#41 Taylor Gee- Life of a Physican Recruiter

• What is a Remote Physican Recruiter?
• Taylor's Origin Story (childhood; college; career)
• College and it's role in her career 
• Skills needed to perform well in this career field
• C.R.A.P ( Celebrating a success story throughout her career) 
• Favorite College memories 
• Favorite things to do in Nashville
• Technology and its effect on here career 
• Typical day in of a Remote Physican Recruiter
• Favorite Place that she has traveled for work
• 4 job pillars and how they relate to her job (Work life balance, Financial compensation, Management, Benefits 
• Advice to someone who wants to get into remote work
• Deep dive into the ladder to getting to the position she is currently at
• What to expect from an interview in this field.

Transcript

Tevin mcGee: 0:02

Tennessee Titans, Broadway Avenue, Country Music Hall of Fame. These are probably a few of the things that you think of when you are thinking about Nashville, Tennessee. Well, on today's podcast, we have a Nashville native, Taylor Gee, a remote physician recruiter who has been working as a recruiter for the past five years. Three of those years being remote. She graduated for her undergrad from Arkansas State University. And then she moved back to Nashville in 2014, where she dabbled in a startup for a few years before switching to healthcare. On today's episode, she gives you the blueprint of what it takes to be in her career field and some advice she would give to somebody that is going into remote work. I hope you enjoy the episode.

Taylor Gee: 1:08

Taylor,

Tevin mcGee: 1:08

how are you doing today?

Taylor Gee: 1:09

I'm great. How are you? I'm

Tevin mcGee: 1:12

good. I'm good. I'm glad you decided to do the podcast because you have a very interesting career.

Taylor Gee: 1:19

No, thank you. When I saw your call, I was like, well, I'm a remote worker and I bet a lot of other physician recruiters haven't reached out. So I'm going to see if I can help out anyway.

Tevin mcGee: 1:31

Well, I appreciate it. So let's just dive right into it. Can you explain your role within your company and who you work for?

Taylor Gee: 1:40

Yeah. So I work for a company that's a national private practice, anesthesia management group, essentially. And what that looks like is, you know, we have. Practices all across the country, pretty attractive areas. Like we have one in Nashville but my territory is Houston, Texas. So I'm a senior physician recruiter for obviously physicians in Houston, Texas.

Tevin mcGee: 2:08

That's awesome. So to me that there's, there are four different things that kind of established if it is a good job or not. So. They are work life balance, finances, obviously, benefits and management. Giving every one of these pillars a maximum score of one, um, or a maximum score for where would you, where would you kind of put your career in those four pillars?

Taylor Gee: 2:43

Oh, so by the four pillars. Okay. Yeah, by the four pillars. Yeah. So for work life balance out of four, I would give it a 3. 5. It's great. I love it. The only reason why I wouldn't say it's a four out of four is because it does require some travel and a lot more in the heavier seasons. And I'm kind of coming out of that right now. So I'm like burned out on traveling. And I say that as I'm. Heading to Houston tomorrow. But overall, I mean, work life balance is great. And when we go into schedules and kind of my day to day you can kind of see that.

Tevin mcGee: 3:24

Yeah. Yeah. So I think that from just my experience on every job that I've worked so far leading up to the job that I have now, I don't think you're ever going to be perfect as far as like four out of four on everything. There's always room for improvement no matter where you work. It's still work, you know? So that's encouraging to hear that. So what about Management

Taylor Gee: 3:47

management. So here, I mean, that's pretty important, but here I would give it a 2. 5 out of four. And that's because we're kind of split up into two different realms. I guess you could say I have the national recruiting team. So then I work with the other recruiters who are over different. cities such as Nashville, Orlando, Denver, that sort of thing, and commute with them. And then in my other realm, I'm working directly with the Houston office. So it's a little difficult to know kind of who I'm answering to sometimes because I answer to the Houston office. But my manager's on the national recruiting team. So it's kind of a bit of a balance and a delicate dance kind of navigating between the two. So that's why I give it a 2. 5 because it's a challenging.

Tevin mcGee: 4:45

Absolutely. And the position that I had before the one I'm currently doing now, I was over 32 people and managing people is just a hard job. Just a hard task to do and having to balance so many personalities and this person wanting different things. So I definitely think that. You know, I don't envy those people that have to manage people, but at the same time, it's very important when it comes to, you know, if I'm going to be working for somebody, you, you want that communication to be clear. You want that aspect of your job to be, to be clear and concise.

Taylor Gee: 5:23

And I have a great manager. She's super great. She's always there. She's helpful. It's just, sometimes I have to listen to. Someone in the Houston office, and then sometimes her and sometimes their answers don't match up. So it's kind of difficult navigating that, but I do have a great manager and you made a great point. There's all kinds of personalities and management styles too.

Tevin mcGee: 5:48

Absolutely. So just. Continuing to work our way through the, the pillars benefits, what kind of benefits does it have, you know, from a okay insurance type of thing, but what benefits do you have just having this job in general, as far as being able to work remote.

Taylor Gee: 6:07

Okay, that's a good question. Honestly, I mean, the freedom to kind of do things. You know, if I, if it's a slow morning, which sometimes when it's not busy, it is, I can, you know, read a book. I can do a side of laundry or household chores in between doing emails and having meetings and phone calls. Let's see you another benefit. Most people don't think of is with the travel. I'm racking up a ton of travel points. So building loyalty with hotels and airlines. So you have to stick with one. You're either a Hilton or Marriott person. And then you pick your loyalty to which airline you want to fly with. And you kind of build points that way. So I fly with Southwest because Nashville is a hub. I have a list status. Which is very exciting. I'm close to getting a companion pass. So my boyfriend can come on trips with me for free and have status with Marriott as well. So that's some of the perks that you don't really think about, but when you do travel with work, that's, it kind of eases the headache of the travel, you know.

Tevin mcGee: 7:20

So where's the coolest place that you've ever traveled for work?

