Blogging with The Doctor Job

I think Baseball might be in trouble. It seems the classic sport that has long been hailed as America’s Past Time is quickly being overshadowed by a new past time:

Surfing Job Boards.

For fun.

How do we know it’s for fun, you might ask? Well, every day, we here at The Doctor Job receive phone calls and emails from physicians telling us that “they aren’t really looking for a new job”, they just “like to check out the job boards”. Apparently there are masses of working doctors and residents in the United States who enjoy spending the precious free time they have looking through physician work boards online, just to “see what’s out there”. These doctors aren’t really looking for a new job, they just like to look. Some of the physicians are hoping that unlike the past 100 times they looked at the job board and saw nothing but recruiters and jobs in places they didn’t want to be, this time there might magically be an amazing position that pays a lot more money right where they want to live! And even though every successful physician knows that (a) if you’re spending your free time searching job boards, you clearly dislike your current position, and (b) the better jobs are never going to be advertised - they’re all word-of-mouth, physicians still casually browse the job boards hoping that a beautiful wonderful new job will fall into their lap.

Casually surfing a physician job board for a perfect position is as productive as ordering four cheeseburgers, two french fries, and then deciding to get a Diet Coke instead of a regular Coke, to cut back on calories.

Instead of deciding to pro-actively find a job that will make you happy, wealthy, and wise, if you are a doctor who is spending your evenings and weekends and lunch breaks searching internet job boards for physician jobs, here are some other activities that you can do that will be equally as productive.

10 Hobbies More Useful And Rewarding Than Searching Job Boards:

1. Fence painting. Your neighbors will also find this hobby useful. It’s a win-win. And if your neighbor happens to run a hospital, maybe he’ll hire you!

2. Jogging. You might jog by a practice that puts a “Help Wanted” sign in their window!

3. Dog walking. What if your teacup chihuahua finds another teacup chihuahua on a walk that just happens to belong to the hiring coordinator for an HMO?

4. Online poker. While you run the risk of losing money, you’ll still probably make more money than you will by browsing through physician job boards.

5. Kite flying. If you tape your resume to the kite while you’re flying, it might fly off and land on an employer’s desk!

6. Start an ant farm. Watch your ants build tunnels, then shake up the farm and watch them start all over again! It’s futility, just like casually looking at a job board!

7. Spider Solitaire. If you insist on being on the computer, at least this will give you a sense of accomplishment if you can beat the game.

8. Underwater basket weaving. Maybe your underwater basket weaving coach’s hairdresser’s sister’s uncle’s roommate’s father runs a private practice and he needs a physician just like you!

9. Recycling. Well, if you’re not going to help your career, you might as well help save the environment.

10. Clipping Coupons. This hobby, while almost as time consuming as surfing job sites, can be much more financially rewarding.

Now, if you’re a physician reading this who thinks, “Well, I do casually surf job boards, just to see if there are new openings,” it’s not too late for you. Examine your desire to surf the job boards. Are you unhappy? Do you want more money? A better environment? Better staff? An easier commute? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, consider being pro-active. The perfect job is not going to fall in your lap - sometimes, you have to make the effort (and yes, spend the time and money) to find that amazing job. It is out there, as long as you know how to find it.