StudentDC Interactive

Many DC’s graduate and find themselves in a position where they need a short-term position.  For example, I received an email from a new grad who wanted to find a job for 10-12 months.  Here is what I suggested:

I would not include anything about the length of your stay in the cover letter.  There are lots of reasons why your stay might be extended; on the other hand, you may decide to leave earlier.  The length of a job is uncertain anyway, so it is not dishonest to avoid the issue.

You might want to check with the state chiropractic society to see if they have a register of locum (temporary) chiropractors you could get on.  You could also phrase the cover letter to state that you would consider temporary fill-in jobs.

In your cover letter, note that you will be calling the doctor within a few weeks to see if there is any interest.  You might want to prepare letters and then stop into offices with the letter and leave it.  If the doctor is available you could spend a few minutes chatting.  Your willingness to personally request a position might impress a doctor.  Of course, you would be dressed professionally.  Do follow up, pleasantly asking if the doctor received your letter and if any positions are available.  State that you are willing to work on a fill-in basis - spring/summer is a good time to do this to cover for vacations.

I wish you success in your search!

Remember that old phrase, “Join the Navy, see the World” ?  Well, you can do that in chiropractic, too.  If you have graduated and have your license, but you’re not ready to open a practice, and you don’t want to commit to an associate position, you might want to consider becoming a locum tenens --  someone who goes into an office in a temporary capacity to do chiropractic work.  A locum tenens is, literally, a “place holder” (locum = place, tenens =to hold); it is usually abbreviated as simply “locum” work.

There are lots of reasons why an office would need a “temp”:  maternity leave, medical leave, around-the-world cruise, military duty, and on and on.  If you want to do locum work, check with your state chiropractic association to see if they will put you on their listing.  You might also want to check out the practice-for-sale and associate-wanted articles in Chiropractic Economics and contact doctors who are looking for associates or who need to leave a practice, or try the “Finding a Job in Chiropractic” article on StudentDC.  You might be able to fill in temporarily until a new associate is hired (or maybe you want to stay and fill the position).  Being a “temp” or locum is a great way to learn more about running a chiropractic office and keeping your skills sharp while you’re trying to figure out what to do.

It’s a win-win for everyone — the doctor gets a qualified chiropractor to run the practice, and you get some money and a chance to see the world, and maybe find a great job.

I sat down a week or so ago with a new DC who was looking at an associate contract.  My question to him: “If you had to live on just the base, could you do it?”  Here is what we did:

Monthly Base                          $2500

Income Tax                              $  375

FICA                                           $192

Student Loan payments          $800

Available                                    $1133

So, can you live on $1133 a month?  What if you had a family?  And your spouse couldn’t work?  This doesn’t seem possible, does it?

But, you say, “I’m going to make lots on incentives/bonuses each month.”  But what if:

(a) The doctor made you work for him while he went on vacation and you couldn’t get your own patients in?

(b) The doctor did everything in her power to keep you from getting the incentive, even if you are seeing new patients and bringing in money (this happens more often than you can imagine)

(c) You have to take time off for a family emergency or you are just not able to bring in new patients one month.

Scary thought, isn’t it?  This young doctor was in the Seattle area, where the cost of living is even higher.  Unless his wife works, it doesn’t seem like this is a good deal for him.  What do you think?

When I read an associate or independent contractor contract, I pay close attention to words.  I ask myself, “Is the meaning of this term clear?”  For example, I recently saw a contract that used the term “net collections.”  Do you know what “net collections” means?  Net of what?  Net means something is taken out, but what?

Today I saw an associate contract that used the term “earnings.”  I don’t know what “earnings” means, either.  Is it the amount of earnings (profit) of the practice as a whole?  Or is it (more likely) the collections attributable to a specific associate?  It’s much better to clarify assumptions now than to find out later that something didn’t mean what you thought (assumed) it meant. 

Don’t assume you know what a term means.  ASK.  Remember what “ASSUME” stands for - “ASSUME makes an “A**” out of “U” and “ME.” (sorry for ther terminology, but you get my point)

You know I’ve seen a lot of contracts.  But this wins a prize - for unfairness:

1. It’s a 12 month contract.  If the associate (employee) leave, he/she must pay $2500 a month for every month that’s left on the 12 months.  Bad?  Keep reading….

2.  If the employer fires the employee, the employee STILL must pay the $2500 a month for the rest of the contract.  YIKES!  But that’s not all….

3.  The employer can change the amount paid to the employee at any time.  REALLY bad?  Not enough….

4.  The employer also has a non-solicit and a non-compete, so you can’t work anywhere else in the state after you leave.

So, think about this:

Your employer tells you that you’re getting a pay cut.  But you can’t quit because you’ll have to pay off your “breach of contract (see 1 above).  And you can’t work anywhere else because you’ll get sued breaching the non-compete.  See what I mean? 

So…why would you sign such a contract?  

If you are preparing your resume (some chiropractors call it a “CV”), here is a great video on the blog “Interview Chatter” by Darlene McDaniel.  This video gives you tips on creating a resume and cover letter and how to use them to get a position as an associate.

My suggestions:

1.  Don’t EVER send out a resume without a cover letter.  If you are emailing the resume, the body of your email can be the “cover letter” with the resume as an attachment.  But don’t waste the email; make it a sales document.

2.  Remember “You are the product.”  You must sell yourself; there are lots of young DC’s out there who are your competition, so don’t be afraid to market yourself.  There is certainly a fine line between arrogance and confidence, but too many people err on the side of caution and don’t promote. 

3.  Keep at it.  Send out resumes to doctors in your area and then follow up with phone calls.  Ask, “Did you receive my resume? Do you have any interest in hiring an associate?   If not, do you know another doctor who might be interested?”

Good luck with this process.  Let me know how your search goes.