Taylor Gee: 7:25

Oh, so it wasn't with these jobs. I actually was not in a physician recruiter when I went here, but I got to go to Bar Harbor, Maine, which is. It's kind of a couple, it's about a couple hours from the tip of the Canadian coast. It's near, or it's Acadia National Park so that was just super beautiful. I loved going up there. I went up there at great times of the year, around August, and then again in October. So that's probably the coolest place that I've been to.

Tevin mcGee: 7:58

No, that's awesome. Fun fact about me, which it's, you know, it's either cool or it's kind of sad. I've actually never flown commercial before.

Taylor Gee: 8:09

Oh my goodness. Do you

Tevin mcGee: 8:10

have, I mean, honestly, growing up, I've been to a lot of places like, you know, I've been to Los Angeles, I've been to many parts of Florida, Kentucky, all these places, but my family was just a big driving. Family, so it took us two days to get to Los Angeles, have family up there. And we went to Disneyland when we were up there. And then the first time that I was actually gonna make that leap and get on an airplane, COVID hit. So I was scheduled to go to New York and see one of my wife's best friends up there. And we just have never rescheduled anything that's required us to fly. So I'm still waiting on that first trip to. To be on an airplane. You're

Taylor Gee: 8:53

gonna, well, hopefully love it. Some people get scared, that sort of thing, but if you were excited about it before, y'all should definitely take the trip.

Tevin mcGee: 9:02

Yeah, I've got a few pilot buddies that are... That have taken me up in airplanes, but I mean, it's like 27, it's 20 minutes away driving. So it's like a seven minute flight. Like we flew from Jonesville to Manila. So I've, I've been in an airplane, just haven't had that commercial experience just yet.

Taylor Gee: 9:20

Yeah. Well it can be a little. Troublesome. So if you ever need any tips or tricks, when y'all do take the trip, you can holler at me.

Tevin mcGee: 9:29

Absolutely. Okay. So the last pillar that we've got to go through is financial compensation. You know, we work for we want to be able to work jobs that we love going to, but you know, we're here for, for it to be able to provide a life for ourselves as well. So how does that rank in?

Taylor Gee: 9:51

Yeah, so this will be my top one 3. 8 it's, it pays pretty well it's, you know, comfortable, but in previous roles, you, you have a base and then a lot of companies that I've worked for would be incentive driven. So you hire X amount of doctors, you get paid X amount. So, it's kind of variable in that way. My salaries have always been different since I've been physician recruiting just because of the incentives, that sort of thing. And then in this role, I. And worked my way up to a senior physician recruiter role. So I have a bit higher of a base now, and then I still get some incentives, but I'm not paid upon how many physicians I hired that year. It's kind of a little bit of a more quantitative and qualitative decision on kind of how the incentives are paid out. So it's paid pretty good. If you're interested in physician

Tevin mcGee: 10:51

recruiting. Absolutely. So do you think. And this is just kind of like an off the wall question. Do you think the amount of remote workers, remote jobs has increased since we've had the pandemic?

Taylor Gee: 11:06

Absolutely. Definitely. I think some industries and I'll use physician recruiting as an example or recruiting in general, doesn't have to be doctors, just recruiting in general does not have to be on site and you can do this job remotely. So a lot of companies, you know, Work life balance, remote work is kind of a buzzword now. A lot of people want that option and if your job can do it and you can perform the tasks, you know, hold yourself reliable working from home. Then. Yeah, I think. A lot of people realize that you can do your work from home. And you know,

Tevin mcGee: 11:48

10, 15 years ago, it was kind of unheard of to have a remote job. So I was just curious if, if you thought that being someone that, that works remote now, do you think that you ever see yourself working back in an office or you think remote work is just kind of, kind of your jam right now?

Taylor Gee: 12:08

I would never want to go back to an office again. I love working remote. And it's nice when you have your own little setup, you know, your own little office, decorate the way you want. But you know, like right now I know we're on a podcast so you can't see me, but I've got on like a workout outfit. I've got my hair down, not wearing any makeup, you know, and I don't have to wear real clothes every day, which is nice too. That's another benefit of it. And then as far as the, you know, human piece of it all my boyfriend works from home as well. He's in textiles. So I feel like I have a little office mate here. But I do go into the office down in Houston about once a month. So I get that face to face time, which is great. And I know I mentioned we have an office here in Nashville too for the Nashville team and they have invited me To come down there and work sometimes and I will every now and then i'm gonna go in a couple of weeks when some other leaders from our team come into Nashville, so that's nice i'm not

Tevin mcGee: 13:17

Absolutely. I'm sure it's a great change of pace from, you know, being able to be in your home and make a living and work to be able to have that face to face interaction with people every now and then. So. What does a, what does a typical day look like for you? I'm curious.

Taylor Gee: 13:36

Yeah. So, I mean, it really depends which every day is kind of variable. I do start around 8 00 AM. I check my. from overnight. If I had applicants apply via some sort of job boards or my contact information on LinkedIn and on the certain job boards, they just email me, reach out to me directly. You know, get back with the candidates. Typically around nine. It doesn't take a whole hour to check emails. I will go get a coffee or grab some breakfast if I don't, you know, have any at home. Like I said, some of the other benefits are time. I will start some household chores. Maybe sit and read a book. Usually I have one to two meetings spread throughout the day, and they're all at varying times. So one day on a Wednesday, I may have one at 10 a. m. And then on that Thursday, I may have one at 1 30 p. m. So it's never quite consistent. And then, you know, the crux of what I do is, if I do have an applicant reach out, you set up a time to get them on the phone to learn about them. Share some information about. my practice as a whole, what we can offer in Houston and, you know, just really connecting with them. You know, doctors work all hours of the day. So sometimes I may talk to them super early in the morning. Sometimes I talk to them like when I'm cooking dinner and honestly, you know, everywhere in between. Sometimes there'll be a noon call a four call when they're Getting out of the and that sort of thing. So it really is all super variable. And then you have days like tomorrow where I will be getting up very early to drive to the airport and fly to Houston for a day full of meetings. So. It's a little give and take.

