New grad struggling to find work

[realtreky]

On 5/13/2019 at 1:42 PM, ArmyPA said:

One problem that I have seen that I don't think anyone else addressed...you are 6 months out with no license. Pick 1 or 2 states and get licensed. Most companies don't want to wait months for you to get licensed and then credentialed. You are looking in the northeast...NE = lots of PA and NP schools. There are infographics around with number of PAs/NPs/Docs per 10 or 100,000 residents...take a look at them.  Once you have license in process, add that to your resume. If you don't get a job by the time your licensed, get a DEA if your state allows it without an SP (Texas does not, I believe WA does for example). Let the company pay for a renewal after you have a job. I cant tell you how many jobs I have seen that want DEA in hand, and how many more want license in hand. If it is not a large hospital system with long credentialing process (read private practice)...they often want you to start ASAP, not in 3 months. And what everyone else said about networking...join the state PA organization where you are getting licensed. 

Thank you so much for the above Info. I am licensed in one state and I have PA organizations in two states. For financial reasons, I can’t add any more licences unless there is an offer.  I appreciate all the responses. I am doing most of the things recommended in this post. I will just continue with the process. Thank you again

Edited May 19, 2019 by realtreky

[quietmedic]

Well....this is a comlex question.   Complex because...we do not know you.   Sometimes it's bum luck. Sometimes it's something about you, personally.  Sometimes both. Sometimes neither.

I struggled to find work after graduating. It took me about 6 months, and that job lasted for barely three...then I was back on the search again for about five months. Granted, this was when the economy hit bottom.  It took me 5 years to get into the field I wanted.

Part of it, for me, was lack of connections. I used to be shy, including in PA school, and finished rotations without as much as a business card to call.  My fault, for sure. 

And as time went on, the sadness of not finding work surely bled through during my interviews.  It's a difficult thing, to be confident in the face of no experience. That's why I say, without watching you in action, hard to give good advice.   Perhaps you are too nervous. Too (understandably) pessimistic.  Perhaps this shows though on interviews.  Perhaps you need a better, more hip haircut. I don't know. There are a million personality traits and body language signals that send the wrong messages, and this is something you have to explore personally. On the flip side, perhaps you have to learn positivity.  When you walk in the room shining, sit down and grill your own interviewer like you own the place, and act like you already have a million bucks, that shines through as well. Perhaps you need to coaching or some CBT type therapy to learn to <fake> unstoppable confidence. Nothing to be ashamed of in that, I'm sure more than a few here have needed to do the same.   You have to really examine how you are coming across, and honestly address any deficiencies. You gotta be hard on yourself right now to make this work.  Might take some pain, but that's the only way to own up to shortcomings and improve.  As I said, none of this may apply to you. I don't know you.

In terms of pure job stuff, obviously, you already mentioned...may be worth to start in your hometown to avoid those questions about location.  Truth be told, if you are at places that are talking about location and lifestyle (i.e. "near fishing, great schools, outdoors"), those might be the wrong jobs.  Those are looking for established providers, family types, ready to settle down. That is not you.  You have to aim..lower.  Apply to everything. Everything.  Don't turn down a job, even if it pays crap and has no benefits.  My first two jobs paid practically a bus driver's salary, and the first had no benefits.  The second lasted for 3 years at that same bus driver's salary.   But that's the way you start.  This is not the time to hold out for better.  This is the time to be humble, take whatever you can get, and understand you have to "put in your time" the way we all did, in the beginning.  You might have a few experiences along the way that you didn't expect, and even change your life.  

Hope I don't sound too harsh, but recounting to you the precise reality check that I had to endure for years, until the pieces started falling into place.

 

[UGoLong]

