Job search timing

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bashir

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I'm a soon-to-be PGY-4 and I plan to stay in my hometown, where I am in residency. There's a half-dozen or so employers here that I am considering, most of which are essentially always recruiting psychiatrists. I haven't formally reached out to any yet, in part because I don't really understand how the timeline of this process is supposed to work. I'm nervous about how to coordinate the interview process among various potential employers so that I actually have a pretty decent idea about what all of my options are before I'm expected to sign a contract. How does this work if you have a face-to-face interview with employer A and an offer is on the table a few weeks later, meanwhile you are just starting to talk to employers B-D? Can you string employer A along for weeks or months while you get more information about other positions, or will employer A want an answer in short order, forcing you to decide "yes or no" on a series of offers one by one rather than choose the best among 5 or 6 on the table? Does this question even make sense? With a limited number of potential employers locally, I really don't want to burn any bridges.

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Attending interviews are easier than residency interviews. There is a shortage of us as well. Focus on asking questions about the job.

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It's a decent question. You can tell an employer after an offer is made that you need several days to discuss it with your family or think about it, maybe buy a week out of that. But anything beyond and parties start to lose interest. They have other candidates waiting in the wings. If a position stays open for you for several weeks, it may be a bad sign. Keep that in mind.
 
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You are overthinking this. Of all the places, which one are you most interested in? Schedule it first, and be prepared to vote it up or down based on what you see, hear, learn, and are offered. Then move on, if necessary, with the rest of them.

Don't plan to juggle a half dozen interviews and offers in a tight window and think you will somehow end up with the "best" one. You could come across to employers as indecisive. IMO the foot dragging tactic of "I need to talk to my family, my sig other, my pastor, etc" is lame sauce, especially if it is local and in your hometown. If you need time because of other interviews, then spit it out. Just don't overdo the courtship like you are on The Bachelor or something.

Or better yet, schedule 2 or 3 interviews in the same week to 10 days - again, the places you have prejudged as your odds on favorites. You may be able to juggle 2 or 3 of them, but not any more than that.
 
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You are overthinking this. Of all the places, which one are you most interested in? Schedule it first, and be prepared to vote it up or down based on what you see, hear, learn, and are offered. Then move on, if necessary, with the rest of them.

Don't plan to juggle a half dozen interviews and offers in a tight window and think you will somehow end up with the "best" one. You could come across to employers as indecisive. IMO the foot dragging tactic of "I need to talk to my family, my sig other, my pastor, etc" is lame sauce, especially if it is local and in your hometown. If you need time because of other interviews, then spit it out. Just don't overdo the courtship like you are on The Bachelor or something.

Or better yet, schedule 2 or 3 interviews in the same week to 10 days - again, the places you have prejudged as your odds on favorites. You may be able to juggle 2 or 3 of them, but not any more than that.

Thanks, this is helpful advice. Other advice I received IRL today is to have exploratory conversations with all of the potential employers before actually scheduling interviews anywhere. Hopefully this would allow me to get enough information about each opportunity to narrow the field and determine the favorites.
 
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It can take weeks to receive a formal offer, and then you have weeks to negotiate it. so I wouldn't worry about not having enough time. I don't recommend just interviewing for one position you think you like best as that is usually (not always) a mistake, and you won't have any negotiating power then. if employers know you are being courted by other places they will be more into you, and then you can pit them against each other to get a better offer. just don't overplay your hand
 
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