How to Find a Pathology Job

Overview

This page represents the personal thoughts, opinions, and musings of Jerad M Gardner, MD regarding the pathology job market and how to find a pathology job. It is based on my personal experiences and things I have learned from others. It is by no means official or exhaustive, nor is it necessarily the correct way to do things. A lot of people ask me questions about this topic, so I am merely attempting to compile my answers online in the hopes that some readers will find it useful. Best of luck! - Jerad

Details of my personal job search (2011-2012)

A bit about my background. I did AP/CP pathology residency at Houston Methodist Hospital (graduating in 2010), followed by a soft tissue pathology fellowship with Sharon Weiss at Emory (2011) and a dermatopathology fellowship at Emory (2012). I finished training and started my first job on July 1, 2012. I began inquiring seriously (i.e. - sending out my CV) about jobs about 9 months before my planned start date (so Fall of my final year of training), and I felt that gave me enough time to conduct my job search. Obviously, I had been doing groundwork and networking for years prior to the start of my job search, and that, coupled with the many pathologists I came to know via my involvement in CAP Residents Forum, was invaluable (more on that under "pearls" below).

My job search was very unique due to the fact that my wife was a 4th year medical student who was applying to psychiatry residency at the same time I was seeking a pathology job. At least we were on-cycle and seeking new positions the same year, but it certainly made things more complicated. Basically, my wife made a list of all residency programs she wanted to apply to, and then I tried my best to apply to as many jobs as I thought reasonable in those cities where she applied. I used google to find mostly academic but also some private pathology departments/groups in those cities, and I sent them cold emails with an attached CV (see examples below). Here are the statistics of my job search:

• I selected and cold emailed my CV to 42 practices/departments. I typically sent my cold emails to the department Chair or to the coordinator if the Chair's address was unavailable. If I knew someone personally who worked in the group, I would contact them ahead of my cold email so that they could put in a good word for me.

• • Most of these jobs were in the Southeast and Texas (our families live in those regions), but I also applied for a few positions in the Northeast as well as the Northwest.

• • 9 positions were with private groups or large commercial laboratories

• • 33 positions were with academic centers/universities

Out of the 42 groups contacted, here are the results:

• • 9 offered me an interview (but I only actually interviewed at  5 groups; when I accepted my current job, I stopped my job search and cancelled later interviews)

• • 10 said “maybe” they would be interested in interviewing me depending on a variety of factors (e.g. - once my wife got an interview in the same city, once the new Chair took over, etc)

• • 13 said "no" they were not looking or else I was not right for the position

• • 10 programs never responded to my email

Cold Email Templates

I "cold emailed" a lot of academic programs and some private groups as well when searching for my first job. Here are some examples of the emails that I utilized (names have been changed to protect the innocent). I attached a copy of my CV when I sent these emails. I did apply to both academic and private jobs at the same time and utilized different email formats for both; I feel like both emails were honest as I was open to a variety of possibilities given that I was applying for a job at the same time as my wife was applying for residency in a different specialty. Honesty is very important in the job search (as it is for the residency and fellowship search and for life in general). I was upfront with all of my interviewers regarding my unique situation and feel that everyone was very understanding.

Feel free to adapt these emails to your own job hunting scenario and use them if you like. You should probably change the names and personal details though. 

Example 1 - For Academic Jobs:

Dear Dr. Smith,

I am currently a dermatopathology fellow at Emory University, and I also completed a soft tissue pathology fellowship here at Emory with Sharon Weiss last year. I am interested in finding an academic faculty position for (insert date here). My preference would be a position that would utilize my training in both soft tissue and dermatopathology and would provide me with ample teaching opportunities. Please find my CV attached. If you feel I might be able to fill a need in your department, please let me know.

Best regards,

Jerad 

Jerad M. Gardner, MD
Immediate Past Chair, CAP Residents Forum
Fellow, Dermatopathology, Emory University

Example 2 - For Private Jobs:

Dear Dr. White, 

I am currently a dermatopathology fellow at Emory interested in starting a job in (insert date here). I completed my soft tissue pathology fellowship last year at Emory with Sharon Weiss, and I trained in AP/CP at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. I am looking for a job covering general surgical pathology with a focus in dermpath and bone/soft tissue, although I would also be able to cover cytopathology, CP, or other areas if desired. Please find my CV attached. If I might be able to fill any need in your practice, please don't hesitate to contact me. 

Best regards,

Jerad 

Jerad M. Gardner, MD
Immediate Past Chair, CAP Residents Forum
Fellow, Dermatopathology, Emory University

Key words: job hunt, job search, job market

Pearls of wisdom for getting a pathology job

• Start networking as early as possible in residency. Meet everyone and build relationships with a focus on important people in groups/departments/cities/regions that are of greatest interest to you. 
• Be flexible. The more flexible you are regarding where (geographically) you are willing to live, what salary you are willing to accept, and what types of pathology you are willing to practice, the better your chances of success. Say there are two equally trained dermatopathology fellows seeking a job:
  • Jane is only willing to live in Boston, demands a salary of $500,000 per year starting, and wants to cover dermpath service only with no frozens, call, general surg path sign out, or any other non-dermpath work. 
  • Alice is willing to live pretty much anywhere, including rural Idaho or North Dakota, she wants to make a reasonable salary but understands that starting salary won't be nearly as high as a partner might make, and she is happy to cover CP call or general surg path or even autopsies if her colleagues need her to do so. Clearly, Alice will be more likely to get a job.