Reasons Why To Get A New Dietitian Job

Jun 10

Reasons Why To Get A New Dietitian Job

Stacey Dunn-Emke, MS, RDN

Seasons bring transitions, such as transitioning into a new niche as a dietitian or maybe even a new company. Maybe it's time to think about job hopping?

Here are a few reasons why you might want to look for a new job:

Pay Raise - It's why we "work". Yes, loving your job is important, too. We picked great professions in nutrition. But remember to be your own money advocate. So the best way to see a significant (10%+) increase in your pay is to job hop. You might only see up to a 4% annual salary increase at your current job.
Benefits Boost - Some companies are just more creative with the whole compensation package. You could get a tuition reimbursement benefit to get a graduate degree in areas likes leadership development.
Change in Leadership - More mentors, more people to learn from, more motivated co-workers, a better manager who values you and wants to promote you.

How to prepare for job searching

Understanding your professional strengths, what you like doing, and where you want to go next are key to crafting all the elements that go into a job search strategy.

When I work with dietitians we always start with the professional summary, a paragraph that describes just that, a 4-5 sentence summary describing your professionals strengths, your background, and what you are seeking for your next career step. Everything else seems to fall into place after crafting the professional summary!

Here's what you need to do to prepare for the job search:

Modernize your resume - That means updating your work experience to include quantifiable work experience (not just a job description), adding relevant skills, and sprinkling leadership examples throughout your 1-2 page document. Include a professional summary just below your contact information. Here's how to modernize your resume. Are you looking for resume templates specific to our profession? Here are 3 downloadables.
Update your LinkedIn Profile - Everyone is looking at your profile so you will want to keep it up to date! LinkedIn is a great place to showcase examples of your work and highlight skills and recommendations. Here's how I can help you attract more opportunity with your LinkedIn profile.
Craft a tailored cover letter - Show them how you are the best fit for the job with my cover letter formula.
Start prepping for the job interview - Research the company, practice answering interview questions with my easy SHO method, outline your list of questions you will ask, and prep your references. Here's all the help you need.

Reasons to stay in your current dietitian job

This is a valid topic! While it's usually fun and exciting to embark on a new job, in reality it can be a daunting process with an unpredictable outcome.

You think the new job is going to be better, and it just might be a whole lot better than your current job, but there are a few variables that you can trust to be quantitatively better: salary and commute.

And speaking of salary, base salary tends to be the number one most compelling aspect of dietitian job compensation, based on a recent LinkedIn poll by NutritionJobs community members.

Poll results showing that salary is the most important aspect of overall compensation

So, setting salary aside, here are some reasons to stay in your current dietitian job.

Flexibility - One of the main reasons I needed to quit my dream job as a nutrition researcher was because my family was growing and I couldn't put in all the necessary hours or travel required. You might be in a chapter in your life where being able to have shortened hours, or the ability to leave work early/late because of family responsibilities trumps a high paying job. This might be a temporary situation, but certainly valid!
Co-Workers - Ok. This seems like a fuzzy reason, but I've had some really amazing mentors at work and best friends at work. I loved going to work in part because of them! But back to reasons to job hop above, maybe the leadership at your current job is outstanding. Maybe the potential to learn is strong and predictable, compared with the other job you might be considering. Your work environment, including the people at work can be a compelling reason to stay (or leave! I've also had some scary co-workers...)
Overall Compensation - A lot of attention is given to base salary when comparing jobs. But the truth is that overall compensation is a much better metric to analyze. My job as a nutrition researcher at a non-profit had a very low base salary but the other compensation was outstanding! I had a matching 401K, unlimited continuing education reimbursement (within reason - I just needed to explain what I would do to better our institute with the education), free meals that were incredibly delicious. Here's an article on Compensation.
Opportunities Galore - This one needs explaining. While I am on the topic of this nutrition research job that didn't pay very well, I need to tell you about the ridiculous number of intangible benefits that came with the job. I got to learn from world renowned researchers who became my friends (!). I traveled the country giving talks to prestigious groups of healthcare professionals (who would meet me at the airport with a box of donuts on occasion - thank you UNC). I got to have lots of hands-on exposure, training, and help with complicated statistical software and nutrition analysis programs. I got to be a part of in-person conversations with celebrities. Celebrities. I love celebrities. So, you never underestimate the opportunities that one job can present, compared to a new one.

Dietitian job hopping takeaways

There are a lot of reasons to take on a new job. Salary, leadership opportunities, and a boost in benefits. But consider what you currently have and if that is ok for now! Is flexibility more important than salary right now? Make a checklist of what is important to you. Then reevaluate after six months to see if those reasons still are compelling.

If you do decide to stay in your current job, here are ways to become indispensable as a dietitian at work.

I'm excited for all the job transitions that await you! Tell us how it goes.

About the Author

Stacey Dunn-Emke, MS, RDN, is the Founder Owner of NutritionJobs and an established dietetic career expert. She helps steer dietetic and nutrition professionals to a successful job search process with the top-ranked dietetic job board platform, NutritionJobs.com. Stacey is the author of The Dietetic Resume Guide and numerous dietetic career action-ables. She gives the tools to create a modern standout dietetic resume to land that job interview, help with job interview prep, and with creating Compelling LinkedIn profiles. Stacey has interviewed and hired many dietitians. Since running NutritionJobs in 2000, she has reviewed thousands of dietetic resumes. She works closely with dietetic hiring managers and recruiters to know the standout elements on a resume that land a job interview. Stacey frequently consults with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at FNCE and co-created the webinar series, Dietetic Career Hack: The Complete Networking and Resume Guide and Dietetic Career Hack Part II: Interviewing Tips and Tricks. Her previous dietitian jobs have been in clinical, nutrition support, and research.