Job Hunting 101
Hello friends! For more than a year now, I’ve been working as a fully licensed physical therapist in an amazing outpatient orthopedic clinic. Since graduation, I’ve learned so much about the job hunting process, and staying organized helped me to land my dream job! Since working full time, I’ve gotten a lot of dm’s on Instagram about finding the perfect job. As a result, I’ve decided to make an entire blog post dedicated to the entire job hunting process – Job Hunting 101!
This blog post will talk about everything from things to look for in a job to interview questions. Although this will be more geared towards new PT grads, anyone looking for a job can find some helpful information here! I know that these topics could have been broken up into many different posts, but I figured that it would be more helpful to have everything on one page. Because of this, I included a table of contents to help you navigate this long blog post. Happy job hunting!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
✏️ what you need before starting
✏️ what to look for in a physical therapy job
✏️ websites/resources for job hunting
WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE STARTING
Before tackling the big task of finding a job that best fits you, there are some things you need to have ready before starting the long process.
✨ your license: This is obvious, but if you have not officially gotten your license yet, you can work as a PTLA (just make sure you have the OK from https://www.breeze.ca.gov/datamart/mainMenu.do ! Depending on the state you live in, the processing time for your official license may be short or long (mine took about 1.5 months…) so make sure you time it correctly so that you’re officially licensed by the time you’re starting work.
✨ your resume: Make sure you have a polished resume before actually applying to job listings!! Don’t forget to include your clinical experiences in PT school – those are very important and the interviewer will ask you about them 99% of the time since you have not worked officially as a PT yet (if you’re a new grad).
✨ a cover letter template: You may come across jobs that require a cover letter along with your resume. To streamline this, I made cover letter templates (one for outpatient and one for inpatient) that I can use and adjust for each job I applied to. Make sure to highlight the areas that you need to change for each job application!!
✨ potential references: If you’re able to secure an interview at a location, they will likely ask for a few (usually 3) references that they can contact. To make this easier for you, write down a few references so that you have them readily accessible when you need them. Don’t forget to include their credentials, phone number, email, and your relationship with them.
✨ linkedin profile: If you haven’t already, create a linkedin profile with updated descriptions of your education and work background! Some companies search your profile on linkedin as they consider your application. Linkedin also has their own job search, so applying to jobs through here makes it very quick and easy!
ORGANIZATION
Organization is KEY when it comes to looking for a job, especially as a new grad. Because there are so many things to keep track of, I highly recommend using Notion, which is what I used to organize everything.
Below is a template based off of the Notion page I created for my own job hunt! This website is free to use, and you can duplicate the template so that you can fill it out as your own.
✨ Notion – Job Applications TEMPLATE ✨
Here’s a peek at what it looks like:
I’ve also included some interview questions on this template so that you can prepare for the interviews as well!
Obviously, you don’t have to use this website – anything that will help you keep track of the jobs will help! Here are some other modalities/applications you can use:
- Google Sheets
- Google Calendar
- Passion Planner
- A pen and paper
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PHYSICAL THERAPY JOB
If you’ve looked on LinkedIn, Google Jobs, or any other website, you’ve probably seen a LOT of job postings for physical therapists. However, each job varies GREATLY, and you should pick and choose which one you want to apply to. You’ve already spent so much time, money, and energy into getting to this point in your career! Because of this, you should find a job that you’ll enjoy! Here are some important factors to consider when looking for and accepting a job, especially your first one!
👉🏼 SALARY – make sure to look at the average new grad salary in your area. PT’s are paid differently based on setting, experience, location (due to cost of living), etc.
👉🏼 BENEFITS – if you are looking to find a job with benefits, asking about these may be helpful in your decision to pick between job offers. Ask about things like medical/dental insurance, 401K, etc.
👉🏼 PATIENT POPULATION – the patient population of the setting may also be an important factor for you. If so, make sure to ask about typical diagnoses, ages, and treatments.
👉🏼 COMPANY CULTURE – for many, this is one that seems much more important after working in a company/clinic culture that is not a good fit for them. depending on your personality, work ethic, learning style, and treatment style, make sure to ask about company culture. Asking to shadow a PT and talking to current employees will likely give you the best idea.
👉🏼 PRODUCTIVITY/DOC TIME – enjoying your job should be a priority, but high productivity standards cause high risk for quick burn out. Ask the employer about productivity requirements/goals and if documentation time is included, which could help with preventing taking work home.
👉🏼 MANAGEMENT – how you interact with your boss or management can be a major factor in how happy you are in a particular job. If you want someone to communicate often with you or to be more hands-off, it’ll be ideal if the management style matches what you want.
👉🏼 LOCATION – location may be a factor of convenience, but it can actually really affect how much you like your job. Location affects the patient population, commute time, company culture, and much more.
WEBSITES/RESOURCES FOR JOB HUNTING
There are numerous websites you can use for your job hunt! Nowadays, most people place job ads online, so looking on more than one website is a great strategy. Here are some common websites:
💻 Indeed
Another strategy you can use is to look for jobs by location. If you know you want to stay in one particular city/county, search for PT clinics or other settings in the area! This is what I did:
1. Go to Google Maps and type in a location you want to base your search off on (ex. Carlsbad, CA)
2. Click on the “Nearby” icon and type in “physical therapy” into the search bar
3. On the left column, you’ll see numerous clinics and individual PTs in the area
4. If you find a clinic that you like, explore the website and see if it is the right fit for you.
5. Many clinics have a page on their website that is dedicated to job openings/applications, so make sure to utilize this! I know some clinics only post jobs on their website and not on other 3rd party websites, like Indeed. If they don’t have this page, you can always take the initiative and email the director of the clinic about potential job positions.
DON’T SETTLE
If you just graduated from PT school, I know you just want to go out and get a job to start making money! However, if you have the luxury of being picky, don’t settle! So many people accept the first job offer they get, but after a few months, they decide that they’re only going to stay at this job for 1 year. This causes so much burnout in the PT profession and discourages many people from staying in the physical therapy field. If you have some time before you need to start working, look at all your options and pick the one where you will be the happiest. Decide on a few factors that are essential in a job for you (salary, productivity standards, company culture, etc) and choose a job that fulfills most of what you’re looking for. This is such a great profession, but enjoying your title as a physical therapist will be really difficult if you’re not happy with where you’re working.
Once you’ve found and accepted the job that’s best for you, take a moment to savor this moment!! You’ve worked so hard to get to this point, so enjoy it! In order to prepare for this next chapter of your life, make sure to walk into that clinic, hospital, or facility prepared to change some lives! I’ll likely write another blog post soon about things I’ve learned as a new grad and how to prepare for this first job, but here are a few tips in the meantime:
- Brush up on the patient populations you will be seeing – review old study guides and flashcards
- Determine how you’ll go about performing evaluations (you’ll be doing LOTS of these at the beginning – you can use my evaluation templates if you want to write on paper first!
- Find out what the dress code is – prepare your wardrobe with scrubs, athletic wear, or business casual clothes as needed
- Be open to learning new things – I’ve talked to a lot of seasoned PT’s about working as a new grad and they all said that the first few years of out school is when you learn the MOST
Hope you this guide was helpful for you guys! Good luck on the job hunt!!
