Job search post fellowship

[idkididk]

Hi all,

I was fortunate to match into a 2-year surgical retina fellowship this year, and will be looking for a private practice retina-only job near my wife's family for 2026.

Should I reach out to practices nearby personally to let them know I'm interested in the area? I'd assume practices would know if they will be looking to hire a new person in 2 years, but how early should I reach out? Or should I contact a physician recruiter and let them handle the initial contacts?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[RetinaDude]

Contact the practices directly. Many practices are recruiting and they are always looking for people who have a good reason to join their group (ie, family nearby, familiar with the area because of college or spending a lot of time there, etc…)

 

[mjohnsonets]

Congrats on your match. I would get a little time in fellowship before doing your outreach. You'll have better questions to ask and know a little more about running a more rigorous retina clinic. I'd say I start seeing retina fellows start their job search up to a little more than 1.5 years out from graduation. Some start much later but that is the general timeline I see. If you're super focused on one area only, I would think that would be a reason to do it a little sooner just to let them know you're going to be looking there and start networking.

 

[hello lady!]

Avoid the recruiters at all costs! They will steer you away from what's best for you and try to put you into places that yield them the best fee. They also are rewarded if you fail and need to look for another job.

 

[mjohnsonets]

Avoid the recruiters at all costs! They will steer you away from what's best for you and try to put you into places that yield them the best fee. They also are rewarded if you fail and need to look for another job.

I try to leave the recruiter comments alone since I have an obvious incentive to rebut them but this one I will. While I do work for my clients, I give a level take to ophthalmologists looking for jobs. There have been times when a clearly better deal has been offered and I do not try to steer people from those. I tell people I do not work with everyone and as such they can compliment my efforts with their own. There are also areas where I don't have anything that I'm happy to relay who I have heard good things about in those markets. As an example, I have a decent amount of clients in southern California. There are a lot of new grads that want to go there and many relay they want a more lifestyle practice, I tell them to look into Kaiser. Kaiser will never use an outside recruiter, I am fully disincentivized from relaying that info yet I'm even relaying it here. I present PDFs with things to consider when conducting a job search, red flags to lookout for, some of which I've gleaned from this forum and the ophthalmologists who are active here. Finally, I do not work with every practice that asks me to and there are practices I've severed ties with due to feedback I've received.

My fees are also fixed with each practice, so I have no incentive to steer you to a "best fee". I also wouldn't say I'm rewarded if there's a failure, why would an ophthalmologist want to work with me again if I sent them to a job that didn't work out?

Anyone working with me is fully welcome to request my upfront opinion on the market, PE vs non-PE, market salaries, etc before we ever talk about practices, their preferences, or locations they're considering. I also have no problem giving feedback on other practices and what I've heard good things about even if I don't work with them. I know who my main competitors are and how I can be better than them. I get that you guys get all kinds of emails about far flung locations paying $1mil+ per year and recruiters are annoying - especially the ones who won't tell you the specific practice they're working for. I try to be more concise than my competitors, I try to reach out about jobs I think are worthwhile. I also know that I relay a more nuanced perspective on each of my client practices and the market at large than my competitors - hopefully my regular postings here have shown that.

 

[RetinaDude]

I try to leave the recruiter comments alone since I have an obvious incentive to rebut them but this one I will. While I do work for my clients, I give a level take to ophthalmologists looking for jobs. There have been times when a clearly better deal has been offered and I do not try to steer people from those. I tell people I do not work with everyone and as such they can compliment my efforts with their own. There are also areas where I don't have anything that I'm happy to relay who I have heard good things about in those markets. As an example, I have a decent amount of clients in southern California. There are a lot of new grads that want to go there and many relay they want a more lifestyle practice, I tell them to look into Kaiser. Kaiser will never use an outside recruiter, I am fully disincentivized from relaying that info yet I'm even relaying it here. I present PDFs with things to consider when conducting a job search, red flags to lookout for, some of which I've gleaned from this forum and the ophthalmologists who are active here. Finally, I do not work with every practice that asks me to and there are practices I've severed ties with due to feedback I've received.

My fees are also fixed with each practice, so I have no incentive to steer you to a "best fee". I also wouldn't say I'm rewarded if there's a failure, why would an ophthalmologist want to work with me again if I sent them to a job that didn't work out?

