It’s that time of year again. Final placements are wrapping up, graduation is getting closer and soon-to-be Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, Dietitians and Exercise Physiologists are starting to look for their first roles in the new year.
It’s exciting, but it can also be hard to know what you’re actually looking for.
After a while, job ads can all start to sound the same. Everyone seems to offer a supportive team, a great workplace culture, professional development and a competitive salary. Some roles also come with bonuses, allowances and other financial incentives.
Salary matters, of course. But the biggest number in a job ad doesn’t necessarily tell you what your working week will look like, how supported you’ll feel or how much opportunity you’ll have to learn.
Your first year as a clinician is a big adjustment. You have finished university, but that doesn’t mean you should be expected to walk into your first role knowing how to manage every difficult session, parent conversation, report deadline or clinical decision.
So, what else is worth looking at when comparing graduate roles?
What does supervision actually look like?
“Supervision provided” can mean very different things in different workplaces.
It might mean a protected weekly meeting with an experienced clinician who knows your profession and understands your caseload. Or it might mean trying to catch someone in the hallway when you have a question.
It is worth asking how often supervision occurs, whether it is protected in your calendar and who will provide it. You can also ask what supervision usually covers. Is it mostly about managing your diary and meeting expectations, or is there time to talk through clinical reasoning, reflect on sessions and work out what to try next?
Good supervision shouldn’t simply give you all the answers. It should help you become more confident in working things out for yourself.
What happens when you need help between supervision sessions?
Weekly supervision is valuable, but the question you really need answered will often come immediately after a session, not conveniently during your supervision hour.
Can you ask a senior clinician for another opinion? Are informal case discussions common? Can you observe someone else working with a similar client? Is there someone available to help you think through a difficult conversation before you call a family?
You shouldn’t feel that you have to pretend you know what to do. In a good team, asking for another opinion is part of being a thoughtful clinician.
How will your caseload be introduced?
Moving directly from university into a full caseload is a lot, even for a very capable graduate.
Starting work involves much more than learning how to run appointments. You are also learning new systems, writing reports, communicating with families, collaborating with schools and other professionals and managing all the small tasks that sit around your clinical work.
Ask whether your caseload will build gradually and what that process usually looks like. Will you have time to observe other clinicians, prepare for unfamiliar sessions and learn the organisation’s systems? How quickly are graduates expected to reach a full caseload?
Be cautious of vague promises. “We tailor it to the individual” may be completely genuine, but it is still reasonable to ask for an example of how the caseload of a recent graduate was introduced.
Is there time to learn, not just money for courses?
A professional development allowance is useful, but it is only one part of learning.
Some of the most valuable development happens through observing an experienced clinician, discussing a client with another discipline, practising a new skill with support or reflecting on why a session didn’t go as planned.
Look at the full picture. Is there a structured graduate or induction program? Are there in-house workshops, case discussions or opportunities to observe colleagues? Will you have time to apply and consolidate what you learn?
Attending a course is great. Having people around you who can help turn that information into everyday practice is even better.
Does multidisciplinary collaboration really happen?
For graduates joining a multidisciplinary clinic, working alongside other professions can be an enormous advantage. OTs, Speech Pathologists, Dietitians and Exercise Physiologists each bring a different perspective to a child’s development and a family’s goals.
But sharing a building doesn’t automatically mean people collaborate.
Ask what multidisciplinary work looks like in an ordinary week. Do clinicians talk about shared clients? Are there joint sessions, team case discussions or opportunities to observe another discipline? Is time actually allowed for those conversations?
Genuine collaboration can help you understand the whole child, become clearer about your own role and recognise when input from another profession could be helpful.
Are the expectations clear and realistic?
It’s reasonable for a workplace to have expectations around clinical work, documentation and productivity. What matters is whether those expectations are clear, achievable and appropriate for someone starting out.
Ask how performance is measured in the first year. Are expectations adjusted while your caseload builds? What happens when several reports are due at once, a client needs extra support or the week simply doesn’t go to plan?
It is also worth asking how feedback is given. Helpful feedback should be regular and specific. You shouldn’t only hear how you are going when something has gone wrong.
What is included in the workload?
The number of appointments you are expected to provide is only part of the workload.
There is also planning, documentation, reports, family communication, meetings, resource preparation and, in some roles, travel. Find out where those tasks fit and whether time is allowed for them.
A busy caseload is not automatically an unsustainable one. The important questions are whether expectations are realistic, whether the less visible parts of the job are recognised and whether support is available when things become busy.
What does the workplace feel like?
Culture can be difficult to judge from a website or job ad. Most organisations describe themselves as supportive, collaborative and fun.
An interview is a chance to dig a little deeper. You could ask:
- What does a typical week look like for a graduate?
- What do new graduates usually find most challenging here?
- What happens when someone has a difficult session?
- How do team members share ideas and learn from one another?
- What makes people stay?
- Could I meet some of the team or speak with a recent graduate?
Pay attention to how openly these questions are answered. It is often easier to understand a workplace through specific examples than through broad descriptions of its culture.
Look at the whole offer
Graduates should feel comfortable asking about salary, conditions and financial incentives. These are important parts of any job offer.
They are just not the only parts.
When comparing roles, think about who will be around you, how supervision works, how your caseload will build, what happens when you need help and whether you will have the time and support to keep learning.
Your first job doesn’t have to be perfect, and it doesn’t determine the rest of your career. But it should be somewhere you can ask questions, build your skills and gradually find your feet as a clinician.
Take the time to meet the team if you can, ask specific questions and look beyond what is written in the job ad. The right role for you may not be the one with the longest list of benefits. It may be the one where the support described in the interview is visible in the way people work every day.
