Bettering your chances of getting hired

[Ndebt]

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There are way too many PT's entering the market now and way too many schools, this much is obvious. So in predicting a competitive job market in the near future I'd like to ask what do you all agree are the best things to do during PT school to come out ahead of others when it comes job time?
I hear specializations can only be achieved a year or so after school and I don't think going to PT conferences helps a lot either. What are your thoughts?


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[noyceguy]

There are way too many PT's entering the market now and way too many schools, this much is obvious. So in predicting a competitive job market in the near future I'd like to ask what do you all agree are the best things to do during PT school to come out ahead of others when it comes job time?
I hear specializations can only be achieved a year or so after school and I don't think going to PT conferences helps a lot either. What are your thoughts?


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1. Have a license
2. Have a neat resume with correct spelling and punctuation
3. Be polite and nice at the interview

Source: I hire people.

 

[NewTestament]

Be different in some way
Add as much value as you can. Be a value machine.

 

[Phyline]

Be the best clinician you can be. Not everyone graduating with a DPT degree will be a good clinician. Be a great one.

 

[NewTestament]

By the way, is "bettering" a word? LOL. What happened to "improve?"

 

[steveyk]

better can indeed be used as a verb. I try to stay away from using it though to avoid confusion.
and yes, imo, improving or increasing your chances would have been better alternatives (but we get the idea OP)

 

[InNoApparentDistress]

Well I liked the word choice. Boldly going with a more novel and interesting word. Come on folks...punch up your writing. Just remember:

A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.

 

[pegasuscvc]

I think you may be a bit of a pessimist. Granted, this is only one person's experience, but I'm graduating in May, taking the boards in July, and I didn't find it difficult to line up a job at all (In a state I've never been in, with a company I've never contacted before my job search began). My classmates aren't having trouble either. Don't forget the need for PT is going to go up as the Baby Boomer population ages and as there are advances in the medical field. So long as you don't limit yourself to job searching in THIS area and nowhere else, you probably won't have trouble. Try to be a little bit of an optimist. Employers like that.

 

[DesertPT]

Your job search should only be truly challenging if you are a one of the many pre-PT or 1st year PT students who wants to work only with elite athletes and you keep that goal after graduation. Not that it's a bad goal. But if you are completely ok with working with old people and sick people (or kids!), you should have no trouble finding lots of opportunities.

 

[noyceguy]

Your job search should only be truly challenging if you are a one of the many pre-PT or 1st year PT students who wants to work only with elite athletes and you keep that goal after graduation. Not that it's a bad goal. But if you are completely ok with working with old people and sick people (or kids!), you should have no trouble finding lots of opportunities.

These statements are so very, very true.

 

[DesertPT]

These statements are so very, very true.

There seems to be almost a linear relationship between whether or not you want to be a high-end sports PT and how long you have been in PT school...

 

[noyceguy]

There seems to be almost a linear relationship between whether or not you want to be a high-end sports PT and how long you have been in PT school...

There are very few positions available to work with athletes, because everyone wants to do it. So, those positions do not pay that great. In regards to the OP's question, if they want to get a job quickly all they have to do is present a clean resume to a SNF or something and be polite at the interview and they will get the job. It is not hard at all to obtain employment in this field provided you are willing to work with an ill population.

 

[NewTestament]

There are home health jobs everywhere and they pay well too (up to $2000/wk + sign on bonus if you stay for a year). Do that during the week and work in another clinic on the weekend and you could make $70-80k after tax in your first year. Be flexible, people. The internet makes location less relevant and important than before.

 

[Ndebt]

Thanks guys.. I meant to come of as realistic and not so much as pessimistic, but I guess too much time on these forums has skewed my vision of job outlook in the future. Glad to know that finding a job won't be as much a concern as I thought, and of course relocating will definitely be possible to get those great jobs.
Also yeah wasn't sure if the verbified "bettering" was correct but glad that it is! (Can "verb" be used as a verb?) who knows but thanks you all!


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[OHIO PT]

It is not hard at all to obtain employment in this field provided you are willing to work with an ill population.

Yes I hire for SNFs too and agree with what you have said above.

