Applying to opportunities as a physician is an exciting and nerve-wracking experience for many young doctors. One issue with job applying is physicians wanting to appear eager, but not desperate. How are you able to show how excited you are about the potential opportunity without coming across as a physician desperate for the opportunity?
Do not harass the recruiter.
If you apply to a position and do not get a confirmation email or hear from the organization about next steps, there is nothing wrong with sending the recruiter an email to check on the status of your application or to see what the next step in the application/interview process is. However, there is an issue with calling a recruiter incessantly after applying for a position to see if they've received your application and when you can start interviewing. Sending multiple emails or calling multiple times does not make you look like an eager candidate, but instead comes across as desperate and pushy.
Eager Candidate: Calls or sends an email to the recruiter after not receiving a confirmation email that the application has been received.
Desperate candidate: Calls and emails the recruiter directly after applying to try to schedule an interview.
Do not apply to multiple positions at the same organization in a short amount of time.
This one can scare and confuse physicians who have applied to a handful of jobs at an organization, but this does not mean if you applied to 2-3 jobs that you will be blacklisted. To give an example, a client thought that the system was malfunctioning because a doctor had applied to over 40 positions in less than 48 hours at the organization. Once again, this does not seem like a physician who just loves the organization, it looks like a desperate attempt to get hired at this organization and can raise flags to recruiters. Eager Candidate: Applies to a couple of positions with the organization that vary on location. Desperate Candidate: Applies to every available opportunity matching their specialty with the organization.
Respect their timelines.
As a society, we are beginning to get used to instant gratification with technology evolving, but we must remember that many organizations have specific guidelines when it comes to job applications and interviews. Organizations have set guidelines for interviewing candidates, and often that includes interviewing each viable candidate before a decision can be made. This is why recruiters give you a date to expect to hear back from them.
Eager Candidate: Waits until the recruiter contacts them about the position or follows up with the recruiter if the decision date has passed.
Desperate candidate: Continually asks if a decision on the position has been made yet even when the decision date has not arrived.
Make sure that during your job search you are not coming across as a desperate candidate. This can drastically reduce your chances of being a viable candidate and reduce your value to the organization. Looking for more job search tips? Check out the Career Resources Center!