How to Apply Directly to Hospitals in Australia as a UK Junior Doctor in 2023
There are four common ways of applying for jobs in Australia as a UK doctor, which we break down here. The most common and often most successful route is applying directly to hospitals. This is a relatively straightforward, common-sense process, but it requires you to put in the effort and stay organised. With effort and good planning, you can make this a success and hopefully get multiple offers from great hospitals.
In this article, we will break down:
👉 How the application process works, step by step
👉 How to choose where to apply
👉 How to find contact details
👉 What to say when you introduce yourself
👉 How to stay organised
👉 Tips for success
General overview on how to directly apply to hospitals
As we explained above, this is a straightforward process, which only consists of three steps:
✅ Step 1 - Research where you might want to work and make a shortlist of options.
✅ Step 2 - Gather contact details & introduce yourself to them by email with a great CV and cover letter.
✅ Step 3 - Get invited to interview!
🗓 Timings
A benefit of applying directly is that you can do it at any time of the year. There is no ‘wrong’ time to start applying, and hospitals often have roster gaps that need filling throughout the year.
📄 Other application methods
Each state in Australia runs state-wide recruitment campaigns for jobs starting in February, which is the start of the Australian academic year for doctors. These are annual, centralised processes (similar to Oriel) that are organised by each state to manage applications for their open positions.
So, if you want a job starting in February, you may be asked to apply through this state-wide method rather than applying directly.
You can still contact hospitals directly even if you think a recruitment campaign is in progress. This won’t harm you and, in fact, can be helpful to build a relationship with hiring managers regardless of whether you will end up using the relevant state recruitment process.
You can also use a recruitment agency alongside this process. However, be aware that if you have applied directly to a hospital, your agency won’t be able to help you find work there either. You should let your recruitment agent know who you’ve already been in contact with when you register with them.
👉 Step 1 - Choose where to apply
What kinds of hospitals should I apply to?
Start by thinking about what you want to get from your time in Australia. Most hospitals and locations will have a range of additional benefits alongside the coveted work-life balance and better pay Australia is famous for. But there are some other things to consider which might help you focus on certain areas.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
🌤 Weather and lifestyle - Are you particularly interested in a better climate? This varies wildly from state to state, from relatively European temperatures in the South to subtropical Far North Queensland and arid Northern Territory. Some states are also more metropolitan than others.
🏄♀️ Location - If you’re a keen beachgoer or surfer, is a coastal location non-negotiable?
🌃 Large city or more regional - Most UK doctors tend to stay around the larger cities and state capitals, as this is where the most work is. Working in these locations, you are bound to meet other Brits doing similar work, and these cities can feel more like home. Alternatively, smaller cities and more rural areas are often more welcoming and appreciative and can feel like more of an adventure.
🏥 Size of hospital - If you’ve done foundation training in a DGH or smaller hospital, did you enjoy this or would you rather work in a bigger centre? Training opportunities may be more readily available in bigger hospitals. Similarly, think about potential future specialties you’re interested in. It is a good idea to check out hospital websites to ensure they have those teams.
Can I get recommendations from friends?
The best way to start off your shortlist is by getting a recommendation from someone you know or a friend of a friend. This comes with the added bonus that they can potentially help you get your foot in the door or advise you on who to contact to apply. Already knowing a friendly face in the place you’re moving to is an attractive prospect.
How do I start a shortlist?
After you’ve done this, you can start doing some more research on specific hospitals and building a shortlist of places where you might consider applying.
When looking at hospitals, it is worth looking at their websites to gauge the size/modernity and culture of a workplace.
It is also a good idea to find them on Google Maps and see how far they may be from places you want to live – some hospitals based in metropolitan areas can be very far from city centres, for example, and owing to the size of Australia some places will consider themselves to be based in a city they are actually a long commute from.
If this seems overwhelming, don’t worry. It’s best not to overthink it, and you should cast the net wide, as you are not making any form of commitment at this stage by introducing yourself to them. If you find out later in the process that they might not be a great fit for you, you can withdraw your application.
However, don’t apply to anywhere you would not seriously consider an offer from. Firing off random emails – for example, to a very rural place where you can’t see yourself living – just wastes their time and yours!
Also, don’t set your heart on a single hospital. Most people find they will need to apply to multiple locations to secure a single offer.
Next, we will consider how many applications you should make.
How many hospitals should I apply to?
There is no limit on how many places you can apply to. Frankly, the application process is a numbers game.
Of the hospitals you contact, only some of them will be actively hiring at that time. Many of them will either not yet be looking for doctors for their next intake or have already filled their rosters. And then, of those hiring, only some of these will be keen to interview you, and only some will make you an offer!
You will therefore need to contact a relatively large number to have job offers filtered through at the end of the application process. As a ballpark figure, consider contacting between 10 and 15 hospitals in total, to begin with. Your success will vary as this can be a bit of a lottery, but typically you might expect 5 of these hospitals to be interested and keen to interview you.
Don’t worry about hassling people who aren’t actively hiring. Building a relationship with hiring managers is useful regardless of whether they have vacancies at the time you start emailing, especially if you send them a thoughtful email (see below) and a well-written CV. Even if they don’t have current vacancies, hopefully, they will remember you should a suitable position open up.
