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Why you should work with a recruiter in 2019.

The job market for vision experts like yourself looks good, and the demand for optometrists is expected to grow throughout the next eight years.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of optometrists is projected to grow 18 percent by 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations. The Bureau cites an aging population with growing vision problems as a key factor driving the demand. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) agrees, saying that “due to our aging population, the number of blind and visually impaired people in the United States is estimated to double by 2030.”

Additionally, a growing understanding of the connection between eye health and overall wellbeing is expected to drive demand for optometrists and ophthalmologists. Diabetes has been linked to eye health, including diabetic retinopathy, one of the most preventable causes of vision loss. The CDC also suggests that people with diabetes are at higher risk for glaucoma and cataracts. If you have diabetes, an eye exam every year is necessary to protect and preserve your eyesight and eye health.

What does this all mean for the profession? Demand for vision experts is rising, and a recruiter can help you stand out from the crowd of candidates answering that call.

1) Personal Relationships

Experienced recruiters, like those found at ETS Vision, are in constant communication with practice owners searching for their next hire. Often, recruiters develop close relationships over a span of years with owners. Those relationships can lead to exciting opportunities for job candidates. Recruiters will also develop a relationship with you. Finding the right candidate for the right position at the right practice is a win-win for all those involved. An experienced recruiter will get to know your professional skills and personal goals to best connect you with the owners that will be a good fit for your career and their practice.

2) First to Know

As mentioned, recruiters work with the same practice owners for years, sometimes decades. This means that when an owner wants to take on a new associate, the recruiter is the first to know. Recruiters know about job opportunities long before they ever become public knowledge. That’s why owners work with a recruitment expert. Rather than casting a wide net and having to sort through hundreds of unqualified resumes, owners would rather work directly with a recruiter who already has a half dozen candidates in mind that could potentially be a perfect fit. This saves everyone involved time, money and headache in the long run.

3) Advice and Insight

When it comes to resumes and CVs, recruiters have seen it all. There’s no better resource for an honest review of your documented job readiness than a recruiter. Not only can we offer advice to enhance your professional documents, recruiters can tell you what industry trends are most important to practice owners currently and provide insight into the skills, certifications, or experiences that you should highlight. Industries change daily and so do the skillsets that are in demand. A recruiter can help you put your best foot forward.

4) Interview Readiness

Similar to the value they bring to enhancing your resume and CV, a recruiter is invaluable when it comes to the interview process. Why? Because we know exactly what the hiring parties are searching for. It’s our job to find the candidate that best meets their criteria. When you nail an interview, your recruiter has just proved their value with an owner. When you look good, we look good.

The CDC estimates that of the “61 million US adults at high risk for vision loss, only half visited an eye doctor in the past 12 months.” There is a large, untapped pool of adults that require vision services, and as more studies demonstrate the connection between eye health and overall wellness, it’s expected those adults will visit their optometrist and ophthalmologist more often. Add to that the fact that nearly all health plans now cover medical eye care and preventive eye exams, and the rising demand for vision services starts to make a lot of sense. The rising demand means more opportunity for candidates, but could also lead to more competition as individuals seek jobs in a growing market.

A professional recruiter can help you stand out from the candidate crowd and land your desired position. Going blindly into a job search with no clear direction can lead to a position that is professionally unsatisfying and personally disappointing. Don’t wait until then to look back and wish you had worked with a recruiter. You know what they say, hindsight is 20/20.