Anyone working with me is fully welcome to request my upfront opinion on the market, PE vs non-PE, market salaries, etc before we ever talk about practices, their preferences, or locations they're considering. I also have no problem giving feedback on other practices and what I've heard good things about even if I don't work with them. I know who my main competitors are and how I can be better than them. I get that you guys get all kinds of emails about far flung locations paying $1mil+ per year and recruiters are annoying - especially the ones who won't tell you the specific practice they're working for. I try to be more concise than my competitors, I try to reach out about jobs I think are worthwhile. I also know that I relay a more nuanced perspective on each of my client practices and the market at large than my competitors - hopefully my regular postings here have shown that.

That’s a great reply. Not all recruiters are bad, it’s just that a few bad apples can give everyone a bad name. Same as it is with, I guess, any profession. With the supply of ophthalmologists not matching the needs of the population, the role of good, ethical recruiters is valuable. Each person, whether they be the practice recruiting or the candidate looking for a job, has to decide what route they want to take

 

[eyeeye_captain]

Agree with waiting until about 6 months into fellowship before you reach out to groups in your preferred location. Most groups aren’t usually looking too much farther down the line, but many will at least talk with you so they have someone in mind for the possibility of a doctor slowing down or leaving. If you’re lucky, a mentor will know somebody where you want to be and can connect you. Keep up to date on the ASRS and AAO job boards. It’s fine to reach out to partners, especially if there’s some training overlap. Practice managers are fine too. If you don’t hear back, no harm done.

As far as recruiters, I have no problem with the large majority. Like Matt does here (for free no less), I find most are reasonable folks who can give you some real world answers during a search. I think an underrated reason that some people dislike the whole group is that by nature they will represent some jobs that nobody wants - that’s why those groups need their help. I think I’ve been getting the same emails about Cooperstown, NY for around a decade now. I don’t know anybody who’s cold calling the jobs in Rutland, Vermont and Columbus, Nebraska.

 

[hello lady!]

I try to leave the recruiter comments alone since I have an obvious incentive to rebut them but this one I will. While I do work for my clients, I give a level take to ophthalmologists looking for jobs. There have been times when a clearly better deal has been offered and I do not try to steer people from those. I tell people I do not work with everyone and as such they can compliment my efforts with their own. There are also areas where I don't have anything that I'm happy to relay who I have heard good things about in those markets. As an example, I have a decent amount of clients in southern California. There are a lot of new grads that want to go there and many relay they want a more lifestyle practice, I tell them to look into Kaiser. Kaiser will never use an outside recruiter, I am fully disincentivized from relaying that info yet I'm even relaying it here. I present PDFs with things to consider when conducting a job search, red flags to lookout for, some of which I've gleaned from this forum and the ophthalmologists who are active here. Finally, I do not work with every practice that asks me to and there are practices I've severed ties with due to feedback I've received.

My fees are also fixed with each practice, so I have no incentive to steer you to a "best fee". I also wouldn't say I'm rewarded if there's a failure, why would an ophthalmologist want to work with me again if I sent them to a job that didn't work out?

Anyone working with me is fully welcome to request my upfront opinion on the market, PE vs non-PE, market salaries, etc before we ever talk about practices, their preferences, or locations they're considering. I also have no problem giving feedback on other practices and what I've heard good things about even if I don't work with them. I know who my main competitors are and how I can be better than them. I get that you guys get all kinds of emails about far flung locations paying $1mil+ per year and recruiters are annoying - especially the ones who won't tell you the specific practice they're working for. I try to be more concise than my competitors, I try to reach out about jobs I think are worthwhile. I also know that I relay a more nuanced perspective on each of my client practices and the market at large than my competitors - hopefully my regular postings here have shown that.

Well you might just be the pope of ophthalmology recruiting then.

My experience with recruiters was two-fold, first time as a job-seeker and the second time as a practice owner looking to hire. I've dealt with 3 during the former and probably 6 during the latter. This doesn't even include all of the countless recruiters that relentlessly call during dinner time. I didn't have an honest experience with any of them.

As an applicant who interviewed at some jobs through them they strongly discouraged me to accept a job position (because they didn't represent them and wouldn't get commission) while the job they were pushing me towards has burned through about 1 MD per 2-3 years since I interviewed there.