Lastly, don’t be disheartened if you don’t receive any response to your emails. It may be that your emails fall through the cracks or end up in an unmonitored inbox. You may also find out later that you were contacting an old email address that no longer works! Sometimes recruitment managers can be overwhelmed with propositions at certain points throughout the year and take a while to reply.
What else should I consider at this stage?
Your application will also heavily rely on hospitals in Australia receiving references from Consultants who have worked with you in the UK. This can often be the rate-limiting step in securing interviews, as it takes time for consultants to fill out these requests and send them back to the hospitals you have applied for.
Most hospitals will ask for at least two references, sometimes three, including a clinical or educational supervisor. If you are applying to multiple places in Australia, it is worthwhile gathering multiple referees who are happy to fill out reference requests so that each consultant you ask is not burdened with filling out 15 referrals for you.
We recommend speaking to at least 6 consultants to ask them to be references for you, and then listing different consultants on different applications to ensure they are not burnt out from filling in endless forms on your behalf.
You should also reach out to these consultants in advance to ask their permission to be referees and express your gratitude to them for agreeing to do this for you. A box of chocolates isn’t a bad idea either!
Read more about the referencing process in Australia, who to choose as a referee and how to ask their permission in our article, How to Get Great References for Your Move to Australia.
👉 Step 2 - Gather contact details & introduce yourself
Who is the right contact? How do I find their contact details?
Ideally, the right contact is the recruitment person or hiring manager who sources doctors for the relevant hospital. Many hospitals have hired UK doctors before and will have an HR team that is streamlined and experienced in helping you through the application process.
Asking friends for contact details is the easiest way to get recruitment details, with the added benefit that they will also be able to tell you more about their experience working with this health service as well.
For some hospitals, you can easily find their recruitment contact details on their website if you just google “{the hospital’s name} recruitment details”.
It may be difficult to find the correct contact details for recruitment teams. In this case, a worthwhile strategy would be to email someone (or anyone) who works at that hospital. If they are not the correct person to speak to, then you can always politely ask them to point you in the direction of the correct contact – it pays to be persistent with this.
Some people looking to work in Australia will have been ‘passed down’ lists of recruitment contacts that friends and colleagues have previously used, but beware, some of these details can be out of date. As with above, if your email does land in the incorrect inbox, then this person may be able to help direct you to the right person.
Messly is currently pulling together an app to collate contact details for hospital recruitment departments, so keep an eye out for this!
What do I say when I email them?
There are three parts to this: the email itself, your CV and a cover letter. Let’s run through each of these one at a time.
What do I say in my introduction email?
Much of the hard work is done by your CV and cover letter, which we will cover next. Your introduction email can be brief, polite and informal, essentially a few lines saying who you are and directing attention to the cover letter alongside your CV.
As mentioned above, at times, you might not be sure if you’re contacting the right person. So it’s helpful to add a line which says: “Apologies if you are not the right person to be contacted about this. If so, would you mind letting me know who would be a better contact at your hospital?”
How should I structure my CV to have the best results?
The best jobs will be competitive and have many more applicants than vacancies. So, making your application stand out from the crowd is essential. The best way to do this is with a well-written, carefully tailored CV.
Your CV will be the first part of your application to be reviewed. It is your main ‘sales pitch’ to help you make an excellent first impression and get you through to the interview stage. Fundamentally, a great CV is the difference between getting a range of interviews in sought-after hospitals and getting very little back at all.
We have written a detailed guide on how to write a CV to apply for jobs in Australia as a UK junior doctor, which covers the key principles and structure of a great CV and explains how to adapt a generic CV to make it stand out in Australia.
Note that some states will have their own specific format of CV that they require for applications, but this will be requested should you progress successfully to being considered as a candidate, so don’t worry about this when introducing yourself.
Do I need a cover letter?
Many doctors can’t be bothered to submit a cover letter alongside their CV, but this is a missed opportunity.
A CV focuses on the “facts” about your education, experience, skills and other achievements. So, it tends to be a very dense and quite impersonal document. Therefore, it leaves little space to explain the more personal side of your situation
A cover letter allows you to write in a longer-form and more personal way about your background, career so far, motivations for applying to that particular job, and longer-term career aspirations. Paired with your CV, the reader should be able to understand these areas and feel very excited about interviewing you!
There are a lot of principles to consider when writing a good cover letter. Generally, they should be brief, friendly, and specific to the hospital you are applying for.
We’ve written a detailed guide on how to write a great cover letter, how to personalise this to specific hospitals and a worked example. We recommend that you check this out before you start applying to hospitals.
How do I stay organised?
It’s easy to fire off a load of emails and immediately forget who you have contacted. A top tip is to create a spreadsheet or similar list to keep track of places you have applied to, the time and type of response and what the next steps are.
An example spreadsheet would include headings of the hospital name, the position you have applied for, the details of your contact person, the date you sent an email, and a column for the date they replied and what the outcome was/what further info has been requested.
👉 Step 3 - Get responses
How long can it take to hear back? Can I chase them up?
