By this point in the semester, most of you who are interested in Administrative Fellowships will have done your research, put together your applications, and are now anxiously waiting to hear back about telephone or even in-person interviews in some cases. First of all, congratulations for submitting your applications! For those still preparing your applications, my main advice is to spend time researching each organization and use that research to articulate in your cover letters exactly why you think you’re a good fit to join their culture. This is actually great advice no matter what stage of the process you are in. In my experience, you can never be over prepared! I had the unique privilege to join Cleveland Clinic as an Administrative Fellow in 2016. My mom had given me The Cleveland Clinic Way by Dr. Toby Cosgrove as a gift when I started at Sloan, and having read the book, I was impressed by the organization and wanted to learn more. To be totally honest, reading the biographies of the fellows the year before me, I was in awe, and wasn’t quite sure if I had a shot at an interview. For me, the Cleveland Clinic Fellowship was life changing in many ways, particularly in developing personally and professionally, expanding my healthcare network of friends and colleagues around the world, learning from some of the most talented individuals in healthcare and medicine, and observing how a large healthcare system operates on different levels. My fellowship led me to my current position in opening the newest extension of Cleveland Clinic in London. In my own experience and in mentoring students through the Administrative Fellowship process, I have found three pieces of advice most helpful in the interviewing stage of the process. 1. Do your homework. I cannot stress this enough. Interviewers are trying to choose from very competitive pool of candidates and you will stand out with extensive research and preparedness. Know who is interviewing you – know their name, their title, and any information you can find on LinkedIn or otherwise. Speak to current fellows – learn from them, make a connection, and get to know the organization better through their experiences. Look up the most recent news about that organization – did they just go through a major merger? Have they been impacted heavily by COVID-19? Are they expanding globally? Are they going through an IT or Electronic Medical Record transformation? Know the organization’s values and mission – what is the language that they use? How do they reference themselves and their company? How do they talk about their culture? Understand their fellowship structure so you can ask deeper and more meaningful questions that will help you identify if it is the right fit for you. For each interview (and ideally application), prepare some research that you can reference back to in preparation for interviews. Create some well-informed questions that would both help you better understand their program and organization, but also indicate to the interviewer that you are curious about the organization at a level deeper than something you can find on their website. Preparation also includes all the logistics – this means scheduling a quiet space in advance, having your laptop charged / charging, knowing that you have the IT platform installed, the correct time and date for your time zone, etc. 2. Think about and identify your goals. As a 5-year Sloan student, my goal from an Administrative Fellowship was to absorb as much information as I could and understand what areas of healthcare I might be interested in pursuing. Your goals will look different based on your experiences. Understanding what you want to get out of the one or two years of a Fellowship will help you develop meaningful questions which ultimately allow you to choose the right fit. When I was interviewing for fellowships, it was important to me that I could observe the corporate operations of a large health system. For others, it might be that getting experience on the unit level with clinical operations is closer to your goals. Many fellowships allow you to shape your experiences as a Fellow so you can ensure you achieve your goals. For some, a very structured fellowship with built in key results best suits their needs and their goals, and for others, a more personalized approach is what they are looking for. Not only is it helpful to understand what you’re looking to achieve out of a Fellowship, but also think about what your longer term goals are after a Fellowship. Using that information, review the career journeys of those who have been through Fellowships at each organization and see how it aligns with your aspirations. 3. “Open your chakras” and nail your interviews. I will never forget the morning of my second day of in-person interviews at Cleveland Clinic – Julie Carmalt, Associate Director of the Sloan Program, texted me “Remember, open your chakras!” This was meaningful for me because it was a reminder to let go of all the stress from applications, be open to what the day had in store, and to have fun. Having fun might seem a bit strange to you right now, and while it was still a day of interviewing, I loved it. Meeting a variety of different caregivers and learning about their backgrounds, all while absorbing the Cleveland Clinic culture was a privilege. You are also likely to meet other candidates who will begin to form your healthcare network in the future regardless of where you end up. That energy will come off in your interviews, so remember that you’ve done all your prep, you know the questions you’re going to ask, you know the people you’re going to meet, so all that is left to do is to “open your chakras.” About the Author: Renee leads the activation of a new outpatient clinic and 184-bed hospital in Central London, ensuring the facilities, operations, and caregivers are prepared to serve patients. She is an active alumna of Cornell University and the Sloan Program, serving on the Sloan Alumni Association Board, as well as a Young Executive Leader of the International Hospital Federation. Renee lives in London with her husband (Class of 2015). She can be reached at [email protected].
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