The Care and Feeding of Recruiters

For some reason, many clinicians think working with a recruiter marks you as second-rate, that a good clinician would not need one.  That is not true for physician executive searches.  Even though 70-90 percent of all jobs come through networking, you will often be working with a recruiter during the job search process.  These people are not beneath you in the prestige hierarchy.  They can be your life-line when you are fired, downsized or if you can’t stand where you are working.  Here are just a few pointers I’ve received from recruiters over the years.

Be polite in all situations

A recruiter told me a story about a physician who was ready  for an interview.  The sitter arrived, the plane tickets were in hand, and he and his wife were heading out the door when the phone rang.  It was the recruiter. Something that never happens had happened:  The organization fell in love with the first person they interviewed and they offered  him the job.  The physician didn’t take it well and yelled at the recruiter.  I asked, “Will you recommend him for another position?”  The recruiter said, “No, if he will do that with me, he will do it on the job. “

Be honest

Tell a recruiter the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  At the end of a phone interview or a face to face interview, they will ask, “Is there anything else I should know?” That means it’s time to come clean.  If you don’t  fess up now about  the  affair you had that  caused you to lose a job,  you can be taken out of the running or even  lose your job if they find out. 

Don’t be litigious

Larry Tyler, CEO of Tyler and Company, tells physicians, “Do not sue your employer if you want to keep working.  You may win but no one else will hire you. “

Involve your spouse in your decision

Have that dreaded conversation with your spouse about moving before you start a job search.  You will be happy and challenged in your new job so you feel you can live anywhere (not really true).   If you turn down a good  offer because your spouse won’t move, that recruiter will most likely be  done with you.

There are options to consider.  Some families can manage commuter marriages.  Some marriages have split because the doc went ahead without the family.   You can easily move children under 12, although they may cry or complain.  Thirteen and older is much harder and some have stayed behind to finish high school. 

Recruiters don’t demand exclusivity

Recruiters expect you to be working with more than one firm.  They can only present you for one search at a time.  If you are hunting for a job, the more options you have, the better.  It makes you calmer in the process.

Don’t ignore a recruiter once you’ve found a job

Return phone calls when recruiters  call you for suggestions for  potential job candidates.You never know when you may need them.  It is not unusual to change jobs every 3-5 years. 

Happiness Matters

I recently attended a workshop called Happiness Matters  by Rachel Brozenske.   She outlined the extensive research that shows it not only feels good to pursue happiness, it also improves your health, increases job productivity, strengthens your relationships and lengthens your life. There are four steps that help you move toward happiness. Seek activity that:

1.       Is pleasurable without being harmfully addictive to your body or to others. 

2.       Creates a sense of flow -- you enjoy yourself so much you lose track of time.

3.       Has meaning.

4.       Creates connection with others.

Pleasure at work:

I found that many activities in my job meet the four requirements.  I like talking to physicians about their career plans: the course work they need, the volunteer work they must do to get management experience and how their spouse might react to a required move.  I did that for my pediatrician husband who wanted to be a medical director, so I know emotions run high.  I enjoy the risks associated with teaching something new, especially when the experience is well-received.  These pleasures balance out the stress of never having an empty email box for more than a few minutes.  

Pleasure away from work:

Quilting is a new hobby for me.  When I quilt, I follow directions and put together pieces I don’t understand.  When I turn over the finished block, it is beautiful in ways I could not see as I was putting it together. Three hours can pass and I don’t notice until nature calls. I find connection and meaning by taking quilting classes.  It’s the first time I have sat with a group of women where no one complains about husbands and children—just quilting talk.

In this time of enormous stress in health care, it is important to think about taking care of yourself. 

What do you do at work or away from work that makes you happy?

There's No Avoiding It: You Need to Network

Recruiters tell me that people get between 70 and 90 percent of all jobs through networking—someone knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone.  It can happen over the back fence, where you get your hair cut, your house of worship or from a friend of your mother’s.  This means that most jobs don’t come from recruiters or job banks on the Internet, even though you need to watch all of those sources, too.  The hard part for most of the physicians I talk to? You have to talk more. 

When I say this on the phone there is often silence on the other end of the phone.  Then they say, “I don’t know anyone.  I’ve been busy practicing medicine.”  They are thinking—I don’t want to talk to more people.  I don’t know what to say.  I know what they are thinking because I feel the same way.  But step one of a job search is to change that behavior. 

The biggest problem for most doctors is getting started. So try these words and see if they will fit in your mouth.  Use them at cocktail parties, breakfast, lunch, breaks, on airplanes, even when you’re waiting in line:

“Hello, how are you?  Where are you from?  What do you do?  I am a pediatrician in Charlotte, NC.  I’ve become interested in the management of our multi-speciality clinic.  Believe it or not, I like being on the finance committee, but I need to know more so I am taking Financial Decision Making at this meeting.  It is challenging but interesting.  What are you taking? 

Keep talking till you make a connection.   You were born in the same city, went to the same college, know someone that went to their college, know someone who was born in their city.  Maybe you went to school with his wife’s sister, know someone from their country or your husband visited their country when he was in medical school.  Then you can get another chicken wing and move onto the next person. 

Networking is hard for me.  I’m an Introvert, which doesn’t mean I can’t walk, talk and tie my shoes but it does mean words do not come easily to me in large noisy crowds.  I have to go into a cocktail party with a plan and a script. 

First, I’ll set a goal. For example, I’ll plan to meet five new people.  Then I rehearse my script: “Hello, I’m Barbara Linney, ACPE’s career counselor. “  If they don’t know ACPE, then I switch to, “I work for an organization in Tampa that provides management education for physicians who are moving into administrative or leadership positions.”  If they glaze over, I move on.  If they perk up, I say, “Physicians can get a masters degree through us and one of our four affiliated universities.”  If I get to the list of universities, the listeners are typically impressed and will ask me more questions. 

Networking is not just asking someone for a job.  It is building and maintaining relationships and friendships. It’s not just to benefit you. You’re also helping people find information, letting them know what you are doing and being interested in what they are doing.  With a little practice, it becomes easier. Even for an introvert like me.

Finding the Right Fit: When A City Doesn't Feel Like Home

What happens if you take a job in a new place and the city isn’t a good fit? 

It would be best if you could tough it out for two to three years but don’t stay for ten if you are miserable.  I had to give up a great teaching job at a North Carolina college to move to Florida so my pediatrician husband could be a medical director.  I'll admit -- I was a basket case the first year.  But by the second year, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Rather than focus on how unhappy I was, I started to work on a PhD in English.  I’m always happy going to school and it turned out to be a great career move for me.  

I stayed in Florida for 12 years because it was the right place for my children to graduate from high school and I got a great job.  When the second child left home, my husband  began networking and interviewing to try to get us back to Charlotte, NC.  My boss in Tampa said I could work remotely from Charlotte just as I had from Orlando.  A physician at an ACPE cocktail party said, “Thomas Wolfe said you can’t go home again, but he had a lot of problems.  I think you can.”  She was right.

Let's say you are unhappy in your new city. What can you do? Recruiters say 70-90 percent of all jobs are gotten through networking.  Think back to people you went to medical school with or trained with.  Where are they now?  Would you want to live there?  You can’t just come out and ask for a job, but you can make a phone call, catch up, ask them what their medical community is like and say, “I’d love to live in your area.  Would you let me know if you hear of any opportunities?”  Also regularly check ACPE’s job bank and the websites of any recruiters who are listed in our job bank.  Something might pop up in your favorite city. 

Just be careful: Recruiters tell me you can make one quick move if the place or chemistry is not right. But if you make two, employers begin to be suspicious of your staying power.