Imagine waking up every work day dreading going to the clinic. The practice is understaffed, and everyone avoids addressing ever-present problems. What a miserable way to spend a day, a week, a year–and a career.
Your career in optometry does not need to be like that. Many optometrists wake up looking forward to going to the office. They enjoy the camaraderie of fellow ODs, and they like laughing with staff who work well together.
This is not a dream, it can be your reality. It all starts by landing a position with the right optometry office and many times that begins with you. Yes, you. Opportunities will not come knocking. Most opportunities come from planting seeds early and often.
Three ways to plant the seeds of a successful career:
- Assume all optometry practices are looking to hire an associate OD. The most successful practices and the dream career you are looking for will not be listed in the online classifieds. Practice owners throughout the country are planning three to five years in advance, and they know if they have an opportunity to bring in the right individual, they will make it work because they know the power of practice success is in the right people. Go to every optometry office that you would like to work for, wherever you want to live, and let them know that you are interested in working for them when a position opens up. Does it work every time? No. But it never works if you don’t try.
- Overlook the initial salary. Look at a salary and incentives as a professional athlete does. Most of them are in multiple year contracts and have bonuses based on performance. If you are paid $105,000 for three years compared to $80,000 for the first year, $105,000 for the second, and $115,000 for the third, where would you rather be? I would pick the second option every time as you are most likely to continue to have the option of growing your salary.
- Be available and willing to do whatever is needed. An OD asked me how I motivated associate ODs because he had an associate that would only see patients and then leave. I told him, “Start looking for your next associate.” For your team you want associates who are willing to go above and beyond. Pay them good and keep them. All optometrists should be willing to do the small things when needed, even if it means vacuuming the office on a day you are short staffed.
Many optometrists are looking for jobs every year. The best-paid jobs with the highest job satisfaction are grown. A dream job begins with the seed of imagination. Growing the dream requires perseverance, patience, and doing what others are unwilling to do. Go out and realize your optometry career dream today, it’s never too late.
