Blogging with The Doctor Job

The Doctor Job has compiled a list of advice based on horror stories we’ve heard from physician employers, physician recruiters and the physicians who were applying and interviewing for positions. Some of these are obvious, some are not, but they’re all things to think about:

• Make sure that your email address and phone number on your resume are correct. Double and triple-check them. Do NOT assume that they are!
• Use a professional email address, like “janedoemd@gmail.com”. Do not use a personal email address like “partygrrl77@yahoo.com”.
• Before you go to an interview, use mouthwash, chew a piece of gum, or eat a mint, especially if you’ve recently eaten anything pungent.
• Never joke in an interview about politics or religion. In any situation. Ever.
• If you have to blow your nose before you go into an interview, go into a bathroom and check for stragglers.
• Never use profanity or any type of slang on your resume, cover letter, or in an interview.
• If you are going to put hobbies on your resume, never put “watersports”. It has a connotation that can be very negative.
• Remember to take off your latex gloves before going into an interview. If you forget, and have to take them off in the interview, do not accidentally let one snap off and hit the interviewer in the face.
• When negotiating an offer, do not start with a number that’s less than the initial offer, even if you think it’s a savvy negotiating tool to confuse the employers. They might take you up on it.
• Make sure to take off the Post-it note that says “I think these idiots will give me another $20K” before faxing your signed contract to your new employer.
• There’s never any reason to carry any type of weapon into an interview. There’s even less of a reason to brandish it, even jokingly.
• When you send a thank you note after your interview, make sure it doesn’t say “Dear Mr. FILLINHERE, Thank you for letting me interview at GROUPNAMEHERE.”
• If your resume or cover letter has more colors than black and white, you should re-think them.
• Finally, never, ever, ever, proposition the employer by offering sexual favors if they hire you. It will not work, and it was a bad, bad idea!