Resident Contacting Potential Future Jobs

[UncleMinnie]

I'm a junior resident who loves checking out the ENT job listings when I'm bored. A few questions have come to mind recently when I do this that I'm hoping some people might wanna take a stab at.

When is the earliest that a practice might like to hear from a resident if the resident is very interested in the posting, or if there isn't a posting but the resident would love to find out if they might like to add another doc around the time the resident graduates? I'm sure that great jobs are always popping up, but sometimes I will see one that seems ideal and part of me really wants to contact them to hear more.

Any tips for simple and tactful ways to reach out?

For those of you in a practice, do you often get emails or calls from like a PGY 3 or PGY 4 that's interested in your practice? If you do, do you appreciate such contact or feel like it's useless given the prematurity?

Also, occasionally I hear that 'the best jobs never make it to the job posting websites'. Is there any way to find out about those besides having the fortune to know the right people?

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[TonsilPlucker]

I'm a junior resident who loves checking out the ENT job listings when I'm bored. A few questions have come to mind recently when I do this that I'm hoping some people might wanna take a stab at.

When is the earliest that a practice might like to hear from a resident if the resident is very interested in the posting, or if there isn't a posting but the resident would love to find out if they might like to add another doc around the time the resident graduates? I'm sure that great jobs are always popping up, but sometimes I will see one that seems ideal and part of me really wants to contact them to hear more.

Any tips for simple and tactful ways to reach out?

For those of you in a practice, do you often get emails or calls from like a PGY 3 or PGY 4 that's interested in your practice? If you do, do you appreciate such contact or feel like it's useless given the prematurity?

Also, occasionally I hear that 'the best jobs never make it to the job posting websites'. Is there any way to find out about those besides having the fortune to know the right people?

Pgy 4 year is when you start start thinking or looking. We get calls or emails all the time. Don’t waste your time before.

As for jobs, unfortunately it’s either contacts (importance of alumni network) or just cold calling practices doing a google search. Getting in contact with the practice manager or hiring partner is always a good start. With some health systems, they often have dedicated recruiters that are always happy to chat.

Sometimes you have private practice guys staffing a day or two of clinic or OR at a teaching hospital and it’s a great way to get insight into whether they are looking or if they know of any openings.

ENT is a small field. Someone always knows someone. Be nice to people and work hard cuz that will eventually reach a potential employer, even if you never hear about it.

During residency, I would get calls from former chiefs asking about how this resident or fellow was.

Good luck!

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

Agree that PGY-4 is a good time to start the process. If you have a specific place you want to be, it never hurts to draft a letter to the business managers at some various practices you think meet what you're looking for- let them know of your interest. While they may not be advertising for an associate, having a good candidate may get them "off the fence" if they had been considering an addition.

If an area is particularly underserved, they may be interested in talking with you sooner and/or signing you on and providing a monthly residency stiped. If you are willing/interested in rural America or if you want to do trauma, you can have a lot of options and power. I've found that it never hurts to let people know you're interested. Let them figure out the logistics of how and if that can happen.

As an aside, I came from a small program that was pretty new. So I didn't have the alumni network to lean on that some others did. I've made some mistakes along the way with my choice of practices and I'd be happy to share my experience via DM if you'd like or if you have specific questions.
Best of luck. And as mentioned above- it's a small world in ENT so don't hesitate to lean on those of us who have more gray hairs

 

[HighPriest]

Agree with all of this.

I picked an area and put together a nice looking packet with CV, photo, objective letter and just mailed it to every office manager in the area. Found my job that way, and I’ve been here about 4 years so far with no plans to leave.
As mentioned above, many times practices have hiring on the back burner and all it takes is a little push of a good applicant to make them start the process. Despite the job market for ENT being pretty competitive, finding good applicants is still a big issue, as is advertising and/or working with recruiters. These things all cost money and time. Having a good applicant fall in to your lap definitely greases the wheel.
The best thing about it is you can always tell them no, and if it’s not a good fit everyone is ok with that. If they’re not ok with that, it’s a bad fit anyway.