It’s not what you know, it’s who you know?

Right?

Wrong!

This is probably the biggest myth flying around related to the job market.

I hear this all the time from both students and new grads as a reason for their inability to get their foot in the door in a private clinic, the NHS or a job in sport.

‘’They got that placement because they know the physio there….

Or they only got that job because so and so said something…’’

Right place, right time, that kind of thing.

I used to believe this myself.

But it is the biggest pile of nonsense and I’ll explain why.

In short, to get any role you need to be ready.

You need to be competent in what you are doing.

You need to have the confidence in your skills, your assessments, treatments and rehab.

You need to be competitive in what is a very tough job market, to be able to stand out from the crowd, to get ahead of your peers…

If you ever want to achieve your dream job.

It does not matter who you know…

NO therapist is EVER going to put their neck on the line for you if they feel you are not ready.

Just think about this for a second.

You are a senior physio and one of your friends, another therapist who you used to work with, is looking to recruit a junior physio at the sports club he is working at.

He reaches out to you and asks if there is anyone you know that might be suitable.

This has happened to me twice this week, for two different roles in sport, one in professional rugby and one in women’s sport.

For me to recommend a therapist, is me putting my reputation on the line.

If you go into that role and do a $#&% role then it is me that is going to be getting questioned.

‘I thought you said he was good…

‘You said she was a great but…’’

No-one is going to do this, unless they have the confidence you can do the role.

Just on this…

I have actually reached out to the therapists in my New Grad Physio Membership this week to give them the information on these two job roles I was asked about.

I know they have the competencies they need because I know what they know, I know the content they have consumed and the knowledge they have…

And as a result I can be confident they are ready, with some continued support, to take on these type of roles.

You might say well Andy, it is because the know you, and this is the reason they are in a great position to get these roles.

But you would be wrong.

You are looking at it the completely the wrong way.

They are in a great position to take on these roles because of what they know, not who they know.

I know they would do a great job in these roles so I am happy to recommend them.

Therapists are not just lucky.

You are not going to just fall into your dream job.

That is not how it works.

Luck = Opportunity + Preparation.

Opportunity is about knowing how to open doors.

That might be the door to your next placement or that first job you really want straight out of Uni.

Preparation is being ready for the situation.

Ask yourself this…

If you turned up at your dream placement or job tomorrow would you be actually be able to do what you would be asked to do?

Could you confidently do a full shoulder assessment?

Would you know what treatment techniques or rehab exercises to use for a patient with and Achilles tendon issue?

Would you know how to summarise your assessment findings to a football player, and explain his diagnosis and prognosis?

Could you give the same information to the coach?

If you would not, then you are not ready.

This is why there is such a big turnover of junior therapists in roles, particularly in private practice and sport, simply because they are not up to the job.

If you look at your contract closely you might see some sort of probationary or ‘training’ period.

This is basically a ‘get out’ for your employer to get rid of you if you are not up to the job.

Why do you think that most NHS rotations are only 4-6 months in length?

One reason is to move you on to someone and somewhere else if you are not cutting it.

There is nothing worse than having a ‘poor’ student or even worse, making a mistake and taking on the wrong therapist for a paid role.

Having a student that adds little value to the environment can make for a very long 4 or 5 week placement.

Paid roles are even worse.

The process to employ someone is a lengthy process. 

You have to put an advert out, sort through the applications and spend time interviewing the candidates.

Then when you identify the right one you have to negotiate contracts and in addition you might have to wait for them to start if they have a set notice period in their current role.

You need to be ready to take on any opportunity that comes your way.

A placement is a massive opportunity for you to show your educator and the other senior staff around you that you would be a potential valuable colleague.

So many therapists get jobs off the back of good placements, in the NHS, private practice and in sport.

I walked straight into a full-time job with the first team at the Leeds Rhinos, from Uni, off the back of a placement 9 months earlier.

I was more prepared that my peers.

I was willing to put the work in to prepare for the placement before it started, to brush up on my assessment skills, practice some treatment techniques and rehab exercise coaching that I thought I might use on placement.

Then I would spend some time every night on placement preparing for the next day, reading up on some of things I had seen that day, areas that I needed to know more about, writing down questions to ask the senior physio’s the next day.

That is preparation and being ready to take on any opportunity that comes your way.

If you want to leave your career to ‘luck’ and if you truly believe that your career path is out of your hands and that you will never achieve your dream role, you are right…

You never will achieve your dream role.

But if you acknowledge that getting your foot in the door at that private clinic, securing that next promotion in the NHS or getting your dream job working in professional sport is more to do with you, and nothing to do with luck, you have a great chance.

So remember…

It’s not who you know but what you know…

And equally as important as that is what you are going to do.

Are you going to just see what happens and risk wasting the first 3-5 years of your career doing jobs that you do not enjoy, possibly missing the boat on that path towards your dream role?

Or…

Are you going to take action and make opportunities for yourself and prepare yourself in the best possible way so you are ready to take on any such opportunities that come your way?

If you want to take control of your own career and learn exactly what you need to do next then you can not afford to miss this…

Revealed! How To Stand Out To Get Your Dream Placement or Job Even If You Have No Connections & Without Having To Wait To Get Years Of ‘Experience’

This is my next FREE event and this webinar is happening on Tuesday 6th April 2021 19:00 (UK).

On this webinar you will discover…

– The #1 Reason You Do Not Get A Reply To Your Emails Asking For A Placement Or A Job & How To Fix This

– [Non-Physio’s] Why Going Back To Uni To Study An MSc Physio Degree Could Be A Total Waste Of Time & The Most Costly (££££) Mistake You Ever Make

– Why You Need To Identify What Your Dream Job Is Early (And Go After It) Or Miss Any Chance That You Might Have On Ever Achieving This Role

– What 99% of Students & New Grads Are Doing Wrong When It Comes To Writing Their CV & Cover Letters

– The 6 Step Process You Need To Follow To Stand Out From The Crowd, Get Ahead Of Your Peers & Accelerate Your Career Faster Than You Ever Though Possible

– Plus I’ll Be Holding A LIVE Q & A Session To Answer Any Questions

You can register for you free place here.