Finding a job as a recent graduate

[YoonS]

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Hi, I am class of 2016 and am in the process of having interviews from different offices.

I am debating between 3 offices, but every office has some good sides and also bad sides.

I am at the point where I cant decide, and I need some advices from dentist who have been working for while.

What is the most important thing that you think you need to consider most when you are looking for job? it is tempting that just go office with higher salaries but I know money is not everything.

If you were to go back and find a job as a recent graduate, what will you consider most?

patient pool?
numbers of doctors?
location? close to home? 30min from home?
what kind of procedure you can do? such as can you do endo? os? or simply referr them out?
money?
patients age?

Huge thanks in advance!!

 

[cacajuate]

Dentaltown.com

They have all the info you need.

 

[bing12]

Give us the info on the 3 practices you have.

I graduated 2015 and this is the advice I can give you

Important aspects:
1) Is it busy enough for you? what do the dentists avg a day(in terms of production). Dont be fooled by the % you are offered, 22% of 5k is more than 40% of 2k. You want to make sure you are busy enough, alot of my friends had to quit their jobs(including myself) because it was not busy enough, alot of dentist make the mistake of hiring someone when they dont need someone full time. If they had previous associates, ask how much they were compensated.
2) How many patients will you be seing a day? is it a medicaid practice with no EFDA( to place restorations for you), if so, you will be working much harder than most, even though you MAY get paid better, it may not be worth it unless you think its a great opportunity. I have a friend seieng 8 patients a day making similar amount to those seeing 40 patients a day in a mill.
3) What procedures do they refer out? if you are interested in learning specialty procedures such as endo, OS, ortho,etc, if they are referring out most procedures chances are you may not get a chance to expand your skillset
4) Always ALWAYS negotiate the contract, esp if its an area that is more difficult to find an associate. if its LA or NYC, wont get too far. if you think the restrictive covenant is too large, ask for it to be smaller, if its too many years, ask for less years(if you value that), if you need to move, ask them to cover moving cost, if they only offer minimum guarantee for 3 months, ask for 6 months, ask for a sign on bonus,etc. Now i am not saying you have to ask for ALL of this, but understand that the worst case scenario of asking is them saying.."no", not too bad of a risk.
5) how is the staff? I think going in and shadowing for AT MINIMUM of 2-3 hours is necessary to see how the staff interact with the dentist. this is huge and often overlooked, if your staff suck your life will not be fun, and vice versa.
6) will you have autonomy to treatment plan and not have anyone change it? will the office manager try to overstep your decision making?

And lastly, try to negotiate the best "notice to leave", 3 months is typically the longest I have seen, and the worst, because if you are in a situation where you are miserable, you have to stay 3 more months, flexibility in this is key. 1 month is ideal, anything in between would be good as well. if you are debating a practice that you think is risky, a 3 month notice is something I would not accept personally.

Good luck

 

[Newgoalsdentdoc]

Hi, I am class of 2016 and am in the process of having interviews from different offices.

I am debating between 3 offices, but every office has some good sides and also bad sides.

I am at the point where I cant decide, and I need some advices from dentist who have been working for while.

What is the most important thing that you think you need to consider most when you are looking for job? it is tempting that just go office with higher salaries but I know money is not everything.

If you were to go back and find a job as a recent graduate, what will you consider most?

patient pool?
numbers of doctors?
location? close to home? 30min from home?
what kind of procedure you can do? such as can you do endo? os? or simply referr them out?
money?
patients age?

Huge thanks in advance!!

Location is very important. I have found over the years that I chose jobs in cities where I ended up NOT being happy. After being at work during the day, it is important to LIKE where you live when you're not working. It's especially important to take this into account if you're married or have children or both. Your family's happiness is so important.
Future coworkers. It is impossible to see everything at an interview. There are key things that you can look for during an interview as you talk to people. Watch how staff reacts when you're introduced and shown around. Exchange numbers with dental providers who are there. If you can, find out why people left and if people are happy. Sad to say, but true, anyone and everyone can put on a good act during an interview. Overall, it is important to have a good working relationship with people and office interaction has to be good. You will know when there's "chemistry."
Benefits are very important. Make sure you're covered for malpractice, CE allowances, leave, licensure renewal, etc. It's SO important.
Contract. I would almost always say to have an attorney review your contract before signing.
Salary. Depending on your years of experience, it is important to be paid what you are worth. After several years of practicing, a seasoned dentist looked over my resume and gave me some advice I will never forget when she knew I was transitioning and interviewing to another job. She said "Dr. X, you have done well and your skills are great. You do procedures that most General Dentists refer out. Ask for a salary that is what you are worth. Know your worth and get paid for it."
Everyone looks for different things in a job, but that's my list.
In conclusion, I must say that after 15+ years of practicing, salary is not everything. It is SO important to be content and happy. In the end, you're providing a service to people who trust you to get what they need. I have found that the positions I had that offered a huge salary were the most miserable and stressful jobs I had with some of the worst people. I also found that the jobs with the lower salaries had some of the sweetest people I have ever known and I still have them as friends to this day. With time, you learn many lessons and you learn what is most important.