Job market needs revamping

Editor - Trevor Pickersgill highlights a common problem at all levels of the medical profession when job hunting.1 I am beginning to think that many consultants are not actually living in the real world and have an image of juniors applying for their advertised post as if it were the only job out there. Several of my friends have bemoaned this exact issue whereby consultants and trust managers seem to think that people should apply for only one post, wait by the phone to see if they have got it, and then accept immediately. Presumably, if unsuccessful (as is quite likely to be the case with most popular specialties), the would-be applicant is required to spend months going to consecutive job interviews in only their ideal areas. If they happen to be applying for jobs along with several hundred other hopefuls, that could take a very long time indeed.

Pickersgill quite rightly points out that the practice of accepting jobs and then abandoning them is becoming commonplace. When applicants are being forced to give quick answers and accept posts immediately, …