I’ve always wanted to learn what healthcare CEOs and recruiters are looking for in candidates. So, I searched for a recruiter who has interviewed and placed hundreds of physician leaders.

For this interview, I found an expert at a firm that’s focused on recruiting physician managers, directors and executives for hospitals, medical groups, health systems and managed care companies. In the future, I hope to talk to someone who is focused on other fields, such as utilization management firms and pharmaceutical companies.

An Expert Physician Recruiter

Paul Esselman has spent more than two decades helping to recruit physician leaders.

Paul is Senior Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Cejka Executive Search, a nationwide leader in executive search, specializing exclusively in the health care industry for over 35 years.

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

As Managing Director, Paul provides strategic oversight and operational direction for the Cejka Executive Search team. He provides client consultation for senior-level executive search engagements focused on C-suite positions, and organization development, and succession planning strategies.

For our purposes, Paul is an expert recruiter of physician leaders in a variety of healthcare settings.

Paul Esselman Did A Great Job Answering My Questions

Paul describes his role at Cejka Search. Then he explains that Cejka recruits both clinical physicians AND physician executives. He provides an overview of the types of organizations he works with, and the positions to which he is likely to be recruiting.

I heard some interesting insights into the way the demand for certain types of positions, such as Chief Medical Officer, Chief Clinical Officer or Chief Strategy Officer have changed over recent years.

According to Paul, many organizations are beginning to devote more resources to developing leadership talent within their organizations.

We spent time digging into the topic of physician salaries, and Paul was fairly forthcoming about that. Most of you will see an increase in your overall salary and benefits, unless you’re in a procedural or surgical specialty and are very busy.

Photo by Jens Johnsson on Unsplash

He explained his opinion about advanced business degrees and the potential benefit of completing the CPE (Certified Physician Executive) designation. These topics have been discussed previously in My Interview with Dr. Kate Atchley and 3 Reasons to Pursue the CPE.

We spent a few minutes talking about the need for good references, and the appropriate references to solicit. And he emphasized the importance of working with a mentor and developing a 3- to 5-year career plan.

Contact Mr. Esselman

You can reach Mr. Esselman via email at pesselman@cejkasearch.com. And you can find current positions posted at the web site at cejkaexecutivesearch.com.

It’s a good idea to check there every couple of weeks to see how the job postings change.

And DON’T FORGET – you can begin your journey by following this podcast on iTunes. Please take a minute to leave a rating and review.

Get My Newsletter

I provide additional nonclinical career information in my newsletter. To sign up for the newsletter, simply complete the information found at vitalpe.net/newsletter.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast on the Apple Podcast App.

If you liked today’s episode, please tell your friends about it and SHARE it on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

And join me next week for another episode of Physician Nonclinical Careers.

Right click here and “Save As” to download this podcast episode to your computer.

Disclaimer:

The opinions expressed herein are those of me and my guest, where applicable. While the information published in written form and in audio form on the podcast are true and accurate, to the best of my knowledge, there is no express or implied guarantee that using the methods discussed herein will lead to success in your career, life or business.

The opinions are my own, and my guest's, and not those of any organizations that I'm a member of, or affiliated with. The information presented on this blog and related podcast is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice, such a medical, legal, tax, emotional or other types of advice.

If you take action on any information provided on the blog or podcast, it is at your own risk. Always consult a professional, e.g., attorney, accountant, career counsellor, etc., before making any major decisions related to the subject matter of the blog and podcast.

Affiliate Links:

Where noted in parentheses, I receive a small stipend for referring you to a site, such as Amazon, where you may purchase a product discussed in a podcast, show notes or blog post. This does not affect your cost for the product. I only promote products that I have purchased, or used myself, or that respected colleagues have recommended.