What recruiters need to know about you

My experience working with hospitals and practices has allowed me to understand what recruiters need to know about the candidates they’re considering in order to make the best hiring decisions. Here’s what you need to provide recruiters to help the process along.

Your contact information

It is crucial to include your contact information when you contact a recruiter about a position. Include an easily reachable phone number like a cell phone number.

For the recruitment process to work smoothly, both physicians and recruiters should make themselves available to each other. Each must be willing to return phone calls promptly.

Provide a professional email address that you check often. Avoid making your email address something too personal, such as hotdoctor@email.com. Reserve that for family and friends, not potential employers.

In addition, personal information (think marital status, interests and hobbies, citizenship and visa status, and whether you have children) is something you may also want to share with the recruiter and employer to help them understand your personal situation.

Your geography and lifestyle preferences

Next, make sure to discuss your geographic considerations. These can include not only where you want to practice but also factors such as community size, climate, proximity to family and friends, proximity to an airport, daily commute preferences, and schools and activities needed for your children. One thing to remember: When looking for opportunities in particular areas, research the supply and demand in that market. If the physician supply is great in the area, there could be less demand, which could have a negative effect on compensation.

Lifestyle considerations are also important when talking to a recruiter. Discuss the area’s cost of living; opportunities for your spouse; recreational activities; religious opportunities; and even access to entertainment, dining and shopping if these are important to you. Ask about the types of benefits the practice offers. Another lifestyle consideration is your schedule. Do you want to work full-time or part-time? Make this clear and also ask about call requirements and the hours you’d be working.

Your practice preference and career path

The practice setting that interests you is also important to share. This may mean being employed—or becoming a partner—in a single- or multispecialty group, working in solo practice, being employed at an academic/teaching hospital, working as a locum tenens physician or being a hospital employee. Make your preferences clear.

Other important considerations about the practice setting include staff and technology. What types of relationships will you have with the other physicians in the group? Is this the type of practice you can see taking care of your family? Are there nurse practitioners or physician assistants in the practice? How would you be expected to work with them? Does the practice have an EHR? Which system is it, and how does it interface with the billing system? If you have preferences about any of these issues, make them clear to the recruiter.

Make sure the recruiter or employer understands how you see your career path. Do you want to settle in one location for most of your career? Will you want to do administrative or executive work? Do you want to teach or research? Remember, career advancement can come in the form of greater responsibilities or could require more experience and education.

Once you start working at your new practice, you will continue to develop your skills and practice style, and your personal priorities may shift. Remember this when you look for a position. Try to determine if it will be a good fit for more than three years.

To make sure a potential employer knows what is most important to you in your job search, please reach out to PracticeLink’s Physician Relations team at (800) 776-8383 or PhysicianRelations@PracticeLink.com.

Our team can work with you to create a free profile that includes all of the information recruiters and employers need, helping you, in turn, find your first or next job.

Tammy Hager is director of PracticeLink’s physician and client relations teams.