March 2020 President’s
Corner

SAA (And Your Family) Wants You to Get a Job!

Quick show of hands: Has anyone NOT made a joke about the fact that they’re never going to graduate? Fortunately, it’s getting close to the time of year where some of us will be proved wrong and so the stress of school, externships, and all that comes with it is changing out for the stress of finding the first “real” job. Fortunately, SAA and the Academy have a number of resources available to help first-time job-seekers! I’ve collected many of them below so that hopefully next time you’re talking to your family you can excitedly answer that dreaded question “So… what are you going to do now?”

• Finding the Job
  • HEARCareers
    • Many of you probably used HEARCareers as a part of your externship search (I know I did) and I’m happy to say that the same familiar tool is available now for your audiology job search! This is a great tool advertising audiology jobs around the country and so whether you’re looking close to home or ready to explore some tropical Hawaiian practice settings, be sure to make this your first stop!
•  Getting the Job
  • Resume Review Service
  • HEARCareers isn’t just a great resource for finding positions, the Academy also offers a resume review service where a professional audiologist will review your resume, cover letter, and even thank you notes and provide you with constructive and qualified feedback as you’re heading into the job market! Just head to the Resume Review Service webpage, fill out a quick form, and email your materials to resumereview@audiology.org! After you’ve received feedback and perfected your materials, don’t forget that you can upload your resume directly to HEARCareers to use when applying for jobs!
  •  The American Academy of Audiology Compensation and Benefits Survey
    • Once you’ve found the perfect position or even when you’re hiring and trying to determine the right salary for you, don’t forget to take a look at the 2019 Compensation and Benefits Survey to get an idea of what audiologists make in the area and setting you’re applying. This information can also be found by state, region, and other variables. Remember, however, that this is just part of the picture. To determine the right salary for you take into account your expenses, including new ones like student loan payments, and make sure that the position you’re accepting makes sense.
  • Negotiating Salary
    • The Academy recently shared a great article from the Harvard Business Review about how to evaluate a job offer. In it, one of the major themes is negotiating both salary and non-salary benefits that make sense for you. In fact, the Harvard Business Review has another article with “15 Rules to Negotiating a Job Offer” that you might want to review as well. Both of these articles and an Audiology Today article titled “Negotiating Salary as a New Professional and Its Impact on the Future of Our Profession” emphasize the importance of negotiating rather than accepting the first offer you’re given. Keep in mind that by the stage you’re being offered a position, this practice has already invested in you and the specific things that you can bring to the table. Make sure that they’re meeting your expectations as well, especially since starting salary will help to determine future earnings at that practice and potentially at other practices that you work at later!
•  After You Get the Job
  • Student Loan Repayment Plans
    • Remember both when you’re evaluating the benefits of a new position and after you’ve taken your first job to look at student loan repayment plans. Especially if your ratio of debt to income is high, there are a number of programs that may help ease that burden early on in your career. And if you’re working for the government or another not-for-profit entity, you may be eligible for programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness which reduces your payments and the amount of time that you need to pay down on your loans. This article isn’t long enough to cover all of the nuance involved in applying for these plans, so be sure to reach out to people around you and professional advisors to help determine what’s right for you! If you’re interested in more information from an audiology perspective, check out this article from the Academy’s New Professionals Committee on Student Loan Forgiveness!
  • Fellow Up!
    • Last year, then-SAA President Liz Fuemmeler wrote a great piece about one of the biggest benefits of SAA membership: Fellow Up! This program allows SAA members to convert their SAA membership to a full Academy Fellow membership for FREE the year they graduate. New this year is an increased $210 discount for members the first year after graduation. There are additional discounts for the first three full years after graduation and I hope you’ll take advantage of this discounted access to all of the Academy benefits of membership. This includes aspects you’ve enjoyed as an SAA member, including discounted access to great events like the AAA Annual Conferences and year-round educational and professional opportunities.
  • American Academy of Audiology New Professionals Committee
    • One great opportunity specifically for new professionals is the New Professionals Committee. This committee sponsors programs during the annual meeting, this year’s is on burnout in audiology, and also offers other programming and new professional-focused resources throughout the year. Another great advantage of volunteering with this committee is the ability to meet a great network of active audiologists from around the country who are navigating or recently navigated the transition from student to professional and so have great advice when you start that journey yourself. Additionally, like all Academy volunteer positions, this provides a great opportunity to network with leaders in our field and get to know colleagues who may be useful resources as you’re implementing new practices in your clinic or looking to move later on. Keep an eye out as the call for volunteers will be opening March 16th!