It always kills me when I ask my physician clients to describe what sets them apart from others in their field and they answer: “I’m good at my job.”
While it’s better to be good at your job than bad at your job, this type of answer is a total cop-out and won’t win you any points with prospective employers. If someone answers this way, it tells me that physician lacks self-awareness and needs to spend some serious time thinking about what they have to offer. Even if you are the most credentialed physician on the planet, you won’t be able to sell yourself to a hospital, practice group, or even a patient unless you have an understanding of what your best traits are.
Let’s forget the medical profession for a moment and instead focus on the food service industry. On more than one occasion while dining out, you’ve probably thought to yourself “He is a good waiter” or “She is a good waitress.” And chances are, your reasons for thinking that have varied. Perhaps one waitress was very friendly without being intrusive. Maybe you had a waiter who managed to refill your water glasses & bread plates without you even noticing. Another waitress might have had the foresight to bring a plate of sliced banana to occupy your toddler. Yet another person could have remembered that you like your kung pao sauce extra spicy.
There are all kinds of unique, sometimes intangible qualities that make a person good at his/her job. As a job-seeker, you need to figure out what special qualities you have and then sell those qualities to a prospective employer. If you need help determining what those qualities are, ask yourself these questions: What do others compliment me on? What is my favorite part of my job? What keeps my patients coming back to me instead of going elsewhere? What do I do that my colleagues don’t?
Physicians, before applying to jobs or going to an interview, make sure you’ve taken the time to do some self-evaluation and write down three or four reasons why you are good at your job. That way, when you’re asked what sets you apart, you will be ready with a good answer.