It could be your first job after graduating or the next job you are applying for, but ensuring you pick the right career path can be tough…

Especially when you are first starting out!

What you do not want to do is waste the first few years of your career in a job you do not enjoy and just as important, a role that offer little potential progress towards your ultimate dream job.

Not all jobs will give you the same experiences and help you progress.

One dream job for one person might be the the worst job for another.

One employer may be really supportive of you and your CPD, another might not help you at all.

So it is important to do your research before applying for any new role to help you attain if this new job would be the right one for you.

Here are 5 questions you need to know the answer to before accepting any job role.

Some are questions you need to answer yourself, some require some research and the others are the sort of questions you need to be asking any potential employer at the end of the interview.

Here they are…

#1 Is This A Role I Actually Want To Do?

It always surprises me how so many new grads do roles they do not like.

Maybe you are doing your NHS rotations because everyone else is or because you were told that you should..

Working on wards, or in respiratory or neuro when all you want to do is work in MSK.

Or working in private practice or sport, but what you do day-day, is not quite how you had imagined it.

All physio jobs are not the same.

It is different working in the NHS, private sector and sport.

Is the job you are applying for the right one for you?

Short answer, is no if it is not something you will enjoy doing or at the very least…

Is not a job that will help you get the skills you need to actually progress and help you progress to get the job you really want.

 

#2 Is This The Right Job For Me Right NOW?

It can be easy to become panicked or stressed when you see other new grads securing jobs and progressing when you are not.

Always remember your career is YOUR career and it’s a career you can forge completely how you want to – whether that is in private practice, the NHS or sport.

Maybe you want to travel with your job or venturing overseas to work…

Maybe you want to work for yourself?

The sooner you worry less about other people and what they are doing the better. 

Let other people worry about their career and spend your time and energy on progressing your own career.

You might not be applying for and getting your dream job straight from Uni…

But every career decision you take should be progressing you towards that dream job.

If it is not, then why do it?

It is also important to consider that you might just not be ready for that role yet.

I’ve seen new grad therapists drown with the pressure and expectation with jobs that are too big for them, in the NHS, the private sector and in professional sport.

Maybe there is a better role right now for you, with less pressure and expectations, to help you progress but give you time to work on those areas you are lacking.

Meaning that when that opportunity comes up again you are ready and waiting, confident in yourself that you can do the job well and will therefore actually enjoy it, rather than feel like you are being crushed under the weight of expectation. 

That’s not to say that you will never do that dream job…

Just that that dream job might be the breaking of you…rather than the making of you if you take it on and you are not ready. 

 

#3 What Would Progress In The Organisation Look Like?

You do not just want a job.

You want to work somewhere that will reward you if you do well.

This might be more pay, more responsibilities, learning more skills i.e. managerial, teaching…

What you do not want is a role that is going nowhere.

Gaining a sports therapy degree then just working in a clinic doing massage is not what you trained to do, is it?

If you wanted to do that you should have just completed a weekend massage course for £600 and not spent 3 years slogan your guts at Uni and racking up £50k worth of debt for the privilege. 

If there is no progress within the organisation or at the very least you are not going to progress your skills that will transfer to your next job, then this might not be the job for you. 

 

#4 Who Will I Be Working With?

You spend a lot of time working so it is always good to know who you will be working with.

Unfortunately not all organisations and therapists are supportive of new grads.

You need to do your research on the the clinic, sports club or department you are applying to work in BEFORE the interview…

Or at the very least ask this question at the interview itself.

Because if you do not, you might just find yourself spending most of your week, working alongside people you don’t really like…

And equally as bad as that…

People that do not give you the support and guidance you need when you are just starting out.

 

#5 What Support Will You Give Me?

This might be dedicated CPD time as a group or 1-1.

It might be a CPD allowance per year you get access to.

Regardless, you need to know what support you will get.

Do not just assume you will get help as you may not (in many places you will get none or much less than you were told).

Because if this happens this might mean you being locked away behind the clinic door or curtain, working alone, with no one to reach out to for help with that tricky patient or for some guidance or advice.

I would go as far as saying you would be better taking a role that pays less money but gives you a better level of support as a new grad, than a role that has less support but pays more.

This is because you are so impressionable at the early part of your career.

You will know that University only teaches you enough to get started, but your real learning and development comes once you graduate and get working.

Having the right person or persons around you is key to your progress and development as a physio.

If you don’t have someone to turn to for help, then you will no doubt find your early years are littered with mistakes, poor progress in both your clinical skills and career progress…

So make sure anywhere you choose to work will give you get the right support you need…

Or have a plan to get it from somewhere or someone else.

Hope this helps.

Andy

PS. One of the main reasons therapists reach out to me is that they feel they are not getting the support they need from their lecturers (students) or employers (graduates).

Maybe you feel you need some help and guidance to know which way to go next with your career, how to improve your patient assessments, hands-on skills and rehab planning…

Or you would like to have someone in your corner that can help mentor you and help you out with those tricky cases in the clinic or to make those important career decisions.

If that sounds like you then check out my new grad physio membership [www.newgradphysio.com/membership] to see if you are suitable.

Fill in the short form, hit submit and I’ll be in touch to see if you might be suitable to join my community of student and new grad therapists fast-tracking their clinical and career skills.

Just click here. [www.newgradphysio.com/membership]