When the Physician Search Firm Calls
June 2000
By Bonnie Darves
Editor’s Note: “Be sure to get a clear understanding of the contractual relationship the recruiter has with the hiring organization and speak with colleagues who have gone through a similar process to assess the level of personal attention you can expect in the development of this professional relationship.”
— John A. Fromson, M.D., Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at MetroWest Medical Center
If you’re careful and honest, working with a professional recruiter can be a gratifying experience.
The first article in this series, “Working with In-House Recruiters,” discussed the role that in-house hospital and health-system recruiters play in seeking and hiring medical staff, and offered physicians tips on making the most of their encounters with in-house recruiters.
Initial Contact
Every day, hundreds of physicians across the country receive phone calls from search firms. For physicians new to the recruiting scene, it’s important to obtain a basic understanding of how search firms work, and to know what to expect when the recruiter calls. First of all, experienced recruiters will know a great deal about the practice opportunity and something about the physician they’re calling before they pick up the phone, says Mike Taylor, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for St. Louis-based Cejka & Co., a leading physician recruiting firm. “A good recruiter will be persistent, and when he or she gets a hold of the physician, the recruiter will be well schooled in the opportunity,” Taylor says. That means the recruiter will be able to answer key questions regarding the practice’s history and focus, the income and partnership potential, why the practice is looking for the particular specialty, and who the potential colleagues will be.
Physicians should also expect to be asked about themselves, Taylor says, and should be willing to answer candidly if they are interested in the opportunity. “The recruiter will basically ask a lot of appropriate questions about what you want to do, where you want to practice, and what you want to achieve once you get there,” he says. By design, the conversation will be somewhat open-ended. The recruiter’s primary intent is to gain enough information to make an initial assessment of the candidate’s suitability for the opportunity.
Most professional recruiters will have done their homework, and some pre-screening, before calling. To obtain background information, recruiters use a variety of industry resources, ranging from lists available through academic institutions, the National Association of Physician Recruiters and the American Medical Association, for example, to sophisticated databases. At the time the phone call is made, the recruiter will know the physician’s specialty and basic credentials, where he or she trained and, if applicable, something about the physician’s current practice environment.
Follow Up
In deciding whether to pursue further discussions with the recruiter, it’s helpful to know whether the recruiter is working on retainer or contingency because the two types of recruiters operate in slightly different manners and have different relationships with the prospective hiring entity. Retainer firms operate by sponsoring specific practice opportunities for particular clients, and their recruiters are paid an upfront fee to develop a panel of qualified candidates. Contingency recruiters generally try to place candidates in one of a number of suitable positions, and receive compensation if a candidate they present is eventually hired. “The good contingency firm seeks to put a candidate where they can find an appropriate opening, and the retainer firm acts almost as an agent for a particular practice — working essentially on the executive search model,” Taylor says.
Physicians who are actively in the job-search mode should ensure they have a reasonably clear sense of the type of position they are likely to accept before they establish a relationship with a recruiter, says Larry Shear, Ph.D., president of the recruiting firm Shear Healthcare Resources, Inc., in Sarasota, Florida. “Physicians should be in a position to articulate their objectives — in terms of the practice and the geography. The concept of ‘I’ll go anywhere for the right position’ really isn’t a beneficial approach,” says Shear, a former hospital administrator who has worked on both sides of the industry, as the official charged with filling key hospital-based positions and, for the past decade, as an outside recruiter.
Working with a Search Firm
Understand the nature of the relationships involved. The search firm has a relationship with the prospective hiring organization, not the physician, and as such is working primarily in the organization’s interest. “Physicians should recognize that ultimately the search firm is being paid by the client, and in that regard really does not have a contractual or financial obligation to the physician,” Shear says. That simply means that the recruiting firm’s objectives might differ somewhat from the physician’s, depending on the nature of the practice opportunity, he adds.
Still, the search firm recruiter isn’t likely to pressure the physician to consider a position that isn’t suitable. That’s because most firms offer guarantees that if the physician hired doesn’t stay for a specified period, the firm will assist in and bear the cost of finding his or her replacement. Finally, professional recruiters don’t want to risk damaging their reputations by making poor matches. “I’m not going to try to put someone in an opportunity where he isn’t going to be happy, and a good contingency recruiter wouldn’t do that either,” says Taylor.
Inquire about the recruiter’s credentials. Find out how long the company has been in business, how many placements it has made and its areas of expertise. It’s also important to ask about the company’s internal and external resources. Shear advises physicians to inquire about the organization’s depth and scope, to be certain the recruiter will have the requisite backup or resources to explore all opportunities. It’s also advisable to ask for references of other physicians who have worked with the recruiter, and to call at least one or two of those individuals before proceeding with the relationship.
If the recruiter who calls uses high-pressure tactics or appears to know little about the practice opportunity, it’s best to cut the call short, Taylor advises. In any event, since the recruiter is usually the first person to “present” the candidate to the organization, the physician should feel comfortable with the recruiter’s style before agreeing to be represented.
Protect your confidentiality. It’s important to establish from the start, the manner in which CVs will be handled and disseminated. For example, physicians should insist in writing that their CVs not be sent, faxed or e-mailed to a prospective hiring organization without prior permission. If the CV ends up being “mass” faxed or e-mailed to several institutions, that might give prospective employers the wrong impression — making it appear that the physician is either not being selective or is desperate to find a job.
Even if the opportunity presented is attractive and the recruiter sounds professional, Taylor says, physicians need to be assertive about the confidentiality issue. “It’s important to tell the recruiter that you don’t want your information released to anyone other than the client the recruiter is talking about,” he says. In addition, physicians who aren’t comfortable with the idea of having their CVs transmitted electronically or posted on a web site should make that clear as well.
Most physicians find that working with a professional recruiter is a positive and gratifying experience, especially when the relationship leads to an ideal opportunity the physician might not have discovered without the recruiter’s help. When that happens, Taylor says, “It’s a win-win for everyone — the physician, the practice, and the recruiter.”
NOTE: The author, Bonnie Darves, is an independent health care writer based in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
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