A big mistake when clinicians try to pivot: applying to a bunch of jobs at once
It feels like you’re doing something, but rejections (and ghosting) are really demoralizing
KEY TAKEAWAYS from Next Degree:
Question: What’s a better way to get a non-clinical job?
Answer: Modify your process — translation of skills before applying to tons of roles.
Pivot(s): Role, Industry
Resource(s): Translating your clinical skills to make a career transition — AVSM
Relevance: Your skills are not the problem — the language the rest of the non-clinical world uses is the challenge to overcome.
Final Thought(s): You’re closer to your nonclinical role than you think…just add a “language” step BEFORE the “applying” step.
How many times have you seen an article that says something like this:
“Instead of casting a wide net, consider a more strategic approach to your job search that focuses on finding the right role and the right company for your skills and aspirations. Here are some steps you can take: identifying strengths/weaknesses, researching companies, networking…”
I find these types of articles unhelpful, though I can see the positive intent behind them; this is not one of those posts.
As the expense of sounding like a broken record, burnout is real, and pervasive around the world. This is a cold, hard, fact that is backed up by tons of research, both established and emerging post-pandemic. A common tactic I’ve heard from clinicians around the world makes sense — “dusting off the resume” and applying to non-clinical roles that appear to be a good fit, both skill-wise and personality wise. But, more often than not, clinicians tell me how demoralizing this process is, and I agree. It sucks to get rejected, it sucks even more to get ghosted, and it sucks most of all for these to happen without receiving constructive feedback on how to improve.
So, to address the elephant in the room, we’ll explore a common mistake clinicians make (myself included) when trying to pivot out of the clinic, why it can be problematic, and what you can do instead to find the right role and company.
Let’s dive in.
Part 1: Identifying a common mistake — applying to tons of jobs at once
Part 2: Identifying why applying to tons of jobs at once is a problem
Part 3: Identifying a better way to reducing demoralizing rejections and, even worse, “ghosting”
Part 1: Identifying a common mistake — applying to tons of jobs at once
It’s understandable to feel eager and motivated to explore various opportunities, but if you’re like me and applied to dozens (or hundreds) of jobs while looking for a role outside of traditional patient care, don’t make the same mistakes I did. Stop for a second, take a deep breath, and keep reading. It’s crucial to prioritize quality over quantity…which is common information you’ll find online, but let’s actually get into a deeper analysis of why it’s a problem, and how to reduce it.
Don’t get me wrong — I can see the appeal of applying to tons of jobs at once: transitioning to a non-clinical role was an exciting and fulfilling move for me personally, opening up new opportunities for professional growth that weren’t obviously available while working in the clinic. However, it’s important to approach this transition strategically to increase your chances of success and avoid the pitfalls of repeated rejection…because, more often than not, we see rejection as an “I’m not good enough” situation when, really, the exact opposite is true. Not only are you good enough, but if healthcare is going to change for the betterment of patients and providers, clinicians need to be a part of this change.
And, I’ll be totally honest with you — it felt way better at the time to feel like I was doing something to change my circumstances rather than sitting back and allowing my problems to fester, but there’s a better way. But, before we get to that…
Part 2: Identifying why applying to tons of jobs at once is a problem
Spending excessive time and energy on a large number of applications can be counterproductive for several reasons. Firstly, it can be mentally and emotionally draining to continuously submit applications without receiving meaningful responses. This can lead to feelings of frustration and disheartenment, making it harder to maintain motivation throughout the process. Clinicians aren’t “quitters” but, at the same time, rejection hurts.
To be direct: applying to a wide range of positions without a clear focus can dilute your efforts. Tailoring each application to the specific requirements of a job takes time and attention to detail. By spreading yourself too thin, you may not be able to invest the necessary effort into crafting compelling applications that truly highlight your relevant skills and experiences. Don’t allow the stress of clinical burnout to fast-forward your job search process, which can have the negative impact of reducing your success rate or, even worse, keeping you where you are for even longer.
Part 3: Identifying a better way to reducing demoralizing rejections and, even worse, “ghosting”
If you only remember one thing from today, it’s this: translate what you know into language non-clinicians can understand.
Healthcare is a HUGE industry…so huge that, unfortunately, we work in a bit of an “echo chamber” where clinicians generally mostly interact with other clinicians, and non-clinicians generally mostly interact with non-clinicians.
BUT, the “non-healthcare” world is even bigger than the “healthcare world”, and the words they use are far different than what we use, but the skills are not.
This is a crucial step, and needs to come before applying to non-clinical roles — how can you display your value to an organization if they can’t understand what you bring to the table? But, more importantly, how do you do this?
Here are a just a few examples of roles and translations that clinicians are perfect for that they may not realize:
Product management = modifying a plan of care. Building a great product involves listening to customers (patient feedback), acquiring and analyzing data (using objective measurements to assess if your care is working and modifying accordingly), and working with technical and sales teams to deliver an even better product (working across healthcare specialties to unify a plan of care).
Customer success management = reducing your late cancel rate. Building customer relationships (bedside manner), identifying customer needs (subjective and objective interviews and measures), and converting short term engagements into recurring long term contracts (making yourself a new patient’s “clinician for life”) all fall under this category
Sales representative = community outreach. Building a value proposition (injury prevention instead of injury management), lead generation (giving injury prevention advice at a local coaching seminar or YMCA), and sales conversions (turning free injury screens into patient appointments to help patients achieve short and long term health goals) all fall under this.
Management consulting = providing expert medical advice. Frameworks (clinical prediction rules), root cause analysis (differential diagnosis), and implementation optimization (performing and modifying treatment patterns) all fall under this.
And the list goes on. You know how to do this — learn how to translate this into the words the non-clinical world uses. One resource I’ve found that was insanely useful actually came from the veterinary world — check out this great template and rationale from the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Ultimately, transitioning from a clinical role to a non-clinical career requires a strategic and targeted approach, much like patient care. By avoiding the common mistake of applying to multiple jobs at once, and instead focusing on finding the right role and company, you can increase your chances of securing a fulfilling non-clinical position while avoiding the demoralizing loop of application, ghosting, and rejection. Take the time to reflect on your strengths, research potential roles and companies, translate your clinical skills effectively, network, and tailor your applications. You got this.
Check out Next Degree if you’re a clinician exploring what a non-clinical role could look like!
