As a physician, whether you’re changing medical settings or moving to a new city, your career opportunities will be endless. Why? Because people need doctors’ care all the time, and as long a people keep living, there will always be a need, and demand in certain areas, for doctors. 

This is indeed a good thing, but the wealth of opportunities from your search can be overwhelming. You’ll find yourself asking where should you go? Do you like the location? How well will they pay? What will the hours be?

Those are all common thoughts that will be brought to the forefront of your mind during your search, making things all the more confusing. Whether you’re searching for jobs in obstetrics and gynecology or primary care, your method for searching will be the same: strategic.

Understand that you’re not just searching for an entry-level sales job that doesn’t require any type of experience… You are searching for a career as a physician in your specialty, dealing with people’s lives and their health, therefore, your job search isn’t something that should be taken lightly. This will not only prevent you from wasting time and energy but will also save you the headache of confusion and indecisiveness.

In your job search, follow these strategic tips to land the career you’ve always wanted.

Make a List of What You’re Looking For in Your Job

What you’re looking for in your job will entail everything from pay and location to workload and medical setting. All of these factors will play a significant role not only in how long you’ll stay in that position but also in your happiness in that position.

Believe it or not, happiness and career satisfaction, or lack thereof, are some of the leading causes of physician burnout. According to medscape.com, the top physicians experiencing the highest level of burnout are urologists, coming in at 54% and neurologists coming in second at 50%.

With happiness and career satisfaction in mind, you also want to jot down what your deal-breakers are as well. If you find a position you like but find that the hours are overnight, and that’s one of the things you won’t accept, you have to let that opportunity go. Knowing what you will and will not accept in a job will make your search much quicker and easier.

Start Your Actual Job Search

There are several job search engines out there, of course, but as a physician, using the typical job search engines won’t be of any real effective use for you. Instead, utilize job search engines specifically for physicians, as it will only show jobs for physicians. You can even make your search more efficient by taking advantage of the filters to search for jobs in your specific specialty.

Update and Revise Your CV

CVs are not one-size-fits-all when job hunting, which is why you have to change and update yours for every job you apply to. Your professional CV is your opportunity to make yourself shine on paper, listing your education, training, and professional experience to show potential employers your credibility and qualifications for the job. You want to make sure it’s organized, in a reasonable font, and properly formatted for readability.

This is also the time that you want to start getting your references together, letters of recommendation, and other important documents necessary to your application process.

Apply to Jobs

This is the moment of truth; you’re applying to the jobs that are of interest to you and check all your boxes for preferences and what you’re looking for in that job. Of course, make sure your resume and cover letter match the description and requirement of the job you’re applying to but also try to apply to jobs at the same time as it will make it easier to schedule interviews around the same time. 

*Side note: you also want to write down the jobs you applied to and notate something special about each one that you liked to help you remember which one is which so that when you start getting calls for interviews, you won’t be confused as to which job is calling you.*

Get Ready For Your Interviews

First impressions are everything, especially during interviews, that’s why you want to do everything you can to shine bright during the first one, and hopefully, it will land you a second interview!

Everything from making sure you have professional attire to making sure you have copies of important documents will show you’re fully ready and prepared for the interview. It’s also a good idea to research the company you’re interviewing with just so you know more about them and can come up with your own questions to ask. This is something that companies not only look for in applicants but are actually impressed by, increasing your likelihood of that second interview.

All in all, searching for career opportunities as a physician is something that must be taken seriously, and approaching your search without a clear strategy in mind is a waste of time. Before filling out applications, follow these effective strategies to make your search more efficient.