Tevin mcGee: 15:28

That's awesome. That's a, it sounds like you just have that balance of being able to keep up with, you know, your house and your, your dog and things like that, but also getting that sense of adventure with travel. So I think that that career would kind of appeal to a lot of different people and not to spend too much time on it. But I. Was interested in doing some kind of remote work at one point in my life. I wanted to be a, uh, like a, a coder, like I wanted to do to kind of be like a, like a tech nomad. So I researched it and, you know, I was thinking about going to a, a. Coding bootcamp and those sorts of things. Then I got promoted my job and I went a different direction, but it's definitely something that is appealing to a lot of people, I would assume.

Taylor Gee: 16:22

Yeah. And I feel like just with the age we're in, like, that's not going to go away. And that's not something that, you know, I think people could pick up and learn recruiting the art of recruiting, but like not everyone can learn or understand how to code, you know?

Tevin mcGee: 16:37

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And it's still maybe something that I dabble in later. You know, one thing that I'm seeing just from being a manager of people for over five years is that. People are switching careers more often than our parents did.

Taylor Gee: 16:57

Yeah. I'm sorry. Can you

Tevin mcGee: 16:58

repeat that? No, I said people are switching careers more often than our parents did.

Taylor Gee: 17:03

Oh, absolutely. They definitely are. And I'm, I've been one of them.

Tevin mcGee: 17:10

Yeah, my, my dad has actually worked for the same company for 35 years. And that was just kind of the thing is you get a job, you work at that job, you retire at that job and then, you know, that's, that's life. So I think with the millennials down, we are seeing a lot more people are being more curious as far as careers go. And that's kind of one of the things that sparked me to make this podcast was let me. Get in front of people. Let me get on a zoom call with someone talk about their career, you know, see how they carved out a way to be able to get there and get that information out to people.

Taylor Gee: 17:50

Yeah. And I can get into kind of the story of how I got into it later, but it's something I truly just fell into.

Tevin mcGee: 17:59

Yeah. Yeah. So I definitely want to get into your origin story. So, like I said, in the introduction. You know, you went to Arkansas State University. That's where we met, I believe. So don't, don't kill me if I'm get this wrong. Were you a AO pie in college? I was okay. Okay. I was, I was thinking it was between that or cow Omega, but I was leaning AOPA. So yeah. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience in undergrad and kind of leading up to college?

Taylor Gee: 18:31

Yes. So I grew up half in Nashville, born and raised here. And then the other half was this tiny town in Kentucky, like literally over the state line. I had kind of a split family. So I lived with my grandparents here, then lived with my mom in Kentucky, long story. But you know, as a child, I was, I did exciting things all the time. Like I was always doing something fun and adventurous and I definitely started traveling early. I was a competitive cheerleader growing up. So I did that all through high school and then I wound up. going to Arkansas State University, and I cheered my freshman year at ASU. So I did kind of carry on the cheerleading for a little bit. I also rushed AOPI my freshman year, which was super great. So much fun. And, you know, at that point in time, I had been cheerleading for so many years and I did it, loved it. My goal was to be a college cheerleader. After I completed that, I was like, you know what I can say I did it. I enjoyed it. But now I want to focus on life as a college student and enjoy getting a little bit more involved in the sorority. So I kind of worked my way up throughout the years and various leadership positions. Within the sorority and student camp, the student leadership on campus as well.

Tevin mcGee: 19:56

That's awesome. I'll have to tell my daughter that you were a cheerleader because when you, as soon as you said competitive cheer, I've got two daughters that are currently doing competitive cheer. And I know they're still young, but they cheer at JCA and they, they work with the ASU cheerleaders all the time. So I'll tell I'll tell my daughter. It

Taylor Gee: 20:15

is so awesome. That's that's great. I hope they stay with it.

Tevin mcGee: 20:20

Absolutely. My, my oldest loves it. She's actually at cheer practice right now. So she just tumbles and flips all over the place all the time.

Taylor Gee: 20:29

Yeah, that was also me before I had two ACL repairs. So, oh gosh, yeah. Tell her to stretch and stay, stay

Tevin mcGee: 20:39

healthy. Yeah. Okay. So we talked a little bit about your experience. What was your degree actually in?

Taylor Gee: 20:46

Yeah. So technically it is a journalism degree but it fell under strategic communications. So that's why I went that route. I think now Arkansas State offers a public relations or strategic communications degree. But when I was there, it technically all rolled up under journalism. So my degree is bachelor's in journalism.

Tevin mcGee: 21:08

Okay. What are the top three things you learned from that degree?

Taylor Gee: 21:14

Oh, I learned that I did not want to be a journalist. I, I love reading. I love writing, but the act of, you know, like investigative journalism, just it's a lot of fact checking. I'm kind of someone who likes to more embellish things. They're like. You know, talk about the superfluous details of things, and I'm not just straight to the point. So that's kind of where I was like, oh, journalism, you know, fact checking. That's not really my thing. You know, something I wished I did kind of explore a little bit more when I was there was they had like the, the broadcasting, you know. I don't program, I guess you could say so, you know, I know someone who was in classes with me is now like a news reporter for, I think she's in Tucson, Arizona. So you know, and then there was another 1 who I saw last that she was in Greensboro, North Carolina. So there's at least two who graduated from that program that went on to become news reporters. So I wish I gave it a little bit more time or took a couple more classes than that, because that could have been fun, but I was pretty dead set on wanting to go into public relations and strategic communication. Before I enrolled at Arkansas state.

Tevin mcGee: 22:34

Yeah, that's, that's awesome. And now that you're kind of telling me a little bit about your backstory, I can kind of see the journalism aspects because I have to brag on you a little bit. You were probably the most prepared podcast guest I've ever interviewed.

Taylor Gee: 22:48

Oh, thanks. That makes me feel

Tevin mcGee: 22:51

good. When you sent that document over, I was like, wow, this is, she made life just super easy. Now, I'm not saying that, you know, it always has to be that way, but just having that structure, I kind of work better with. So I appreciate that.

Taylor Gee: 23:05

Yeah, you're welcome. I like structure too.

Tevin mcGee: 23:09

So okay, continuing on the college train here. What are some of your favorite memories from college?

