Three letters that cause an amazing amount of anxiety.

It’s that time of the year as our third-year podiatry residents are completing their programs and looking for jobs. Some of our residents have an easy time finding a job, while others take a little longer.

I remember when I was a third-year resident looking for a job. Initially, I was frustrated with the low base pay and the difficulty in actually finding a job. I spent a lot of my time looking around the country for just the right thing. The first offer I received was from someone who initially explained to me how much money I was going to make and then offered me very little. This was highly frustrating after seven years of training. Eventually, I found something that was quite fair, but I had to readjust my priorities during the process.

As anyone who knows me is aware, I did not stay in my first job permanently. In fact, I was on a four-year odyssey to find the position that felt just right for me. However, at the time, in my naïveté, I was expecting piles of proposals in which I would be showered with amazing offers. I would walk down the Primrose Path to career wealth and bliss. As anyone with more brains than me knows, that idyllic view simply does not exist.

I was fooling myself, as I am sure many of our young graduates are doing the same.

Unfortunately, the podiatric job search, like many other aspects of our beloved profession, is weakly supported by the community. For a young podiatrist looking for a job or the practitioner working to expand their practice, they quickly realize there are few resources to link up.

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“There are few good job sites or listings to help a podiatrist seeking a job”

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The national conferences typically have an area for job postings, and some of our trade magazines also post opportunities. ACFAS has the podiatrycareers.org site, which seems to list primarily solo practitioners looking for associates. As of the date of this editorial, there are a total of 19 job postings on this site. Not much to choose from. Monster.com advertises 1000+ job openings, but when one looks at the details, many of them are for other types of positions (for example “machinist” in Austin, TX came up when I looked). Similarly, the APMA’s website has a total of 19 job openings around the country.

I applaud those folks who have done something to help the job seekers with potential employers. However, this is clearly an area of opportunity to improve our profession. In my experience, those who have found the best jobs have done so via a few routes:

I have worked at three podiatry-related jobs during my career so far. My first job was with a prior resident trained by my director and the second and third jobs through online advertising. One of my co-residents found a position with an orthopedic practice by chance when he spoke to a podiatrist who knew of a position with the ortho group. It was, as he put it, a lucky chance that he found it.

For the most part, it seems these boil down to personal relationships and networking at some level. Although I have no issue with networking – this is a fine way to get a job – it’s not the most organized approach. By putting the onus so much on the resident, it adds undue stress and pulls our trainees away from what they should really be doing during their final residency year: honing skills and completing their training. It also makes looking for a new associate challenging for those in practice. Clearly, this is not the best way a busy provider in need of expansion should spend their time.

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“Most podiatry jobs are found today via personal relationships and networking at some level”

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As in most things, collaboration is often the best approach. Instead of all these disparate organizations doing something small scale on their own, I suggest the creation of a formal full-time podiatry career organization. This centralized hub would be a pay service where, for a nominal fee, job seekers can connect with potential bosses. These fees would go toward paying for a full-time staff dedicated to creating new opportunities for the community. I also suggest they would be given a free booth at all of the national conferences. Additionally, this organization would work to educate residents on important aspects of the job market, such as resumes, contract negotiation, and what to look for in a position. This fantasy organization could also work with practitioners and other organizations looking to recruit (such as the VA, Kaiser, or other large practices). Until a concerted effort to unify the job search market into one efficient location occurs, I fear our young podiatrists will be stuck pounding the proverbial pavement alone.

For those of you out there looking for a job, here are a few thoughts to help.

My final piece of advice for those of you looking for a job is to think carefully about what you want and what’s most important to you. Is living in a certain state or town important? Do you want to do a minimum of surgery and spend most of your time in the office? Do you want to live in an operating room? Do you need to be close to family? All of these and other concerns are integral to finding what’s best for you.