The job search timeline

Jobs are usually filled months before graduation, and the paperwork after you sign takes longer than most fellows expect. Work backward from your start date.

1. About 18 months before graduation: decide what you want. Setting, location, disease focus. Talk with mentors and recent graduates. Update your CV.
2. 12 to 18 months before: start looking. Ask your program director and mentors, watch society job boards and recruiter listings, and tell people at meetings that you are looking. Many good jobs are never posted.
3. 9 to 12 months before: interview. First visits, then second visits, often with your partner or family.
4. 6 to 9 months before: negotiate and sign. Have a health care attorney review the contract before you sign (see reading a job offer).
5. 3 to 6 months before: licensing and credentialing. State medical license, DEA registration, hospital privileges and insurance enrollment can each take months. Start the day you sign.
6. After graduation: boards. The ABIM certification exams are given on set dates each year. Know your dates and plan your study time around the move. See board prep.

These are typical ranges, not rules. Academic searches tied to a specific position can move faster or slower.