How to Transition from Clinical Practice Into Business and Industry
In the past few years I’ve received numerous messages and emails every week from clinicians requesting more information on how to transition from clinical practice into business and industry. To help provide support for those interested in this topic I put pen to paper (or in this case fingers to my keyboard) to outline my personal journey as a speech-language pathologist in business. Let’s get into it!
Personal Branding
I’ve always had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit, which is why I spent much a lot of my free time in graduate school learning about business and leadership. At that time, social media was used but not as much as it’s used today. I’ll never forget an entrepreneur I often listened to saying, “in the future, resumes will be irrelevant. Your personal brand demonstrated online will be your living resume.” That advice really hit home for me. I started sharing my story and experiences online through Instagram and blogging. My content on social media provided me with the opportunity to connect with other SLPs in the United States and abroad, and additionally, allowed me the chance to message with SLPs skilled in business. These connections landed me my very first role on the industry side as a project manager. Fast forward eight years and the experiences I’ve shared on social media have supported me in seeking and obtaining other opportunities including key account management, social media management, podcast management, and most recently, I have been promoted to the Director of Marketing and Communications at TIMS Medical.
Understanding Your Values and Finding a Role that Aligns
When seeking any position, it’s critical to have a clear understanding of your own personal values. When we understand our own drivers and goals, it’s easier to discern which roles and organizations we will thrive in. Prior to completing any outreach about a position, I recommend doing your homework to learn more about an organization’s culture and values. Here are a few questions to consider:
What is the organization’s mission statement?
What are their values?
How do these align with your values and goals?
Additionally, I recommend learning more about the organization and culture from current and/or former employees if you can.
In my experience, I’ve found success in partnering with companies I am already familiar with as a result of using their products/services in clinical practice. When considering making the jump into the industry side, consider what you are already doing on a day-to-day basis. A few considerations to make:
What products are you already using?
What patient populations do you enjoy working with?
What about your workday excites you the most?
When you understand what drives you, you gain clarity on which direction you want to go in.
Networking
When it comes to making a career transition, I always recommend reaching out to people who are doing what you’re striving to do. Nine times out of ten they will be more than happy to provide you with insight and guidance. Additionally, networking allows for the opportunity to learn from other professionals, providing insight into business, leadership, and communication skillsets. Networking can be as simple as messaging someone on Linkedin or Instagram, or as in-depth as attending conferences and connecting with vendors and other professionals you are striving to work alongside.
The Applicability of Clinical Practice into Business
When considering transitioning into business from clinical practice, I often hear clinicians say, “I don’t have any business experience.” My response is always, “You probably already have more experience than you think.” Consider your own clinical experience. Have you…
Advocated for new equipment?
Developed a program?
Led any continuing education initiatives?
Created new referral sources?
Helped a patient work through a denial process?
Assisted with schedule management?
Triaged patient caseloads?
Each of the items I’ve listed above can be applied in some way to sales or marketing. As clinicians, we often undervalue what we bring to the table.
To advocate for new equipment or program development, clinicians typically demonstrate the benefits, outline the return on investment (ROI), and ultimately close the deal. This process is mirrored in that of the sales cycle.
When creating new referral sources, clinicians market to the target audience, provide on-going education, and demonstrate the value of the referral.
Additionally, the ability to lead a team, juggle a schedule, prioritize tasks, have challenging conversations, and effectively create change are all important in business/industry roles. Most likely you are already developing or utilizing skills as a practicing clinician that are ideal for other opportunities.
It’s also important to consider the value that your clinical experience can potentially add to a non-clinical role. If you are working for a company that provides a product for your area of expertise, your clinical experience and insight can add tremendous value.
The Interview Process
Upon going through the interview process, it’s important to remember that you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. If possible, I think it’s helpful to meet with the leadership team, as well as any potential colleagues you might work with. Questions I recommend asking are:
How would you describe the culture at ________?
What is the opportunity for leadership growth?
What are the goals for the team this year?
Where do you see the company in the next five years?
What are the team’s core values?
How is performance assessed?
If possible, I prefer in-person interviews and visits to the home office so that you can get firsthand experience of the work environment.
Interested in Learning More?
For those interested in learning more, below are several Instagram Live interviews that discuss this topic. Additionally, I highly recommend the podcast, “Beyond These Clinic Walls” which can be accessed on Apple or Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/show/64iubdc11TrgVTfBjqxYYA
Instagram Live interview with Shelby Farwig in which we discuss skill development, various roles, our past and current positions, clinical and business partnerships, and more. Shelby discusses her experiences as a clinical specialist and her promotion to the Director of Clinical Operations at PatCom Medical. I dive into past sales and leadership opportunities, as well as my new role as the Director of Marketing and Communication at TIMS Medical.
In this solo Instagram Live, I answer questions regarding my experiences in clinical practice, industry, research, teaching, and pursuing the SLPD.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CspWvOLI1bR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
In this interview, Sam and I discuss challenges experienced by speech pathology graduate students, resources to help bridge the gap from grad school to clinical practice, how to pivot and start your own business, and exciting new endeavors Sam is taking on!
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CnlCdYRIwPr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Thank you so much for reading this blog post! For more information, please reach out to me!