Published in Non-Clinical

12 Must-Know Facts About Finding Your First Optometry Job (Plus Video!)

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13 min read
12 Must-Know Facts About Finding Your First Optometry Job (Plus Video!)

1. Employers value “staying power.”

No matter how ambitious and self-starting you are, hiring you costs an employer money. The process takes time and energy away from other tasks, and training you results in a financial hit to the organization. For this reason, most companies value your staying power immensely. Obviously, nobody has a crystal ball. You might fully intend to stay at a job for 2+ years (the minimum length of time most employers wish for an employee to stay in a role), but life happens. You could have a child. You could relocate to accommodate a spouse or a parent’s needs. But think long and hard about every role to which you apply. Can you see yourself there for at least 2 years?

2. Understand your primary motivation before you start looking for your first optometry job.

Regarding staying power - you might find that it’s tempting to take a job with high pay for exceptional performance, but you could burn out from seeing too many patients in a day if it’s not the right fit. If your pay depends on selling glasses to each patient, you might find that being a salesperson wipes you out. This alone might lead you to bounce from your first optometry job before 2 years pass, simply to spare your sanity. For this reason, it’s essential to understand your primary motivation before you start applying for jobs.
This is easier said than done. Some of us assume that our primary motivation is professional growth. But a year or two in, we realize that nonstop work, weekend marketing events, and continual community service events are not healthy for our personalities, and we find that work-life balance is our true life motivator. We, at CovalentCareers, highly recommend that do some serious introspection to determine what makes you feel best, then look for a job that fits those needs. Consider filling out a values checklist to see what matters to you most.

3. Be honest with employers.

Combining the first two points, be honest with your employer. While you’re not legally required to say whether or not you plan to have a child (in fact, it’s illegal for an employer to ask you about this), if you’re planning to switch to a part time role in 6 months to start a family, or if you’re planning to relocate with your partner to accommodate her position in the military, it’s worth bringing up. In some cases, it’s better to lose a job than disappoint an employer by leaving early.
At least give your potential employer - who likely sees you as a partner and a colleague - the respect of honesty. He or she might still choose to hire you, or they might be able to recommend a practice that has more of a temporary/part-time need for a doctor.

4. Recognize that everything is negotiable.

Many new graduates enter into their first optometry jobs without doing any negotiation, which could be leaving some money, vacation time, or CEU credits on the table. Most employers make an initial offer expecting you to do a little negotiation. But remember, the moment that you take it too far and ask for too much, you run the risk of offending a future employer. And it’s vital that you look at your employers as being on the same team as you.
You’re entering into business with an employer. Yes, you might think of these folks as family one day (or even right away), but initially, you must look at this as a business arrangement. And this means that everything is negotiable.
  • Performance bonus - If you see a certain number of patients per month, you might be able to negotiate increased pay. Similarly, if you up-sell glasses or sunglasses to a certain amount of patients, the same might go. Talk to your potential employer about potential ways to increase your compensation without changing your base pay.
  • Guaranteed minimum pay - This is also a big one. Some employers do not pay optometrists for times that patients are not seen. This is tough during flu season and the holidays, as your cancellation rate might skyrocket. Try to negotiate a base minimum pay on a daily or weekly basis.
  • CEU reimbursement - You might have some wiggle room regarding the courses your employers will cover, as well as lodging, per diems (money to cover meals and incidentals), and travel costs.
  • Vacation days/PTO - Depending on the size of the organization, this may or may not be negotiable. It’s typically much easier to negotiate more flexibility in your vacation/PTO when you’re dealing with a smaller practice.
  • Flex scheduling - As noted above, certain times of the year do get slow. Similarly, others will be tough for you to see all the patients who want to come in. Try to work this to your advantage. If you agree to see patients on Saturday mornings for 3 busy months throughout the year, perhaps you can take alternate Friday afternoons or Monday mornings off during other times of the year. This can really improve your work-life balance and ability to travel.

5. Be on the lookout for huge growth opportunity.

There are a growing number of private practices who are looking for someone to partner (buy into) or eventually buy out the practice. This is because many established optometry practices are led by ODs who are approaching retirement age. This can be a fantastic opportunity for those with an entrepreneurial spirit. Many of these ODs are hiring based on cultural fit and personality, and they will mentor you and train you to replace them one day. Their timelines could be anywhere from 1-2 years to 3-4+ years. But if this is something that interests you, ask the right questions during your interview, and make it clear that you’d be interested in such a role.

6. When you’re speaking with more seasoned optometrists, be sure to understand and respect generational differences.

Many private practice owners are from a different generation. They expect follow-up and follow-through. Many of them appreciate a phone call and face-to-face interaction. Understand that if you take the approach that “everything is digital in this day and age” - while there might be some truth to the statement - you might be alienating a potentially incredible employer who happens to communicate in a more old-school fashion. Do your homework and try to determine whether you are comfortable with, and interested in, a practice’s culture, then proceed with your communications accordingly.

