Negotiating Strategies for Grads: Why You Don’t Have to Settle Because You’re New w/Dr. Janeeka Benoit

When you’re hunting for a job straight out of training you’re taught to be grateful for whatever opportunity is on the table, and sign on the dotted line, no questions asked. Why ruffle feathers when you’re lucky to be getting hired at all?

It’s a flawed mindset, but one that’s very common in medicine, and holds us back from getting a job that serves us.

The truth is: negotiation is as much a necessity for grads and new attendings as it is for seasoned physicians with years of experience.

Today, I’m joined by a physician who is a shining example of why you don’t have to settle just because you're new to the field. How was she able to shift her mindset and advocate for herself? Why do we need to stop seeing ourselves as less deserving of opportunity because we’re new?  

In this episode, Dr. Janeeka Benoit shares the negotiation wins she has had because of a dramatic change in mindset.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

• Why you don’t have to settle because you’re a new attending
  When you’re fresh out of training, it’s easy to think that you lack the experience and clinical acumen to negotiate for yourself. How can you flip what you see as a weakness into a strength?
  
  
• How to approach negotiation with an abundance mindset
  You are more than your clinical acumen. Why do we need to focus on the unique and valuable things you bring as a human in addition to your skills and training?
  
  
• Why we shouldn’t expect the first job to be perfect
  How can new grads experience flexibility and autonomy by taking a different career path? 

Guest Bio

Dr. Janeeka Benoit is a Board Certified Internal Medicine & Sports Medicine Physician. She is passionate about caring for not only the athletic population, but also passionate about teaching the general population on how to live healthier lives by restoring and maintaining their physical function through exercise.

To learn more about Dr. Benoit’s mission to help patients use exercise as medicine, follow her on Instagram @medfitdo.