When to start looking for jobs

[newby000]

When do you think is a good time to start looking for jobs?
About a year before ur graduation? A little later? Earlier?
When did you start? How long was the process?

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[RetinaDude]

As soon as I finished residency, and started my fellowship, I started looking. Even though I had two more years to finish training, I knew there were certain areas of the country I wanted to live so I started investigating. Luckily, even with two years to go, a few of the places I reached out to told me they would probably need someone to join them at the time I graduated. So, I stayed in touch throughout the first year of my fellowship.

 

[mjohnsonets]

When do you think is a good time to start looking for jobs?
About a year before ur graduation? A little later? Earlier?
When did you start? How long was the process?

About a year before is fine. You can even go 14-15 months before and depending on where you're looking you will get fruitful conversations.

The process takes as long as you want it to but, be professional about it. It's fine to have initial conversations and have some time before a visit but, if you plan a visit with a group, do not reply back that you need 6 more months to visit other practices and make a decision. If you go on a visit, try to get all your visits done around the same time frame or be prepared to give a practice a solid yes or no to continuing the process afterward. If you start the process it can be as short as a month and a half or as long as a year depending on what you find.

If you are planning to do a fellowship, I suggest you do not sign a contract until you've had some time(doesn't have to be a lot but at least started seeing patients) in fellowship so you have better and more specific questions to ask.

 

[MstaKing10]

I started looking halfway through first year of fellowship (did a 2 year retina fellowship). Had a contract signed by December of my second year of fellowship. It took about 3-4 months to get my license in that state, and about another 3-4 months to get me on the insurance plans. I started the following year end of August. Had my license and was on most insurance plans but there were a few I wasn't on yet. I did a few interviews at Academy and Society meetings but most fruitful was onsite visits. I used recruiters and job listings on academy and society websites but the most solid leads were from my fellowship mentors. Have your contract reviewed before you sign. Good luck!

 

[newby000]

Thank you very much for all the replies.
I am halfway into my fellowship, I started a month ago and was worried that looking too early might limit your options, especially if you signed a contract... but as you suggested, being professional and transparent is the way to go as employers are aware that you are looking at other options, and the same goes for them...