If there are multiple candidates mostly similar what I look for is the more engaging/outgoing person. When I tour them in the facility do they speak to and interact with the patients they pass or meet? Are the comfortable when doing this? How do they interact with staff they meet? I also try and weed out those who show they have a desire to work in a different setting but maybe are just looking for some good money in the SNF to start. Are all their clinicals OP or PEDs and they talk about how much they loved those? Or do they seem genuinely interested and wanting to work with older adults in SNF setting? It really sucks to hire the wrong person who leaves or doesnt work out. Costs a lot of time and money.

I had one PT candidate who had been working in PEDs but was now applying to work in SNF after a move. Right away I was a little suspicious if maybe she couldnt find a job right away in PEDs but she sounded like she wanted to get out of PEDs. However, I see on her resume she is going to be getting certified in aquatic therapy in a few months at a week long course. We are a SNF without a pool, so another red flag goes up, I ask her about this and she seems offended I would be concerned about the aquatic therapy cert and not impressed she was doing it. Newsflash, why would I be impressed you are spending a lot of time and money to get certified in something that you cant do at our facility if we hire you? Of course that will be a red flag that you may leave soon after to pursue that field.

 

[abynormal]

Yes I hire for SNFs too and agree with what you have said above.

If there are multiple candidates mostly similar what I look for is the more engaging/outgoing person. When I tour them in the facility do they speak to and interact with the patients they pass or meet? Are the comfortable when doing this? How do they interact with staff they meet? I also try and weed out those who show they have a desire to work in a different setting but maybe are just looking for some good money in the SNF to start. Are all their clinicals OP or PEDs and they talk about how much they loved those? Or do they seem genuinely interested and wanting to work with older adults in SNF setting? It really sucks to hire the wrong person who leaves or doesnt work out. Costs a lot of time and money.

I had one PT candidate who had been working in PEDs but was now applying to work in SNF after a move. Right away I was a little suspicious if maybe she couldnt find a job right away in PEDs but she sounded like she wanted to get out of PEDs. However, I see on her resume she is going to be getting certified in aquatic therapy in a few months at a week long course. We are a SNF without a pool, so another red flag goes up, I ask her about this and she seems offended I would be concerned about the aquatic therapy cert and not impressed she was doing it. Newsflash, why would I be impressed you are spending a lot of time and money to get certified in something that you cant do at our facility if we hire you? Of course that will be a red flag that you may leave soon after to pursue that field.

Just going through the thought process of this conversation:

She might have read your question like this "is this employer not supportive of continuing education"? if she came across offended. Maybe you can start off with saying what the benefits for continuing education are and then highlight the need to support therapies that can be used at the facility.

If she had said, it was a continuing education that she arranged prior to becoming familiar with the facility, would that have neutralized the red flag?

 

[OHIO PT]

Just going through the thought process of this conversation:

She might have read your question like this "is this employer not supportive of continuing education"? if she came across offended. Maybe you can start off with saying what the benefits for continuing education are and then highlight the need to support therapies that can be used at the facility.

If she had said, it was a continuing education that she arranged prior to becoming familiar with the facility, would that have neutralized the red flag?

Yeah my post was kind of late and not very clear I was kind of just rambling. We do mention we take continuing Ed seriously and we pay for continuing ed as long as it is applicable to the setting. If what the candidate was doing was just a typical CEU course it wouldnt have cause any red flag for me at all but it wasnt. It was like week long certification course that had to be costing a lot of money. Travel, week off work, and cost of training. It wasnt the type of thing you do on a whim. You dont go through the trouble, time, money she was going through to not use the certification. That is why it was a red flag.

 

[Kyle Abbot]

Just like 'noyceguy' said. He does hire people after all. There are many websites that can help you out with the required information. Plus there are staffing agencies that you can sign up with. Some are too good and help you out through most of the procedures.

 

[ptisfun2]

There are way too many PT's entering the market now and way too many schools, this much is obvious. So in predicting a competitive job market in the near future I'd like to ask what do you all agree are the best things to do during PT school to come out ahead of others when it comes job time?
I hear specializations can only be achieved a year or so after school and I don't think going to PT conferences helps a lot either. What are your thoughts?


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I think this is probably going to be a good thing to continue to ask, especially if you are in school. Some of the models have the PT market tightening up a bit. Our school encourages all of our students to 'do something.' If all our students do is study, go to class, and take exams, we really feel like they are missing out. Work on research with faculty, volunteer with your school's or community partner's pro bono clinic, work on your programs community service activities, get involved with the APTA. A more engaged student becomes a more engaged professional, and those are ALWAYS in short supply.