Well....this is a comlex question.   Complex because...we do not know you.   Sometimes it's bum luck. Sometimes it's something about you, personally.  Sometimes both. Sometimes neither.
I struggled to find work after graduating. It took me about 6 months, and that job lasted for barely three...then I was back on the search again for about five months. Granted, this was when the economy hit bottom.  It took me 5 years to get into the field I wanted.
Part of it, for me, was lack of connections. I used to be shy, including in PA school, and finished rotations without as much as a business card to call.  My fault, for sure. 
And as time went on, the sadness of not finding work surely bled through during my interviews.  It's a difficult thing, to be confident in the face of no experience. That's why I say, without watching you in action, hard to give good advice.   Perhaps you are too nervous. Too (understandably) pessimistic.  Perhaps this shows though on interviews.  Perhaps you need a better, more hip haircut. I don't know. There are a million personality traits and body language signals that send the wrong messages, and this is something you have to explore personally. On the flip side, perhaps you have to learn positivity.  When you walk in the room shining, sit down and grill your own interviewer like you own the place, and act like you already have a million bucks, that shines through as well. Perhaps you need to coaching or some CBT type therapy to learn to unstoppable confidence. Nothing to be ashamed of in that, I'm sure more than a few here have needed to do the same.   You have to really examine how you are coming across, and honestly address any deficiencies. You gotta be hard on yourself right now to make this work.  Might take some pain, but that's the only way to own up to shortcomings and improve.  As I said, none of this may apply to you. I don't know you.
In terms of pure job stuff, obviously, you already mentioned...may be worth to start in your hometown to avoid those questions about location.  Truth be told, if you are at places that are talking about location and lifestyle (i.e. "near fishing, great schools, outdoors"), those might be the wrong jobs.  Those are looking for established providers, family types, ready to settle down. That is not you.  You have to aim..lower.  Apply to everything. Everything.  Don't turn down a job, even if it pays crap and has no benefits.  My first two jobs paid practically a bus driver's salary, and the first had no benefits.  The second lasted for 3 years at that same bus driver's salary.   But that's the way you start.  This is not the time to hold out for better.  This is the time to be humble, take whatever you can get, and understand you have to "put in your time" the way we all did, in the beginning.  You might have a few experiences along the way that you didn't expect, and even change your life.  
Hope I don't sound too harsh, but recounting to you the precise reality check that I had to endure for years, until the pieces started falling into place.
 

You wrote from the heart, I can tell. And you obviously got to where you are, so it worked for you.

I submit that one should not give up their dignity. Yes, we often need to pay our dues but, inside, we need to avoid beating ourselves up. It’s not healthy or necessary.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[pa-wannabe]

As a new grad less than a year out of school who was also looking to relocate out of state, I can confirm what you've already said about location. Every prospective employer who offered at least a telephone interview first questioned why I wanted to move to a particular area. I won't even mention the employers who I'm sure threw my resume in the trash when they saw my current residence was a six hour drive from their facility.

 

Now, the thing about finding an out of state job is you most likely have no connections in that state, on top of your inexperience. The only jobs you will find are ones that are pretty much just looking for a licensed provider to fill a seat. RED FLAG. Often the pay is not good, the turnover is high, the mentoring is minimal, and the working environment is poor. These are the positions recruiters will push down your throat. It's up to you if you are willing to take one of these jobs for six months to a year, while you establish yourself and network to find a more suitable position.

I did not want that kind of job.

So I stuck to my current area to gain more experience before trying to relocate again in a year or two. On top of that, I'm psychiatry or bust, so I've limited myself to begin with.

 

Keep your head up, but be realistic. You may have to make some sacrifices your first few years. 

[lemurcatta]

On 5/11/2019 at 9:06 PM, Cideous said:

New programs do not mean jobs.  They mean money for the new program.  Period.

 

There are still some rural areas with open PA markets, but most metroplexes are completely saturated.  I'm sorry to have to say this, but it's the truth.  As a new grad, if you want to live in a large city, it is going to be tough.  Very tough.  This is why I am telling all new grads to knock out a residency.  Without it, there is no way you can compete with all the PA's and NP's out there with experience.  Sorry, it's just the way it is.

This is very important. A new PA program’s goals are NOT aligned with the goal of keeping PAs employable. They need to make money, and will open new schools, expand the number of seats, and charge more tuition whenever they need to. Especially PA programs affiliated with small private “universities” who up u til they opened a shiny new PA program (to print money), they were essentially no-name liberal arts institutions. 

 

[CAdamsPAC]

10 minutes ago, lemurcatta said:

This is very important. A new PA program’s goals are NOT aligned with the goal of keeping PAs employable. They need to make money, and will open new schools, expand the number of seats, and charge more tuition whenever they need to. Especially PA programs affiliated with small private “universities” who up u til they opened a shiny new PA program (to print money), they were essentially no-name liberal arts institutions. 

 

The "PA Profession" is nothing but a cash cow for ALL universities /colleges and has been for over 20 years! When was the last time anyone saw an advertisement for PA School in the New York Times Sunday Classified education section??? Degree and cash creep are what it's all about folks!!

 

[realtreky]

On 5/19/2019 at 9:54 PM, quietmedic said:

Well....this is a comlex question.   Complex because...we do not know you.   Sometimes it's bum luck. Sometimes it's something about you, personally.  Sometimes both. Sometimes neither.

I struggled to find work after graduating. It took me about 6 months, and that job lasted for barely three...then I was back on the search again for about five months. Granted, this was when the economy hit bottom.  It took me 5 years to get into the field I wanted.

Part of it, for me, was lack of connections. I used to be shy, including in PA school, and finished rotations without as much as a business card to call.  My fault, for sure. 

