Career Consult

By Sue Cejka

The most promising Web sites for job-hunting doctors

If your search includes surfing the Net--and it should--these sites providethe most features and postings.

Last month's Career Consult column discussed job hunting online. Thismonth's presents a companion chart (page 54) that compares the best Websites listing employment opportunities for physicians.

Eleven of the 15 sites covered in the chart have search engines. In manycases, however, you won't need one. Typically, you can just click "jobs"or a similar button, then your specialty, to see a list of opportunities.If a search engine is useful for a job seeker, the chart notes it.

An important reminder for search engine users: If there's more than oneway to specify what type of doctor you are, be sure to try all thevariations as keywords. At Health Care Job Store's site, for example, thekeywords "FP," "family doctor," "family practitioner,"and "family physician" yield different results.

Web CV is simply an electronic form in which you fill out your CV informationonce, and then are able to e-mail it to employers posting job openings onthe site. If the site has "broadcast capability," you can simultaneouslycirculate your CV to multiple employers who advertise on that site--up to100 in the case of PracticeChoice.

Some Web sites give you the option to match your employment needs (whichyou specify on an electronic form) and credentials (as specified in yourCV) with the requirements of employers with job openings. Those employersare then automatically e-mailed a copy of your CV. In other cases, you'rethe one who's notified of prospective jobs that meet your needs; then it'sup to you to contact the employers.

Sites with a US job map allow you to click on a given state for job listingsthere--a handy feature that lets you cover a lot of ground quickly.

At some sites, employers--and often their communities--are extensivelyprofiled in a separate section. And even sites without this feature frequentlyprovide information about employers and locales.

Web sites with employment opportunities for physicians commonly offerother job-hunting aids such as specialty-specific salary data, examplesof well-done CVs, and CV-writing and interviewing tips. Some sites maintainconvenient directories of employers and physician recruiters who advertisejobs there.

The "comments" section of the chart tells you how to get quicklyfrom a Web site's home page to its employment opportunities. Good hunting.

This is the final installment of Career Consult. I've been doing thecolumn each month for nearly three years, and I've enjoyed writing it, aswell as responding to your letters. This isn't goodbye, though. I'll stillbe helping Medical Economics develop articles advising doctors oncareer development and compensation.

. The most promising Web sites for job-hunting doctors. Medical Economics Oct. 25, 1999;76:52.