Don’t be disheartened if you don’t hear anything back immediately, some HR teams may be overstretched, and delays are not uncommon.
However, if you haven’t received an email confirming receipt of your email, it is acceptable to follow up with a follow-up email after 1-2 weeks. If this is the case, keep the tone friendly and polite, and just inquire as to when you might hear back or if you are emailing the wrong person.
What will they say back?
✅ If you are approved:
If they have vacancies available, they will likely respond and schedule an interview with you. Seeing this email will be a great feeling, making all the research, planning and CV-editing feel worthwhile!
They may want some clarifications on your CV or experience before formally asking you to interview. This is usually to confirm your eligibility for registration in Australia or to confirm start dates. This shouldn't be necessary if your CV and cover letter are clear.
They may request references before this stage and ask you to re-format your CV into their preferred format. If you wish to proceed, confirm the interview time. At this stage, you may wish to ask them what it will involve so you can do some prep.
Try to do the interview as soon as possible. Most hospitals will be speaking to other doctors, and with growing interest in Australia, some will be competitive – so the sooner, the better! Keep an eye on your emails, and be prepared to change plans to accommodate an interview ASAP.
❌ If you are declined:
It may be that you are not suitable for a role with them, so don’t be disheartened or take it personally.
Instead, you can ask for feedback – Is it that the position has already been filled or you accidentally applied for a more senior role? In general, it is always a good idea to ask what you could do to improve your CV or cover letter.
A ‘no’ does not necessarily mean you have to stop pursuing a particular hospital. They may have other roles that would be a better fit or roles in sister hospitals within the same area.
If you have applied specifically for a department, it may be that another department has vacancies. In practice, it is easier to move laterally after a couple of rotations within a hospital if this is the case.
❓ Other cases:
If a hospital is currently recruiting through a state recruitment, they may ask you to apply through that process, as explained above.
This is good news, and means that they have vacancies! Getting your foot in the door and expressing interest early will benefit you, too. They will hopefully be able to recall your application when reviewing CVs and may even earmark you as a good candidate before receiving other applications through the state recruitment process.
Some hospitals require applicants to submit their application directly through their own recruitment portal, where you will need to create an account to apply - e.g. Mercury eRecruit for Melbourne Health, LiveHire for Alfred Health. It is best to apply for this as soon as possible to keep the momentum up.
What can I expect from the interview?
Some interviews are very informal chats with the director for medical education or a specific department, whereas others are more formal.
The conversion rates between being offered an interview and being offered a job are relatively high, and many interviews take the form of an informal chat or the hospital itself trying to persuade you to choose them!
Most interviews will ask you more about why you have decided to apply to that specific area or hospital and what you hope to gain from working there. More formal interviews may ask a couple of SJT-style or clinical scenario-based questions. If this is the case, don’t worry, most hospitals are looking for a safe clinician (as a tip - management plans should always include discussing with a senior!).
What determines success vs failure?
This method of finding work can be very successful but is proportional to the amount of effort you put in. If you put in the hard work, you should be confident in generating some interviews for sought-after jobs.
Here’s a summary of the tips that we’ve covered in this guide that can determine your success:
👉 Do your research to work out where you want to work and focus your attention on these
👉 Reach out to a good amount of quality contacts, ideally up to 15
👉 Invest in a good CV and cover letter, which is heavily personalised to the hospital
👉 Stay organised, and follow up with people who haven’t replied to you
👉 Respond promptly to requests for interviews and get these booked ASAP
👉 Secure timely consultant references so this doesn’t slow you down at the last hurdle
Final thoughts
Applying directly to hospitals is an excellent way of securing a job in Australia. For a little effort and organisation, it allows you to apply on your own schedule, is a great way to start on the right foot and demonstrate initiative, and is often the most successful method of finding a job in your chosen place.
This article was written by Dr Mark Coulson, who moved out to Australia in his F3 year in 2019, and is now entering his third year working in ED at Princess Alexandra Hospital. You can read his personal story of settling into life in Australia here.
📚 Continue Reading
🚀 This article is part of Messly's Ultimate Guide to Working in Australia. The guide covers all you need to know as a UK doctor to understand your options, research your move, find work, get registered and move out to Australia.
❓ If you are still weighing up whether a move to Australia is right for you, our article To Aus or not to Aus breaks down the pros and cons, so you can make an informed decision. Read this with Common Questions on Moving to Australia as a UK Junior Doctor.
✈️ There are four routes to finding a job in Australia. In this detailed guide, we explain how each works and the pros and cons of each, so you can kick-start your search for your dream job Down Under
📄 Applying through state application rounds is a common way of getting a job in Australia, especially for February starters. Here we explain how they work, who they are suitable for and typical timelines so you’re clued up on how to make them work for you.
🤔 Confused about how the grades work in Australia, and which roles you should be applying for? This article breaks down the grade system and explains which rolesmight be suitable for you.
This article was written by Dr Mark Coulson, who moved out to Australia in his F3 year in 2019, and is now entering his third year working in ED at Princess Alexandra Hospital. You can read his personal story of settling into life in Australia here.
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