The College of Optometrists

I can't believe the attitude of pre-reggies!! my present pre-reg who has just qualified is a star - fantastic with the Px's and great academically and commercial. What have I had since -

1 - Well what sort of person are you looking for?

2 - Where are you again?

3 - It is a long way for me to come for an interview am I likely to get the job

4 - I will probably see you at ???time for the interview

5 - Letters addressed to Dear Sir/Madam, Dear Sir/Madame, Dear ______, to whom it may concern!!

6 - Letters addressed to someone at another practice

7 - I have only got a 2 2 I am not a 1st class student am I in with a chance

8 - Where are you again later in the same conversation!

9 - what's the name of your practice?

10 - I have always wanted to work for a multiple like you (hmmm independent here)

And the list is endless, the presentation is very very poor on CV's, often just photocopied with my name scribbled in.

What more can I say, I am disheartened, but it seems this is the sad future for our profession. Where am I to get a clinically professional Optometrist/pre-reg who has a sense of humour (and can spell would be a help!) and wants to work in a exceptionally equipped practice - Do we exist any more?

Alisdair

The College of Optometrists is mindful of the lack of 'real world' knowledge undergraduate optometry students currently have. In response to this we have compiled an annual student newsletter called Foresight, which will be distributed in late September.

Foresight will include job-hunting tips, CV writing advice and general information on how individuals should behave prior to and during a formal interview.

I am in the final stages of compiling the newsletter, so if you have any ideas please do not hesitate to contact me on 020 7766 4343 or email rich.gott@college-optometrists.org

Regards

Richard Gott

Marketing Manager

College of Optometrists

richard

the problems that the pre-reg's face has been an embarrassing scenario for the last few years. it makes me sad to see newly qualified's not being able to secure pre-reg positions and end up working as 'Optical Advisers'. i would like to take on atleast 3 pre-reg's on a year but get stumped at the point of supervisory requirements. the main one being that they have to be qualified for 3yr 9mths, atleast that was the requirement the last time i looked into the matter. even then, why 3yrs 9mths? atleast reduce it to 2 yrs and a bit or set up a training course like the abdo so that any fully fledged responsible optom can be a supervisor.

The newly qualified optoms must be going thru a lot of upset and dis-enchantment when they come out of universities and not know what lies ahead of them.

i am a d/o and although we don't get the recognition we deserve, we are always in demand and can now command similar salaries to nq optoms.

may be the college needs to rethink its objectives and clarify what they are doing about the nq's and in particular the pre-reg scenario.

alisdair,u should pay ur new qualified more money,i studied with him,he is great.

Nerius I think £11500 is a fantastic wage for a newly qualified!! hehe

Ive had the same experience,

a pre reg tphoned my practise to enquire about a job, and then advised the receptionist to interupt me during an examinationasto talk to me~?

Any serious ideas on newly qualified rates

the newly qualified at the practice where i work gets £33,000. where r u based finkle?

Three times what Alisdair offers,any jobs going nerius?!ha

Richard, surely after a few years at university the candidates are all taught interview skills (all universities produce ‘Interview skills’ booklets & go through mock interviews if required), there are so many websites about these skills, spoon feeding people in life just makes them lazy & they lose the ability to think for themselves. From the people I have spoken to its quite simple that the quality is being replaced by quantity, who to blame? Answears on a postcard pls!

Coming to a street corner near you...

A NQ Optom holding a sign... "Will refract for food"

I am based in the south of England, why?

I'm not sure I want the College to educate all the undergraduates lacking in "real world" skills how to fill in proper applications. It will just make it harder for me winnow out the better candidates and have less of the entirely awful applications to file in the usual place. (Only partly kidding).

I think we have about the same number of good candidates out there as we had a few yers ago, but not the same percentage of those graduating as we used to have! I blame the falling quality of education generally (only partly kidding again).