A lesson from your patients – negotiate

Author: Robert F. Priddy, President, third_Evolution

How many times have you said to a patient, “it would help if you would lose about 10 pounds,” only to have the patient respond with, “but I only put on two pounds since my last visit…”

To most physicians there is absolutely no congruity between being told to lose 10 pounds and responding with, “I only gained two.” How do the two fit together?! For you, it’s incongruous, for the patient it’s simple negotiations.

Physicians too often deal in absolutes whereas patients deal in shades of gray. Consider Kubler-Ross’s stages of death and dying… You’ve just told a patient he has cancer. What’s his reaction – no, it can’t be true. You say it again and his response becomes, no, and I won’t accept it – it’s not fair… followed by how can we work around this… What is your patient doing? He’s negotiating.

Physician salary negotiation services

Don't forget that we currently provide a career service for physicians who are looking for salary negotiation coaching. Do you know how to position yourself to ensure that you'll receive the best compensation package as you negotiate salary? Perhaps you'd like to gain some insight from HR professionals who have worked in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Here's an example of some of the services we provide:

• Financial Services: You will have an unique opportunity to work with a former Investment Banker on Wall Street who transitioned his career into Human Resources (HR), specializing in Staffing and Recruiting. Within this field, he has 10+ years experience as an internal HR recruiter, and external executive recruiter, across a variety of different industries ranging from Finance, Management Consulting, Pharma, Bio-tech, IT, etc... He can provide you with guidance/coaching from the pre-interview stage to post-offer stage. He has experience both as an internal HR recruiter, and external executive recruiter managing total compensation packages up to $750K. He can provide valuable insight as to how "HR" operates, and how you can successfully navigate around 'HR" to maximize your compensation package.

If you're looking for a career coach, make sure to read this.

Salary negotiation tips

Are you a strong salary negotiator? Many physicians are not in the practice of negotiating salary. After all, what percentage of physicians are salaried? If you're in private practice, then you may feel like you're pulling some teeth from insurance companies to get paid, but that doesn't automatically make you a good negotiator.

So how should you negotiate salary when you're transitioning into the non-clinical sector? TheLadders.com has an article titled, "5 Ways to Negotiate Salary Requirements." This article has some solid tips that can be applied across any industry. However, the first point (Know what you’re worth in your geography) can be very difficult for physicians who are entering non-clinical industries. After all, do you know many physicians working for different types of companies? If you do, are you comfortable asking them about their salaries?

Websites like Salary.com, Payscale.com, Jobstar.org and Indeed.com provide good statistics on salary ranges for normal types of jobs, but physicians who work in companies are often filling atypical positions. Therefore, it can be a bit more challenging to evaluate your "worth" in the non-clinical industry.

• How much does a "medical director" make in a pharmaceutical company?
• What types of salaries can you expect if you work in public health?
  
• How much does a physician "medical writer" make in a communications company?
• What are the salary ranges for physicians working in government jobs?
  
• How much does a physician consultant make in a large consulting firm?

Do you know where to look for this type of information? Don't risk being underpaid. Work with someone who can help you negotiate a fair salary based on industry-specific market value rates.

Experience with outplacement services

Have you ever had any experience working with outplacement services? Traditional outplacement can be defined as: "The process of facilitating a terminated employee's search for a new job by provision of professional services, such as counseling, paid for by the former employer." These days, so many people are looking for work and I see some non-traditional outplacement services being offered by various groups/companies/individuals. If you're looking to switch careers, you may have a difficult time finding a company to pay for outplacement services.

Outplacement services may cover things such as:

• Resume improvement
  
• Counseling
• Career coaching
• Negotiation skills
• Networking
• Job search
• Career transition
  
• Interview coaching
• Career assessment guidance

Live outside North America? Below the equator? Southern hemisphere? Do you live in Australia? Perhaps you may want to see what you can find if you search for "career outplacement adelaide" or for "outplacement melbourne." Maybe you'll stumble upon a group called the Donington Group. They specialize in:

• Career Transition and Outplacement
• Career Management and Career Coaching
• Career Development and Redeployment
• Corporate Outplacement Support

I'm doing some research about outplacement services and I'd love to hear your stories (good or bad). Some organizations seem to be quite effective, but many don't seem to help a whole lot. Job seekers need to be coached by others who really understand that specific industry, but it seems like much of the coaching is being provided through generalists.