Taylor Gee: 23:16

So this is tough because I mean, you know, it's like the days are short or the days are long, but the years are short when you're in college. Honestly, the people I met along the way our family now, some of my best friends. So it's tough to just nail down. One memory, you know, with them but one thing I'm glad you mentioned that you remembered I was an AOPAI now because one awesome memory I had was my junior year. I was a new member educator, which means you're kind of teaching the new pledges, like the way that you do things in your sorority about your sisterhood, that sort of thing. So I was a new member educator. One of two for a pie, and there's a competition every year for the pledges called cream of the crop. Where the newest class of members compete for that title, essentially. And the whole time I was at Arkansas State, I never won that title. So when I became the new member educator, I was bound and determined. To, you know, have our girls win. And so my other new member educator and I put together this awesome routine. And AOPI wound up winning that award that year. So I was super excited when they were crowned cream of the crop of 2000. I guess it was 2012.

Tevin mcGee: 24:35

Well, that's awesome. That's awesome. It sounds like you had as much fun in college as I did. I definitely met some of my, my best friends were from college. It's funny because when me and my wife, me and my wife have been married for about six years now and We didn't have a traditional wedding. We just kind of got married at the courthouse. And then we were like, once we get more established in our careers, we'll go back and renew our vows. So on our five year anniversary, we renewed our vows and. I just remember having 10 groomsmen at my wedding. So she, she met a lot of friends just from, you know, her experience in undergrad and grad school. And I'm had a lot of friends as well. So we had 20 people with us on, on that day. So friends becoming family is something I can definitely relate to.

Taylor Gee: 25:28

That's awesome. That's definitely a big party for sure, but that's so much fun.

Tevin mcGee: 25:33

Absolutely. So if you weren't currently doing your job now, what would you say your dream career would be?

Taylor Gee: 25:43

Oh, so I saw myself. I kind of this is a tough question. I kind of did it for a little while. You know, I was interested in weddings and party planning and I went that route. When I came out of college and that was a lot of fun, but I'm more of a I've learned that I'm more of a. Bigger picture kind of person and not minute details again. I should have realized that with the whole fact. But I, I don't want the whole detailed thing that you really want your wedding planner to be. I really got into the side of, you know, working for a wedding magazine. So I am a published writer in a wedding magazine. So I got to write. Some fun pieces about different venues or different trends in the wedding industry at the time for this wedding magazine and put together a style shoots. So I got to kind of pick some you know, work with different vendors to put together photo shoots for the magazine. And I got to be in some of them. So that was really fun doing that. I enjoyed my time with it. I didn't make a ton of money doing it. It was kind of like. Between in between gigs, you know, part time jobs, and I had the opportunity to buy into a franchise for a wedding planner based out of Myrtle Beach. And then I also, at the same time, had the opportunity to jump to corporate health care and at that point in time, I was like, I think I'm going to go the health care route instead of. You know, being my own manager, I guess you could say.

Tevin mcGee: 27:22

Yeah, yeah, it's, that's, that's crazy because I can kind of relate to the, the, the wedding industry a little bit. I actually, me and my, my brother actually have a, a bartending business still that we bartend weddings on weekends and different things like that. So, you know, it kind of keeps you social. Yeah. So. That's cool. That's cool. I didn't, I didn't realize that you did that.

Taylor Gee: 27:49

Yeah, I did it for a couple of years, but that doesn't have anything to do with positional recruiting, which is why I didn't really prepare for it.

Tevin mcGee: 27:58

So I'm going to backtrack a little bit because I had one more kind of college related question that I wanted to ask you as we're talking about coming out of college and doing different things. So. I've got a quick story after I ask you this question about advisors. So did you feel like that when you were at your time at Arkansas state, and I know you went to grad school as well, that your advisors were helpful on your journey going through school?

Taylor Gee: 28:26

On my journey going through school. Yes, I really felt like they prepared me and help me pick the right classes for my path. I love them. I know some people would go through advisors and change them when they change majors and stuff, but I had the same one all four years. Now, when you had asked. Did they do a good job setting me up for post graduation? I had great advisors, but they could not have prepared me for going to a startup company that planned bachelorette parties. Like, startup companies are just so Learn as you go, so there's no, like, you know, protocol for how to enter that. And that was my 1st experience in, like, the workforce post college. So. It was just kind of chaos all the time.

Tevin mcGee: 29:21

Yeah, so I'm a firm believer, me and my, me and my wife have different opinions on college and different things like that. I think that there are definitely certain careers that you absolutely have to go to college for. What I do think that college is missing is I wish that just like you came from Nashville, you went to Arkansas state. You went back to Nashville. I stayed around Jonesboro. I'm from Jonesboro. And you know, there's a lot of factors about that. I've got kids. My family is here. You know, I want my girls to be able to grow up around their grandparents, different things like that. I wish when I was in college, there were some kind of class that was like, Hey, These are the types of jobs that are lucrative and abundant in this area. If you're not planning on staying in this area, Then you should probably get a different degree because as an 18 year old kid, I felt like that. I wasn't really prepared on there. Not being a job for my degree getting out.

Taylor Gee: 30:23

Okay. That makes a lot of sense.

Tevin mcGee: 30:25

Yeah. So I. Have a advisor story. So my degree, my undergrad degree is in health promotion. So went through this awesome internship at ST Bernard's health and wellness. You know, I'm thinking that this is going to lead to a job opportunity. It was really cool. My my internship advisor was really awesome. So graduation comes, you know, it's just exciting time. It's the combination of pretty much your whole life. You know, you've been going from Kenya garden to first grade all through high school through college, and now you finally graduate college, you know, now it's just, you're, you're going to get a job. So I was working as a bartender at the time and trying to find jobs reached out to my uh, advisor at the time, who was also the program manager at the time. And I was like, Hey. You know, I've got this degree, you know, you, you promised me all these awesome things, you know, we, we talked about it in class and his response to me that it was, you either need to go back to school or you're going to have to move across the country. And for, for somebody that had spent the last 4 years, like trying to get this degree, it was kind of deflating a little bit because I would have just chosen a different degree. You know, at 18, I didn't really know what I was wanting to do. I'm like, Hey, I enjoy working out. I enjoy health and promoting that. That's what I'm going to major in. You know? So I just wish that there was a resource like that. So people could kind of at least be a little bit more prepared for, Hey, you might have to move if this is what you want to do.

