Job Offer Before PA Program Graduation

[MAPA2018]

Hi all,

I'm graduating from my PA program at the end of May, and I've been lucky enough to be offered a position in a private psychiatry clinic yesterday (exactly what I was looking for). I am very happy with the offer, but I do have a question. The medical director e-mailed me stating that he's offering me the position at the rate that we had spoken about (the rate is not explicitly stated in the e-mail), that I would start around June 15th, and that I should e-mail him when I am "ready."

Would you feel comfortable accepting the offer as is - without signing a contract pending graduation / licensing? I would like to have some kind of assurance that I will truly be hired come time - is this e-mail enough to "guarantee" that? How would you proceed? I've never been in this position and wanted to get some advice from people who might have been through this situation already.

Thanks!

 

[UGoLong]

You should thank him warmly, accept "in principle",  and ask that he send you a letter with your salary, benefits, etc in it so that you can "formally" accept. Also suggest a start date range that is wide enough to cover a month or two for you to pass your boards. 

I accepted a job three months before graduation and am still working there. Congrats!

[SedRate]

I agree with UGoLong. 

I too accepted a job a couple months before graduation. After some back and forth with in-person and email correspondences, I then received an email with final offer details (including a sign-on bonus that I was able to cash immediately which was nice pre-graduation), which I accepted. I picked up a paper contract to review and sign. Contract included a statement regarding requiring an intact license, so no need to have a "pending graduation/licensure" clause, as well as my employment start date and length, both of which was very reassuring to me as a student. I wouldn't have felt comfortable committing myself to a position without an actual contract in place outlining job duties, insurance, CME, PTO, licensing fees covered, etc. This holds the both of you accountable, both now and foreseeable future. You can verbally agree, but at some point you're going to need to fill out employee paperwork and pay for licensing. Having a contract in place spells out all that, including yearly reviews to evaluate salary. You don't want to be committing yourself to this company, not doing any more interviews, no longer networking, etc only to have them say they've forgotten about you and offered the position to someone else, or some other BS.

Good luck and congratulations!