Determine your physician search firm needs

Before contacting physician search firms for help, determine just what kind of job are you looking for, a permanent position where you can plant roots and grow or a part-time moonlighting jobs to supplement your income.

I recommend: Jackson & Coker is an established physician recruiting firm that provides services for both locum tenens and permanent positions.

Focus on your specialty

Some physician recruiting firms have opted to zone in on certain specialties to give themselves an edge over the jack-of-all-trade physician staffing agencies.

I recommend: Royal Oak Cardiology Group has a highly specialized physician recruiting strategy, with a focus on placing cardiologists in hospitals, clinics, colleges and universities, and private practices nationwide. PhysicianCareerJobs.com has a variety of specialized job boards under its large physician recruiting umbrella, such as CARDIOcareer.com and PSYCH-career.com, that physicians seeking employment can search for free.

Go local when looking at physician recruiting firms

Consider physician recruitment firms based in the state in which you want to practice. This can help you focus your search right off the bat. Furthermore, local or regional physician placement services may have an edge over national firms if they have established good relationships with area hospitals and medical centers.

I recommend: Intelligent Placement Solutions is a nationwide physician recruiting firm but is based in North Carolina. Eva Page & Associates is a leading physician recruiting service in the Pacific Northwest.

Explore online job boards for physician staffing

If you're just starting your job search, a good place to start is medical professional job boards. Here, you can see what's out there based on your location, experience and specialty, all from the comfort of your own home computer.

I recommend: PracticeLink is a free recruiting service for hospitals, medical groups, private practices and healthcare systems to search for physicians and other medical professionals. Physicians can sign up for free to search the website’s job databank as well as receive weekly email alerts of new opportunities.