Taylor Gee: 32:02

And it makes you wonder that if students going through those programs now do have something like that in place

Tevin mcGee: 32:09

now. Yeah, exactly. Because I mean, I, I think that a lot of people that I work with in my field and I'm in sales now they have degrees that they're not using. And obviously college teaches you a lot more than just whatever the degree plan is, I learned so much valuable information from college, but I'm not necessarily using the degree as it was intended for.

Taylor Gee: 32:33

Yeah, that makes sense.

Tevin mcGee: 32:36

Do you think now? Versus probably, you know, kind of when we were going through, it's more of a kind of networking, who, you know, type of environment versus this is the credentials that you have.

Taylor Gee: 32:51

I, well, first of all, I definitely thought that back then, like it. The hands you shake type of thing. Yeah. Back then too. So I do still think it, you know, has that networking value to it as well. Now for something like this career path that I am in, most of the time it does require a four year degree, but it doesn't state in X, you know, like a certain degree. Like you have to have a healthcare administration degree or a strategic. Patient degree, you could have a health promotion degree like you do, and still be able to kind of go down this career path. So you know, if you're interested in it, I think it is good to have and you could meet a lot of valuable people now, I would recommend doing like a strategic communications route, like public relations or something along the lines of, you know, business and if you have a particular interest in health care, maybe some health care admin classes would be a good start to.

Tevin mcGee: 33:54

Absolutely. And like I said, I, I am a promoter of higher education. I think that people should go and learn and try different things and you know, see what you're interested in. I just think that, you know, there, there are alternate routes, which is kind of why we're doing this podcast. And it's, it was very valuable information for you to say, yes, you would recommend getting a degree in these things, because I think that's something that people that are interested in doing this career can go ahead and start. Thank you. Setting their sales up to being on the road to do that.

Taylor Gee: 34:25

Yeah, absolutely. And for those who, you know, haven't done that or aren't just going into college, like it's not too late because I didn't find this career path until I was 26 years old. So it's not too late if you're already working now. And even if you're our age, if you're, you know, 31, 32, like it's still not too late.

Tevin mcGee: 34:46

Absolutely. So when you finished undergrad, did you ever see yourself going back to college for grad school?

Taylor Gee: 34:53

I most definitely did not. I did not, you know, I wasn't interested in going back to school, but certain events kind of led me to the point of like, I'm, you know, losing my mind. I was working for a healthcare company and I got let go and it was not like a performance thing. It was, they got bought out by private equity group. They got rid of my job basically. And I was devastated because I love that job. And, around that time, I was kind of like, well, what am I gonna do? I want to stay in health care, looking for a bunch of things. And then someone, someone in my family was like, you could go back to grad school. And I guess I was just in that place of mind where I was like. Yeah, that's an option. And so I pursued that path while also looking for other jobs. That company that I worked with had just hired their first position recruiter. And when I got let go, he reached out to me on LinkedIn and said, Hey, like, if you want to get into physician recruiting, I recommend checking out this company. I used to work there and that wound up being the company that I worked for for 3 years, getting my start in physician recruiting. While simultaneously going back to grad school. So that was a crazy time in life.

Tevin mcGee: 36:13

Absolutely. So we'll kind of transition to a little bit more like about your job. So physician recruiting, you know, that's not something that like, if I was five years old, like I'm saying that I want to be a physician recruiter, you know what I mean? So it's, it's interesting. It is an interesting career, but it's one that I'm not really familiar with. Can you. Kind of just, just, just briefly describe what kind of drew you to becoming that and making that your line of work.

Taylor Gee: 36:47

Yeah. So I've always been a people person. I like people, I like building relationships and I was really good at networking and kind of, I don't want to say playing the name game, but really doing that. So I did that kind of in the. Wedding industry for a while. And that was all, you know, good and fun. But then once I made that switch to corporate healthcare, I knew I wanted to stay in that realm. So I was like thinking, okay, what can I do? And honestly, it was like a godsend that, that Person I used to work with who was a physician recruiter reached out to me because I was kind of curious about it, but still didn't really know what to do. And he reached out and was like, Hey, you should look into this as an option. And that was kind of my sign is like, yeah, like I'm going to follow this path. So call it serendipity, I guess, but I never, you know, thought kind of like you said, I'm going to be a physician recruiter one day. It just kind of happened. Came about, if that makes sense.

Tevin mcGee: 37:48

Yeah. And I think that, you know, for a lot of us graduating college, you know, just that, what am I going to do for the rest of my life? That's a question that kind of weighs heavy on a lot of people, finding your purpose, finding what you're good at. And, you know, it might come in the form of you know, a lot of different things. So. You know, I never thought to myself that I would be in sales, but, you know, it's something that I'm enjoying and I'm not saying that I would do it for the rest of my life, but I'm enjoying it right now. And if I find something else that I enjoy more, I feel confident that the experiences that I've learned in the jobs that I've had so far can translate into another career.

Taylor Gee: 38:27

Oh yeah. I think, I think as we, you know, grow, that's definitely something that can happen is, you know, transferable job skills. You learn as you go.

Tevin mcGee: 38:38

Speaking of job skills, healthcare is one of those industries that are constantly changing policies. How do you keep up with the trends and changing trends and changes in the healthcare industry?

Taylor Gee: 38:51

Yeah, so this is a great question. As far, you know, for me, it kind of depends on the specialty you're recruiting for. So you, you know, gather data numbers. There's different spreadsheets on nationwide trends that my company collects and they kind of filter it down to us. But honestly, I get the information straight from the source, which is the physicians that I'm talking to. So I talk to them, you know, day in and day out, and I get their take on the local job market, the compensation trends. And it's funny because when you're in it long enough, you see trends start to recycle kind of like fashion does. So right now I'm recruiting anesthesiologists. And their market is very similar to radiologists market, which is the specialty that I recruited before anesthesia and the summation of it all is physicians have a great job market right now because there is a huge physician shortage and they're in high demand so they can be a little bit more particular about what jobs they take because everyone needs doctors right now.

