right?
In fishing, yes. In a job search, no.
The reality of the physician’s job search is more akin to the saying, “Those who are open to everything end up with nothing they really wanted.”
In order to understand why that is, you must first put yourself in the role of the hospital CEO and recruiter. They receive several physician CV’s from various outlets on a daily basis. So many in fact, that it is fairly impossible to find the time to interview all of the qualified candidates. Like you, time and money are their most valuable commodities and like you, they never seem to have enough of either.
So how is that your problem and what does that mean for you?
That question can actually be answered with the following questions. When time is in short supply, does it make sense to interview everyone in your pile of CV’s? Or does it make sense to start with those who have interest in your specific opportunity and hope that you identify the right candidate before you get to the bottom of the pile? Which approach is the most time and cost efficient?
In other words, those physicians who are open to every practice opportunity and won’t define what it is that they want, won’t normally get off the bottom of the CV pile and in turn, won’t get an interview. This is especially true in the case of Visa candidates where the hospital is at risk of paying for Visa sponsorship in addition to start-up costs only to risk losing the physician to another opportunity when the sponsorship is expired. In other words hospitals only have time to interview and pay for on-site visits for those physicians who are sincerely interested in their community, hospital, and practice opportunity.
So that being said, here are some questions that some of the various hospitals I work with like to know when deciding which physicians to seriously consider:
- What are your top three priorities in this job search?
- If you have a significant other, what are their top three priorities in your job search?
- What do you need in an opportunity that will make you say “YES!” to that position?
- What geographical area are you interested in?
- Do you have any family ties to the area you are interested in? If not why do you want to go there?
- What would bring you to an opportunity and what would keep you long term?
- What are your personal and professional needs from the opportunity and the community?
- What is your ideal practice opportunity?
- What is your target compensation?
- What are you looking for in terms of Loan Repayment and Relocation?
- What procedures do you want to focus on?
- What procedures don’t you do?
- Do you have special skills that separate you from every other physician in your specialization?
- Describe yourself as a physician? What is your personality with colleagues? Nurses? Patients?
- When speaking to Hospital Administrators, what are the most important things to tell them about you?
- What is your timeline to have an opportunity?
I get it, there are a lot of questions, but you only get one shot at this job search and there are millions of dollars at stake for both you and the hospitals. The ultimate goal of the hospital recruiter and administrator is to fill this practice opportunity once with the right physician who will practice with them for 10 years. Now while that is neither practical nor realistic in many cases, the physician shortage that we are currently experiencing in the United States is making finding the right long term physician that much more important.
So in regards to your job search, don’t treat it like you are going out to dinner at a place where anything on the menu will do. Instead, treat it like the long term, life changing decision that it is. Put some serious time, thought, and research into it. Clearly define what it is that you want and be specific about why it is important.
If you don’t, you may end up hungry.
Travis Brown is a regional account manager for the Physician Division of Aureus Medical Group. He specializes in identifying the “right fits” for each individual hospital, health system, and physician he works for. He is in his second year with Aureus Medical Group following his time in sales management and teaching elementary school. Originally from Arlington, NE, Travis graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in Education and in his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, coaching basketball, and skiing in the mountains of Colorado.