7. It’s all about understanding what employers want, and selling yourself as the solution to those needs.

Be empathetic. Ask the questions to truly understand what is driving this employer to hire. Is it someone with staying power? Someone who can build a patient base and establish a name for him/herself in the community? Generally, this is the case. In other cases, the employer wants a young doctor in the practice to bring updated knowledge and enthusiasm. Perhaps your future colleagues are looking for someone who will take the lead in organizing happy hours or other team building events. Try to discern what the pain points are in the practice, and identify how you can address these pain points by simply being you.
You need to know what the employer wants and values in an employee. Danny Goodrich, Head of Candidate Success at CovalentCareers, points out that, because so many employers are hoping to hire an optometrist who will either buy into, or entirely buy out the practice, this is critical information to consider when you think about your staying power...and if you're the right fit for this job.
Goodrich points out, “If you can put yourself in an employer’s shoes and understand why they’re hiring and what problems they’re looking to solve by adding a doctor, you’ve pretty much guaranteed yourself a job.”

8. Recognize that it’s never too early to start looking for your first optometry job.

Looking for your first optometry job is like buying a house. If you only start looking for a house after you have sold yours, you are in a vulnerable, reactive state, and you might have to choose the wrong house in haste. But if you start looking and networking before you’re ready to make a move, this puts you in a proactive position. You have plenty of time to gauge a potential employer on his/her responsiveness, respect for your time, interest in you, and willingness to share information about the practice.

9. Prepare for an interview like you’d prepare for part I of NBEO.

Start early and practice often. Many folks make the mistake of skipping out on interview prep. Even the phone interview requires practice and preparation. If you’re not prepared for a call, and you’re not in a position to speak, make sure that you politely ask if you can speak when you aren’t at work/in traffic/in a noisy environment.
Once you make it to the in-person interview, practice, practice, practice. Dr. Brett Kestenbaum, Head of Growth at CovalentCareers, suggests practicing in front of a video camera, quipping, “You’d be amazed by how many times you say ‘you know,’ ‘um’ and ‘uh.’” He recommends practicing discussing times when you’ve smoothed out conflict in the workplace, as well as discussing your strengths and weaknesses in front of a video camera. Repeat the process until you are comfortable with how you appear on camera. After all, that’s how you’ll look in the real interview!

10. Understand your first employment contract.

It’s boring, it’s long, and it’s confusing. But it truly holds the keys to your career. Everything about your employer’s expectations of you, as well as all of your job responsibilities and milestones needed to grow...plus your pay and benefits...it is all contained in one document.
If you’re serious about your career success, or simply want to do your due diligence to protect yourself, make sure you understand the optometry employment contract. Pore over it. Ask questions. Talk to the CovalentCareers team if you’re not sure what your contract means. We can help you understand convoluted language, and we can help you determine where there is wiggle room for negotiation.

11. Make sure you know with whom you will be working.

You might only interview with the practice owner. If you’re lucky, you might meet one or two other members of the team. Ideally, you’ll click with all of them, and you'll feel excited about your new role.
But before you dive in head-first, it’s essential that you have an understanding of everyone with whom you will interact on a daily basis. If you only see the practice owner once a week, but you have to deal with her control-freak operations manager on a daily basis, you might go crazy. Or, you might love working with control-freaks, because it helps you find the structure you enjoy. In any case, ask the questions to find out as much as you can about the folks with whom you’ll be working directly. They will have a huge impact on your happiness in your first role.

12. Don’t be afraid to “settle” for something that might not be your first choice.

If it doesn’t check all the boxes for your perfect first optometry job, that’s ok! Just make sure it checks the main box. For example, if you know you'll never be truly happy unless you're 10 minutes from the beach (or less), don’t go to a sub-par location for an otherwise perfect job. Instead, try to stay in your ideal location, but you might want to sacrifice in another area where the job isn’t “perfect,” such as type of practice or type of patient base. While your first optometry job might be a stepping stone to another job down the line, at least your main value is covered, so you’ll enjoy the time you do spend at that job.
“You have a long, successful optometry career ahead of you,” Goodrich explains. “Just because your first optometry job isn’t 100% what you expected, that doesn’t mean that you won’t enjoy yourself and learn a lot.” Every job is a learning experience. Think of your first optometry job as the best class you haven’t taken yet. It can be tempting to slip into auto-pilot, once the stress and rigors of school are behind you. You’re getting paid to learn!
Meredith Victor Castin
About Meredith Victor Castin

Meredith is the co-founder of NewGradPhysicalTherapy.com and the founder of The Non-Clinical PT. She is originally from Tyler, TX and attended UPenn for undergrad, before graduating with her DPT from USA (San Diego) in 2010. She has worked in outpatient ortho, inpatient rehab, acute care, and home health. She loves spending time with her husband and 3 cats, and enjoys creating art and weird music.

Meredith Victor Castin
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