Tevin mcGee: 40:05

Absolutely. We're living in that time where it seems like I don't have the numbers to back this up. People are going to the doctor in the hospital more and more. So can you name a challenging scenario that you've encountered during your time as a physician recruiter?

Taylor Gee: 40:22

Yeah. So for me, it's been getting to know the areas and the hospitals you're recruiting for when you don't live there. So there are some people that are called in house physician recruiters who recruit directly for a hospital system. So, like, in Jonesboro, Saint Bernard's are here, like Vanderbilt Medical University Center or. Yeah, so you can be an in house physician or you can be one like me where you work for like a private or like a practice management group and they're kind of deployed all of, you know, wherever basically. So I've recruited for places I've never been to before, like. Boise, Idaho and Butte, Montana. That's pretty challenging because I know nothing about the hospital systems. Never been there. I don't know what there is to do out there. So how am I going to sell this place to somebody? But the fun part of it is educating yourself on the area and the Tourism, what draws people to the area? What do the locals do? And then you can honestly gather the stats on the hospital from your organization or, you know, doing your own research by going to those hospital sites, looking at their accolades, that sort of thing. I love traveling, so this was always a fun, a fun part of the job. And then with previous employers, I have been able to take a trip to see the area and meet the hospital staff. So then you could speak to it yourself. You can speak to physicians about your own experiences there. I was able to do that with Tucson, Arizona, which was a big hub that I used to recruit for. And now I recruit strictly for Houston. So I travel there about once a month and meet with the staff there.

Tevin mcGee: 42:06

That's awesome. That's awesome. So being a remote worker and not physically being on site, kind of like we were just talking about, how do you build and maintain those relationships with the physicians and the organizations? Like, do you have like a strategy to be able to not be there, but, you know, still get that connection?

Taylor Gee: 42:27

Yeah, so honestly, it's going to be texting and emails when you can't be there at first. So. When I'm talking to candidates, that's kind of how you do it. You know, back in the day, if you talk to an older physician recruiter, they would be like cold calls, cold calls. Well, it's the 21st century millennial physicians, you know, most millennials don't even pick up their phone to answer if it's a number that they don't recognize. So let alone, you know, someone trying to get someone to, Hey, I've got a job for you. You know so texting is most convenient for physicians. They like it, especially with anesthesia. They could be in the O. R. and they can, you know, you can get the message when they get out. And I like it because it's unobtrusive because I'm not sitting there and. Begging them, like, if they want to ignore my text or email, they can just ignore it. You know,

Tevin mcGee: 43:21

no, absolutely. And you're, you're absolutely right. When it comes to, to answering phone calls that you don't know, you know, I'm much more likely to open an email or something like that. Unless. You know, it has like some kind of caller ID, like, okay, you know, then I'll answer it.

Taylor Gee: 43:40

And then kind of second part of that question building the relationships with my programs. I, I went through an extensive interview process with this company. So I knew. When I was coming here that I was meeting with the Houston team, I had, I interviewed for about a month and I had about one to two interviews and phone calls a week, just because there's so many different channels to go through. So building that relationship, I've been here for about nine months now at this company. So, you know, I'm still building those relationships and being on site and Houston really. Helps because I get to learn things that doesn't come my way when I'm sitting here in Nashville. Like, I just pick up different things in the office, you know so that's really helpful. And, you know, I'm still building those relationships even now, but, yeah, it's kind of a work in progress always.

Tevin mcGee: 44:37

Absolutely. And speaking of work in progress and things that are always changing technology, tech, I felt like there's a new app, but there's a new way to be able to make something more efficient, whether it's chat, GPT, some kind of you know, new version of zoom. Can you discuss how technology, what technology or tools that you find crucial to being more effective as a remote physician recruiter?

Taylor Gee: 45:00

Yeah, so I personally love using linkedin recruiter. That's a great tool to use to kind of network with physicians in certain areas that you're working in. And I also use very specific job boards. So there's all kinds of job boards for, you know, us like monster. Linkedin is a great job board actually. I don't even know I can't even think of job boards off the top of my head right now. Zip recruiter, but there are Specific ones to different medical specialties and I work on one for anesthesia. Anesthesia specifically called gas work. I actually got a physician in today from gas work who saw our posting and she attended college in Arkansas when we did. So small

Tevin mcGee: 45:50

world. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And this is a question I didn't ask earlier. So what made you want to come to Arkansas state?

Taylor Gee: 45:59

Yeah. So my dad actually lives in Pocahontas, Arkansas, which is a very small town. If you don't know where it's at, it's about an hour ish. North of Jonesboro, very small town. So my dad lives there long story short my senior year of high school, I was going to go to the university of Kentucky and audition to be a cheerleader there. I tore my ACL my senior year. I was basically out my whole senior year because of that surgery. So I was like. Well, I, I, and I was trying to decide what I wanted to do at the time. And when I decided on like public relations, strategic communications, UK did not have that at the time. And I was like, I want to join a sorority. I don't have to do that at UK. Cause they don't even have the major I want simultaneously. My dad was like, Hey. We have a program or a school here about an hour away that has what you want to do. They have sororities and that sort of thing. Why don't you at least look into it? And I thought, I'm not moving to Arkansas. Like, are you crazy? And I wound up going for a campus tour. And after that tour, I was like, Yeah, I'll move to Arkansas and I don't regret it one bit. It was so great.

Tevin mcGee: 47:21

It's so interesting how people that have never really like explored the Arkansas area have of what it's like down here. Like I hear a lot of people that come up here for college and they, they just have this idea of, of what it would be like, you know, coming down here. So it's refreshing to hear you say that. They, they, they got you in the campus tour, you know, they recruited you to be a Red Wolf for, for those four years. So that's a really cool thing to hear.

Taylor Gee: 47:48

Yeah. And I guess part of me was jaded because I was from Nashville, big city, and then I had to go to this small town in Kentucky and I didn't want to go. So in my mind, I was like. Arkansas is going to be like another Kentucky, you know, and I was trying to get away from Kentucky. So that was kind of why I had that jaded opinion, I guess. And then when I went and saw it for myself, I was like, Oh, this is great. Actually.

