How to find your ideal dental job
Whether you’re looking for your first position or on the hunt for your next role, there’s an art to finding your ideal dental job – but what does it actually entail? Here’s what you need to know.
Be realistic: While ambition is a commendable trait and it’s good to set your sights high, you still need to be realistic about the sorts of jobs that you can apply for. It would be a pointless exercise, for example, to submit your CV for the position of a Lead Dentist if you lack the experience and skills needed to perform the role. Instead, look for jobs that match your knowledge and play to your strengths, as such a position will allow you to maximise your scope of practice and gain valuable experience.
You’ll also need to be practical about the types of vacancies available at the time of application. Currently, less than one in ten job adverts are for private practices, so if that’s the way you want to go you may need to compromise and look for a position in a mixed practice. Quite often finding the ideal dental job can be a learning curve in which the roles along the way ensure that the end result can be obtained.
Be ambitious: Still, it’s good to dream big and map out your desired development, as it will help you to carve out your career pathway. Plus, if you’re able to identify areas that you want to expand into or new skills you wish to acquire then you can search for a suitable role that will offer those opportunities.
Simplify the search: Thanks to the vast capabilities of today’s technologies, finding your ideal dental job is no longer like looking for a needle in a haystack. As long as you’ve identified your clinical and personal preferences and taken into consideration any potential limitations that might rule out certain vacancies, you can harness the power of the internet to narrow your search. Specialist job sites and networking platforms can be used to set up notifications tailored to your criteria and provide huge amounts of information about the role and workplace. Before if you wanted to find available vacancies BDJ Jobs would be the go to place, but now there are a wealth of sites to choose from to help in your search. This increase in accessibility makes it a lot easier – and faster – to find appropriate vacancies.
Sell yourself: Of course networking and job sites can also be used to advertise your achievements and skills to potential employers. If you meet the required criteria for a specific role, you might well find that an ideal job opportunity presents without having to go looking for it. To maximise your chances be sure to spend time on your CV so that it reflects all of your relevant skills and experience. What’s more, if you have a Performer Number don’t forget to add it to your CV, as this will increase your appeal as a potential candidate. Likewise, if there are any conditions that apply to your Performer Number you’ll need to include those too.
Look further afield: To find the ideal job there’s a good chance you’ll have to consider roles across a broader geographic range, as the odds of finding the perfect position right on your doorstep is relatively slim. That’s not to say it’s not a possibility, but the larger the choice the better your prospects are. You’re more likely to get a better deal too if you look outside of London in terms of remuneration and a golden hello, as the competition is less fierce and practices in less desirable areas are finding it harder to recruit. As such, it is important to consider the type of area you are looking in, as this could impact your chances.
Get help: You can also enlist the services of a specialist dental recruiter, who has the relevant experience and network of contacts to guide you through the recruitment process and identify appropriate jobs that match your criteria. Dental Elite, one of the UK’s largest dental recruitment agencies, will work with you closely on all aspects of the search and placement to ensure the optimum result.
Altogether, job hunting can be a laborious task, but with the right attitude, approach and expert assistance, you’ll be in your perfect role in no time!
If you need help finding your ideal job, contact Dental Elite today.
For more information on Dental Elite visit dentalelite.co.uk, email recruitment@dentalelite.co.uk or call 01788 545 900