Episode 37 - Tips for starting and progressing your nutrition career

OnCore Nutrition - Two Peas in a Podcast

Find and Fuel Your Fire Workshop

Tickets via Eventbrite

Getting a nutrition job is HARD!

The Dietetics Workforce Report 2018

• There has been a 95% increase in dietetic grads over the last 7 years.
• Grads in Vic ↑ from 65 to 127 per year from 2010 to 2016.
• There is great concern that there is an oversupply of practitioners causing difficulties in new graduates finding positions and inhibiting movement for existing employees.
• Many grads are still seeking work up to 12 mths post graduation.
• In this time, grads are driven to volunteering - but not always meaningful
• You are highly qualified. There is a significant need for your skills. We have an ageing population, chronic disease and dietitians provide such important prevention and management care
• The report highlighted that Dietitians are highly qualified, however there are obvious gaps in business and professional skills in many courses.
• Despite working in a clinical role 30% of dietitians had no clinical supervisor.

file:///C:/Users/laure/Downloads/Dietetics%20Workforce%20Report.pdf

Potential career pathways

Clinical dietetics

• Popular!
• When we’ve advertised for grad jobs there have been >100 applicants.
• A quarter of organisations reported receiving >50 applicants for junior positions and advertisements were rare!
• Hard to get grad jobs

Consultancy and private practice

• Often don’t graduate with skills for business set up and challenging to dive into sole practitioner position without prior experience. Requires ++ mentoring and supervision.
• Important for your own development but also for the reputation of the profession

Food service

Media and marketing

• Don’t expect to get here straight away - need some experience behind you
• Be responsible with what you put out into the world, social media etc. Don’t know what you don’t know.

Public health and nutrition

Eventually policy, health promotion, advocacy

• Often start as a public health dietitian, community dietitian

Food industry

• Consulting
• Food analysis and product development, sensory evaluation
• Food technology and science
• Research

Nutrition research and education

• Generally requires specialisation and smaller projects or honours, masters, PhD

https://www.deakin.edu.au/exercise-nutrition-sciences/careers-in-nutrition-and-dietetics

https://www.myhealthcareer.com.au/dietetics-career/

Our tips

• Volunteer meaningfully
• Upskill
• Get a mentor - a meaningful one
• Apply for everything - know your limits/hard passes
• Apply well
• Prepare for interviews
• Seek feedback - and actually be prepared to take it

Our upcoming workshops

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/find-and-fuel-your-fire-student-early-dietitian-nutritionist-workshop-tickets-112762650122

Wed 26th Aug at 6pm

Sun 29th aug at 2pm

Topics to cover

How to land the job you want

• Job application preparation
• Interview (including phone/video interview) preparation
• Setting yourself apart
• What NOT to do!
• Volunteer / work experience opportunities
• Professional development

Finding your career niche / Progressing your career

• Specialising
• Quality projects opportunities in nutrition
• Education opportunities in nutrition
• Research opportunities in nutrition
• Conference / presentation opportunities

Supervision and mentoring

• Finding the right supervisor

Innovation in dietetics

• Identifying gaps
• Pitching your idea
• Introduction to grants and proposals

Delivery

• Online
• 2hr workshop
• 2 sessions - one evening, one weekend
• ‘Take home’ toolkit of resources