And as time went on, the sadness of not finding work surely bled through during my interviews.  It's a difficult thing, to be confident in the face of no experience. That's why I say, without watching you in action, hard to give good advice.   Perhaps you are too nervous. Too (understandably) pessimistic.  Perhaps this shows though on interviews.  Perhaps you need a better, more hip haircut. I don't know. There are a million personality traits and body language signals that send the wrong messages, and this is something you have to explore personally. On the flip side, perhaps you have to learn positivity.  When you walk in the room shining, sit down and grill your own interviewer like you own the place, and act like you already have a million bucks, that shines through as well. Perhaps you need to coaching or some CBT type therapy to learn to <fake> unstoppable confidence. Nothing to be ashamed of in that, I'm sure more than a few here have needed to do the same.   You have to really examine how you are coming across, and honestly address any deficiencies. You gotta be hard on yourself right now to make this work.  Might take some pain, but that's the only way to own up to shortcomings and improve.  As I said, none of this may apply to you. I don't know you.

In terms of pure job stuff, obviously, you already mentioned...may be worth to start in your hometown to avoid those questions about location.  Truth be told, if you are at places that are talking about location and lifestyle (i.e. "near fishing, great schools, outdoors"), those might be the wrong jobs.  Those are looking for established providers, family types, ready to settle down. That is not you.  You have to aim..lower.  Apply to everything. Everything.  Don't turn down a job, even if it pays crap and has no benefits.  My first two jobs paid practically a bus driver's salary, and the first had no benefits.  The second lasted for 3 years at that same bus driver's salary.   But that's the way you start.  This is not the time to hold out for better.  This is the time to be humble, take whatever you can get, and understand you have to "put in your time" the way we all did, in the beginning.  You might have a few experiences along the way that you didn't expect, and even change your life.  

Hope I don't sound too harsh, but recounting to you the precise reality check that I had to endure for years, until the pieces started falling into place.

 

Thank you so much for you thorough and thoughtful response. You are right about lack of connections. That is exactly my situation. I really appreciate you sharing your experience. What you said "the sadness of not finding work surely bled through during my interviews". I can definitely relate to that. In fact when I first wrote this post I was getting depressed. You and other people on this post lifted me up. I had a really good interview today that was just short of making an offer, and I have one more tomorrow.  Thanks again. 

[realtreky]

5 hours ago, pa-wannabe said:

As a new grad less than a year out of school who was also looking to relocate out of state, I can confirm what you've already said about location. Every prospective employer who offered at least a telephone interview first questioned why I wanted to move to a particular area. I won't even mention the employers who I'm sure threw my resume in the trash when they saw my current residence was a six hour drive from their facility.

 

Now, the thing about finding an out of state job is you most likely have no connections in that state, on top of your inexperience. The only jobs you will find are ones that are pretty much just looking for a licensed provider to fill a seat. RED FLAG. Often the pay is not good, the turnover is high, the mentoring is minimal, and the working environment is poor. These are the positions recruiters will push down your throat. It's up to you if you are willing to take one of these jobs for six months to a year, while you establish yourself and network to find a more suitable position.

I did not want that kind of job.

So I stuck to my current area to gain more experience before trying to relocate again in a year or two. On top of that, I'm psychiatry or bust, so I've limited myself to begin with.

 

Keep your head up, but be realistic. You may have to make some sacrifices your first few years. 

Thank you for your response. I am not looking to relocate, but open to it. I am looking jobs in my home state as well as other states. I have not had much luck at home. There about 3 PA schools within close proximity. Thanks for you advise, I will keep an open mind. Its funny that only like psych. I am open to anything but psych. I have a lot of respect for psych providers because I don't think I can do exclusively psych.

[cinntsp]

8 hours ago, pa-wannabe said:

As a new grad less than a year out of school who was also looking to relocate out of state, I can confirm what you've already said about location. Every prospective employer who offered at least a telephone interview first questioned why I wanted to move to a particular area. I won't even mention the employers who I'm sure threw my resume in the trash when they saw my current residence was a six hour drive from their facility.

 

I think it's an easy question to deal with.  "I am not tied down to a particular area and am willing to relocate for a great position."

[realtreky]

8 hours ago, cinntsp said:

I think it's an easy question to deal with.  "I am not tied down to a particular area and am willing to relocate for a great position."

My experience was that not being tied down not enough. They want to know what attracts you to that community or what ties you have to that community. They don’t care that you don’t have ties elsewhere. In their mind if you have ties there, you are likely to stay, otherwise they think you are just going to take the job, gain experience and leave.

[cinntsp]

9 hours ago, realtreky said:

My experience was that not being tied down not enough. They want to know what attracts you to that community or what ties you have to that community. They don’t care that you don’t have ties elsewhere. In their mind if you have ties there, you are likely to stay, otherwise they think you are just going to take the job, gain experience and leave.

Make sure to do some research into the area before an interview.  "I have always had an interest in rural medicine." "I really like the outdoor activities the area offers."  "I am looking for a smaller area to settle down in."  It's just like getting asked why you want to be accepted to a particular PA program.