Opticians assist patients who have vision problems by conducting tests to determine the nature of their problems and writing prescriptions for glasses, contact lenses and other types of visual aids. Typically, optician recruitment often involves licensed optometrists placing job advertisements in local newspapers or journals. In other instances, eye care companies take a more proactive approach to recruiting which may involve visits to college campuses or head hunting.
Laws in some areas require opticians to have high school diplomas but people can sometimes take on these jobs without having completed any vocational courses or college classes. Nevertheless, many employers prefer to recruit individuals who have studied associates degree programs in eye care or optometry because people who have completed these courses are better prepared to start work than untrained entry-level recruits. Some eye care professionals conduct optician recruitment on the campuses of high schools, community colleges and universities. These individuals may encourage high school students to enroll in eye care training courses in college in which case these firms are creating a supply line of future opticians. People attending careers fairs at colleges may make jobs offers to students that are contingent upon the students successfully completing the college course.
In some parts of the world, opticians have to complete a licensing training course before they can begin work. Some employers offer apprenticeships to high school graduates and the people involved in these programs receive on-the-job training before taking the licensing exam. To cut costs, other firms prefer to hire already trained professionals in which case optician recruitment may take the form of placing targeted advertisements in industry journals on eye care related websites.
The demand for opticians outstrips the supply of trained professionals in some areas and medical companies in these parts of the world often enlist the help of staffing agencies during the optician recruitment process. These agencies proactively contact eye care professionals who work for other firms in different regions and attempt to persuade these professionals to switch employers. Some agencies that recruit for firms based in Western nations heavily promote vacant positions in less affluent regions because opticians in these countries can potentially earn much more by moving to more developed nations. In such instances, the recruitment agency may have to assist prospective candidates with completing emigration paperwork and applying for the necessary work permits. For logistical reasons, recruitment firms attempt to identify candidates who have second language skills and some firms prefer to hire trained opticians who have completed language degree programs.