Tevin mcGee: 48:16

Absolutely. So we talked a little bit about COVID and its effect on how it affected the workplace. So. One thing that they kind of went over in my benefits meeting, you know, it's open enrollment time at my job was the option to be able to see your doctor via like telehealth. So like they, they're saying how somehow they can do your whole physical over the internet. And it just takes like 10 or 15 minutes to be able to get it set up. And you don't, one of the draws from that is you don't have to pay copays. Do you think that With more physicians opting for this kind of at home type of service. Is this affecting the healthcare industry?

Taylor Gee: 49:05

Ooh, this is a good question. And I don't know if I have an answer. I mean, I don't know if affecting is the right word, but it's definitely changing the industry. Yeah, absolutely. And because, because it's providing accessibility to people who may not be, you know, you have access to Wi Fi, you may not have access to a ride if you're younger or a car to take you, you know, transportation to take you to your appointments. So, yeah, I think that it's changing in a good way. When it comes to the physician workforce. I don't see how that changes things just because I personally recruit for anesthesia and when I recruit anesthesiologists, you know, their role is there to put you under while you're being operated on, whether it's having an epidural, cause you're having a baby or you're having a knee surgery like me or a cosmetic procedure or open heart surgery, a transplant, you know, anything, So those physicians can't work from home. Like they have to be there at the OR. So that's kind of the experience I have with it. Now, when I worked in radiology, I worked for a radiology practice and radiologists. are the physicians who do the imaging on you. So if you break your bone, you get an x ray. If you tear your ACL like I did, you get an MRI. If you're in a car wreck and hit your head, you get a CT scan. So they do the imaging basically. And the practice that I was working for when I recruited for radiology was a teleradiology practice. So those physicians were, that was very popular because there are, you know, on site radiologists at hospitals and with COVID and the pandemic a lot of people wanted to leave the on site, you know, piece of it and a lot of radiologists were working for remote work. So that was very interesting. Now when it comes to primary care, I, I haven't recruited primary care, so I don't know if that really affects. sex, those positions whether they're on site in the office or working from home.

Tevin mcGee: 51:21

I got you. It's just, this whole interview has just been very fascinating because it's kind of opening up the door of something that I didn't really even know existed and kind of just to, you know, just peeking behind the curtain of, you know, what you get to do every day. So one of the sayings that. Is big in the medical, not in the medical, the mental health field that my wife always tells me is sharing crap, which was, which means celebrating really awesome people. So can you give us a success story that you've had in your job?

Taylor Gee: 51:56

Yeah. So this, I'm trying to think of which way to go with it because I, you know, help physicians. I help them find jobs and connect with them. They're always great recruiters too. So really tapping into that network, which is great. But 1 story in particular that makes me feel good is, my radiology practice had a physician a father who worked in Illinois. He did not work for my, I mean, he worked for the company I worked for, but I was over the remote practice and he worked for a practice in Illinois. So different practice, but still my company and his son reached out to me. His son was a. Fellow or a resident at Yale in Connecticut, and he had followed the radiology residency as well as his father's footsteps. And he reached out to us because he was interested in our company and I worked with him. I met with him in person on a trip. Actually met with him and he wound up signing with that radiology practice. And so him and his father get to work for the same employer doing the same thing, which I thought was really cool. Kind of being able to carry on the family tradition. And I helped Kind of, you know, help with that.

Tevin mcGee: 53:15

No, that is, that is incredible. And I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but you know, my dad has worked for Coca Cola for 35 years. And, and so when I left the restaurant business, me and my twin brother went to go work at Coca Cola and that's currently where I work now. So it was kind of like, Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. It was kind of like a whole family thing that I was really proud of. You know, there was a, there was a point where my brother was in one department, I was in another department and then my dad was in a third department and we got to share that bond of being able to see each other all day at work. So it was been, it's been really cool being able to work with family so I can definitely resonate with that. And for you to be able to be the person that kind of made that happen, that's a really cool story. I appreciate you sharing

Taylor Gee: 54:05

that. That's, that's a really cool story about you and your brother and your dad. That's awesome.

Tevin mcGee: 54:12

Yeah, absolutely. You know, as I get older, family starts to become more and more important to me. So. It's definitely something that, that, that ranks at the top of that list. So um, can you describe the, like, is there a certain skills or qualities that you believe to be crucial for success in the, in this field based on your experience?

Taylor Gee: 54:36

Yeah. I mean, first and foremost, you definitely need to be a people person. And you know, some people are like. I hate people. I want to, you know, lock myself away. And some people are like, I'm totally a people person. But it's not just about liking people. You have to not be scared to really get to know them, ask them questions to better understand what the physician is looking for and what is motivating their job search. Why are they looking in Houston, Texas? You know, a lot of people I talk to are from there. So they want to go back there. A lot of other people like their spouses, you know, it's a huge medical community in Houston. So their spouses are getting jobs there. So they're looking for jobs there. And then you have other people who are like, I've just never been, I'm looking at like 15 different cities across the country type of thing. So you really have to understand their motivations, why they're looking for that job. And in a way. Recruiting is a form of sales, so you can't be scared of rejection either and you will get a lot of nose. Now to be a great physician recruiter, I think learning more about your specialty you're recruiting for and those respective markets. will help you be on top of your game. So like I never recruited anesthesia before I came to this job nine months ago. I'm still learning a lot about it. And when I was working for the radiology practice, I felt like I could have conversations with those radiologists as good as I could have without having gone to medical school myself. So if you can speak the lingo and understand it they'll, they'll open up to you more because they trust you.

Tevin mcGee: 56:17

Absolutely. And that's, that's really valuable information. And, you know, that's kind of why I wanted to put this episode out because one being in remote work is its own sector being a you know, physician recruiter is its own job. So. If someone is kind of interested in the space, this is kind of a blueprint, if you will, on how they can get there based on someone who's already doing this in the field. Yeah,

Taylor Gee: 56:42

I hope I can be a help.

Tevin mcGee: 56:44

Absolutely. So what is some advice that you would give to somebody? Let's say this person's 18 years old. They're considering the exact career path that they want to be a remote of a physician recruiter based on your experiences. What's the quickest way to be able to get there?

