Nova OD -- Thank you for your comments. I am glad to see something on here other than doom and gloom, "you will work in Wal-Mart, sleeping in the toiletries section, and will be strung up and whipped/pecked in the face by a small bird on a daily basis for their entertainment." I will attempt to add to what you have said, however unsuccessfully. Again, I awhile away from my own job search, but here is what I hear from friends and previous docs I have worked for:
** This was a big one from the 1st doc I ever worked for, and a man I still speak to and greatly respect: Don't discount personality. He used to tell me "The best training I ever had to be an OD was working as a bartender for a few years through college". As many people have said, competency in clinical acumen is assumed. One thing that separates someone is, surprise, what it is like to sit and talk with you.
** GPA means nothing, references mean everything. I have yet to meet a graduate that got their job because of their GPA, yet it seems that everyone gets a leg up from well-respected docs that have good things to say about them. Even as someone in my stage of the profession, I know that in many cases the best clinicians, the best with pt's etc, are not always those with the best grades. These are two different skills, and nothing is a substitute for someone that thinks well on their feet.
** It's all the individual....I know that comes out as a dropout of the conversation, but it seems true. I hear people that moan all day about how they can't find a good job in South Florida (quite a few of them), but I also know of people that got and hold great jobs down here. How is that? My guess is that some people are much better at researching, have many more friends in high places, have built a good reputation in their rotation, and this all gives them a very different view on things. One person's gloom is another person's opportunity.
Just me parroting what I hear. I'm not quite there yet. Good exchange.
