Selling Yourself As a Physician

How to Network
by Robert Priddy
Networking is part of finding a non clinical career.

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Making connections can be easy, and people often want to be helpful. It’s catching up with long lost relatives, attending business and organizational parties, and connecting with friends and associates you usually just pass in hallways or in elevators.
People will honestly ask about you and what you’re doing. Starting your conversations with, “I’m looking to make this a great year of change,” will certainly elicit responses of tell me more, and what kind of change. Then, “Well, as you know I…. , and I’ve been involved in doing a lot of…., so now I’m working on…,” stands a great chance of getting the attention you want.
So, don’t think for a minute you should be hanging up your Nonclinical Career Transition resume, stump speech and business cards when you are networking.

Some years ago I administered the Birkman Behavioral Assessment® to a group of high level members of a national physician executive organization. What differentiated them most from my control group was their elevated interest in “persuasive behavior.” Note, the Birkman assessment interprets “persuasiveness” with an orientation towards direct, persuasive communications.
While interests may or may not translate into actual behaviors, those results showed a heightened awareness in the need to convince others of their message. Outside of practice, in pursuit of a nonclinical career transition as well as in nonclinical work, physicians, like everyone else, need to be selling their ideas, their recommendations and their results constantly.
While starting your sentence with, “As a physician,” may turn heads and gain initial
attention, it won’t guarantee you’ll get your way.
Persuasiveness is a skill, and a skill that can be learned. Learn to make a case for your point and presently it knowledgeably, logically and cogently, and you’ll find many more opportunities for success await you.

I recently wrote about your Stump Speech as the best way to make the best first impression. However, it is more than that. Actually, the basic content of what I’ll call your expanded Stump Speech can be primary material for almost every question you’ll be asked during networking and interviewing sessions. Let me explain.
 
First, the elements of the expanded Stump Speech:

• Who I am
• What I’ve done
• What I want to do
• How I can help you
• How you can help me*
• Why I’m leaving clinical practice*

*If you read my previous article, you may notice, How you can help me, and Why I’m leaving clinical practice as two additional elements.
 
So, consider this as just one example of effective use of your Stump Speech in a networking environment. Let’s assume you’re attending a conference and you sit next to a lady and turn and smile:

• She says, hello, I’m Jane Doe, and you… Your response: Who I am. 
• She then states that that is interesting, and asks why you are attending…. What I’ve done coupled with What I want to do.
• You ask what she does, and to that you respond with How I can help you tailored to her organization, company, etc…

 
The key to a good Stump Speech is to be brief and focused. It’s an introduction and it’s a way of setting conversational focus and boundaries. It is not your autobiography.
With enough practice, it will become very easy to network with many people with a highly focused and managed content structure that clearly communicates important information about you while setting boundaries for the conversation.

If you'd like to learn more, don't hesitate to contact me for an initial Hallway Consult... Text or Call 720-339-3585 or email: rfp@thirdevo.com.