Why Is Searching for a Nonclinical Headhunter So Difficult

I’m always checking my web site statistics to see what going on. And one of the reports I check on tells me what words or phrases physicians are using that brings my site to their attention. Recently, looking over the data, the key search phrase driving physicians to my web was, “physician recruiters non clinical jobs.”

With that query I know your hope and I know your expectation. But this is the reality. Clients constantly tell me stories of filling out online forms, chasing down job postings from online job boards and religiously following the updates sent out by their professional societies and organizations. With that information, I ask them one question, “Do you meet all, and I mean “all,” the qualifications listed in those ads?” If “yes,” they do meet the qualifications, then my response is a tepid, ok. But if not, and no is the overwhelming response, I usually say, “don’t waist your time.”

Let me briefly explain. Most of my clients are coming directly from clinical practice and are seeking their first non-clinical career assignment (job.). And, I rarely (yes, it does happen on occasion) see a job posting saying: “Wanted, physician with no experience outside of practice for key corporate leadership role…” So, if you have all the experience necessary to fill just about any non-clinical job you want, stop reading. This isn’t for you. But if you’re a practicing physician or one who just left practice to pursue a non-clinical job, read on.

Here is the most direct analogy I can think of: Going to a recruiter to fill a posted job for which you do not match at least to the 80^thpercentile is like a car salesperson going to someone who has ordered a new car and trying to convince them to accept an auto different from their order – one without all the options they wanted but one that costs just as much. Why would they accept that?

But doctor, that’s you every time you call up a recruiter to say, “I could do that job…” You’re saying, “I don’t care what your customer ‘ordered,’ take me instead.”  It’s not going to happen.

So how do you ever get that VPMA/Medical Science Liaison/etc…  job if you’ve never been one? You network. I know, what a revelation, but it’s true. And networking is both that simple and that complex – and it will work if you do it correctly.

Back to my analogy. You don’t want to be the person trying to convince someone dreaming of taking delivery on their new Porsche 911 to accept a Corvette. It won’t happen. But if you can convince someone who dreams of driving a fast sports car that you can fulfill their dream – 911, McLaren, M3, Viper – just about any of these will fill the bill. You just need to appropriately match the individual qualities with their needs and expectations.

That’s your objective, find someone with a need, a problem, and offer to fill it or solve it. That’s the Holy Grail. Learn to present yourself as a problem solver and draw analogies from your practice and other experiences to prove you can solve their problem or problems just as you’ve solved others in the past.