Taylor Gee: 57:02

Yeah. So honestly, like start applying for jobs. Most of the time you won't land a physician recruiter job on the first try. It's kind of something you work your way up to. So ways around that are you can start recruiting other health care professionals, maybe such as. RNs or therapists or licensed practical nurses. And then you can work your way up to physicians. And it, you don't even have to start with healthcare recruiting. You can recruit other things like it or. mAybe not, you know, executives because I feel like that's going to be very kind of specific, like physicians are but like I. T. People, H. R. People, you know, recruiting just different kinds of people. Getting your feet wet is a great way to, but if you know, you want the healthcare focus, there are ways. To kind of get in that with like nurse recruiting, therapist recruiting, that sort of thing. As far as the job search goes, you can search for talent acquisition talent scout jobs. sourcing jobs or even junior recruiter roles. Because I started as a talent scout, which is basically a junior recruiter role, and I worked my way up to where I am today as a senior physician recruiter. I learned so many valuable things during that time, and I would not be the recruiter I am today without it. And you really just learn the industries, learn your specialties and just basic people skills. too. So it's very interesting. And then obviously talking to a physician recruiter. I'm happy to volunteer as one for anyone. And talk to them about their experiences. Like I mentioned earlier, I recruit for practice management group. And then if you talk to an in house recruiter, someone who recruits directly for the hospital system, you're going to get different experiences. And I'm not saying that one is better than the other. I'm just saying I can't Speak to an in house recruiters experience because I've never done it. So it's probably just, you know, apples to oranges at that point in time. Other things I guess I can leave you with would be be personal, be confident, be yourself. Talking with physicians do require a certain level of sharpness and sophistication. Some people may get scared or a little, I don't want to say turned off, but intimidated by that, but physicians are people too, you know, they. you know, don't be scared of them. So just be confident and sharp and sophisticated when you're working with physicians.

Tevin mcGee: 59:38

No, that's, that's a lot of, a lot of nuggets of information there. And that that, that segment that you just explained there. So one of the last questions that I want to ask you is, so being someone. Me being someone that has been in the same job for over six years now. What is the interview process like for landing a job like this? Like what kind of questions do they ask and what does it look like?

Taylor Gee: 1:00:03

Oh my gosh. Okay. So let's see, I'm trying to think back to my first job in physician recruiting, but I really can't. That was over five years ago, so I just don't remember, but in this role. This may not be super helpful because I'm in a senior role, so it may not be helpful for someone starting out, but it was more about kind of situational things. Of course, they want to do. You know, culture checks, make sure you're going to be a fit, that sort of thing, personality wise, but you know, it was really having conversations, this interview process about what I've done historically for other groups and kind of my thought process. Because coming into Houston this practice in particular has done things the way they've done it for a long time, and they're having okay results, but they want to be better and they need help getting better. So I was kind of hired as that person to kind of bring in this shift of innovation. And Implementing this new way of recruiting in Houston, and we're, you know, I'm nine months into this role, and we're just now really starting to do that because there's a lot of things in play, but my interview with this company was really situational things like, what have you done in previous roles in, in this way or helped this happen? And how do you think? Strategically to change some things. So they were really trying to get through or understand my thought processes on things and some feedback I've gotten from my boss or manager over the past 9 months is, you know, we hired you for this exact kind of out of the box thinking that you have. And this is what we need here in Houston. So, you know, as far as tips for interviewing, obviously be yourself. And this goes for not just position recruiting, but be yourself. It's okay if you, you know, have to pause and think, fully listen to the questions and then provide your answers you know, from the heart, I guess you don't have to sit and prepare your answers cause they want something honest, you know. But as far as specific to position recruiting I can't really think of anything at this point in time. Because it's been a while.

Tevin mcGee: 1:02:34

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. No. And I think you gave a lot of valuable information that they can kind of use to think, okay, if I do find myself in an interview with. One of these types of you know, whether it's recruiting nurses, just any kind of recruitment job that would be remote. I think that the information that you gave would be helpful. You know, you've got me considering like, man, do I know someone that would want to do this job just for how good of a storyteller you are talking about your, your career? And I appreciate you coming on and doing this.

Taylor Gee: 1:03:09

Great. Thank you so much. And I, I really do enjoy networking with people and connecting them to it. You know, I'm glad you picked me for the remote portion slash physician recruiter, but that's why I said what I do, because it's not something that really comes to mind as an option. More people should know about it. And you know, if it's a fit for them, I'm happy to be a resource and connect them in other ways to, to see if this is the right fit for those people.

Tevin mcGee: 1:03:40

Absolutely. So what Taylor, you have been a wonderful guest on the show and I appreciate you coming on. Is it okay if we put your social on in the show notes so people can connect to you and ask you more questions if need be.

Taylor Gee: 1:03:54

Yeah, definitely. I'm on LinkedIn. I'm on Instagram my personal email. I'm trying to think Facebook. I don't have TikTok. I've, I've drawn the line there, but, um, but yeah, I'll send over my, my specials for you.

Tevin mcGee: 1:04:11

Absolutely. So yeah, we'll have those in the show notes so you can connect with Taylor. If this is something that you find interesting, and if you found value in this episode of the podcast, please give us a follow on Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. And I appreciate you taking the time, you know, despite the technical difficulties at the beginning, I think we've got a lot of valuable information that people are going to find helpful in their career journey.

Taylor Gee: 1:04:39

Great. Cause I can talk a lot. So I hope it wasn't too much.

Tevin mcGee: 1:04:43

No, no, it was perfect. So this has been another episode of the Clever Angle podcast. You can find me on X at the Clever Angle, Instagram at the Clever Angle. And this episode will be coming out on November 30th. So two weeks from tomorrow. But Taylor, thank you again for being on the show.

Taylor Gee: 1:05:02

Thank you for having me, Tevin. It was great catching up with

Tevin mcGee: 1:05:05

you. Absolutely. And like I said, if I'm in the Nashville area, I will definitely love to connect with you. so Thank you again.

Taylor Gee: 1:05:14

Yes, of course. Take care. Okay.

Tevin mcGee: 1:05:16

Take care. This has been another episode of the Clever Angle podcast until next time. Peace.