Nowadays, I'll get the contact information for "interested" applicants only to find out things like....they've failed the boards 3x....they're not legal to work in the US. They need a visa that wasn't disclosed when asked. These recruiters don't care if the applicant worked one day - they want their money when the ink dries on the contract.

Unfortunately, because AAO pricing is somewhat ridiculous ($500 per 60 days regardless if you get a click?) you have groups like The Eye Group which spam old job posting for years to make it look like they have a huge catalogue of jobs. This promotes new applicants to send them their resume (why not? It's free!). They then blast these to any practice within the states chosen (even if you're 5 hours from where they want, or even if the applicant selected 15 states). Oh, and if you happen to already know someone who they sent you, you better decline within 72 hours or else they'll threaten litigation if that person is hired.

It's a service that no one would use if the AAO (and the optometry association) would step up and centralize the job market. Get rid of the middle man and save some money for the healthcare system.

 

[mjohnsonets]

Well you might just be the pope of ophthalmology recruiting then.

My experience with recruiters was two-fold, first time as a job-seeker and the second time as a practice owner looking to hire. I've dealt with 3 during the former and probably 6 during the latter. This doesn't even include all of the countless recruiters that relentlessly call during dinner time. I didn't have an honest experience with any of them.

As an applicant who interviewed at some jobs through them they strongly discouraged me to accept a job position (because they didn't represent them and wouldn't get commission) while the job they were pushing me towards has burned through about 1 MD per 2-3 years since I interviewed there.

Nowadays, I'll get the contact information for "interested" applicants only to find out things like....they've failed the boards 3x....they're not legal to work in the US. They need a visa that wasn't disclosed when asked. These recruiters don't care if the applicant worked one day - they want their money when the ink dries on the contract.

Unfortunately, because AAO pricing is somewhat ridiculous ($500 per 60 days regardless if you get a click?) you have groups like The Eye Group which spam old job posting for years to make it look like they have a huge catalogue of jobs. This promotes new applicants to send them their resume (why not? It's free!). They then blast these to any practice within the states chosen (even if you're 5 hours from where they want, or even if the applicant selected 15 states). Oh, and if you happen to already know someone who they sent you, you better decline within 72 hours or else they'll threaten litigation if that person is hired.

It's a service that no one would use if the AAO (and the optometry association) would step up and centralize the job market. Get rid of the middle man and save some money for the healthcare system.

Not the Pope but "I know who my main competitors are and how I can be better than them."

I know how my competitors work and I understand being frustrated by this type of service. You are the client though, demand more of the services provided to you or sever ties with them. Especially if someone is sending non-board eligible candidates like there's no difference. That's a literal first check box - can they work in private practice as an ophthalmologist in the US? If the answer is no and the recruiter is offering no creative ideas on how to solve that (rarely are there any solutions for private practice) then they are just sending you busy work, no value.

 

[LightBox]

Well you might just be the pope of ophthalmology recruiting then.

My experience with recruiters was two-fold, first time as a job-seeker and the second time as a practice owner looking to hire. I've dealt with 3 during the former and probably 6 during the latter. This doesn't even include all of the countless recruiters that relentlessly call during dinner time. I didn't have an honest experience with any of them.

As an applicant who interviewed at some jobs through them they strongly discouraged me to accept a job position (because they didn't represent them and wouldn't get commission) while the job they were pushing me towards has burned through about 1 MD per 2-3 years since I interviewed there.

Nowadays, I'll get the contact information for "interested" applicants only to find out things like....they've failed the boards 3x....they're not legal to work in the US. They need a visa that wasn't disclosed when asked. These recruiters don't care if the applicant worked one day - they want their money when the ink dries on the contract.

Unfortunately, because AAO pricing is somewhat ridiculous ($500 per 60 days regardless if you get a click?) you have groups like The Eye Group which spam old job posting for years to make it look like they have a huge catalogue of jobs. This promotes new applicants to send them their resume (why not? It's free!). They then blast these to any practice within the states chosen (even if you're 5 hours from where they want, or even if the applicant selected 15 states). Oh, and if you happen to already know someone who they sent you, you better decline within 72 hours or else they'll threaten litigation if that person is hired.

It's a service that no one would use if the AAO (and the optometry association) would step up and centralize the job market. Get rid of the middle man and save some money for the healthcare system.

I wouldn't want the AAO trying to centralize that. Monopolies are never good things.