Nutrition Careers

  • Dietitian Career Advice, Productivity

    Jenny’s Best Advice for Starting a Business

    Ready to create your own business but have no idea where to start? Here are Jenny’s top tips on how to turn your dream business into reality!

    Jenny Westerkamp, RD, CSSD, is the founder of All Access Dietetics and Chicago Bulls, Nutritionist. She is a very successful entrepreneur who loves sharing her business tips with dietetic students and registered dietitians to help them reach their dream jobs.

    Commit to yourself and your business!

    Taking the first step is always the hardest. It can be scary to start a business but move past that fear. Find your niche and start planning exactly what you want to do and what you wish the goal of your business to be. Commit to turning this plan into action. Discovering what your goal is will help you to set the foundation for your business. Check out my Life-Changing Books to read for inspiration.

    Put in the time and manage your time wisely.

    Once you pinpoint your niche, it’s time to get to work. Starting a business is a lot of work. Schedule time daily to work on your business plan and learn more about building a business’s logistical side. Write to-do lists or plan one thing to work on each day. See how you can best fill your time to be productive. If you currently operate a nine-to-five job, find time in your day where you can focus only on building your business. Explore different career options that might offer a more flexible schedule so that you can put more time into your business. Your business is a commitment, and it is your responsibility to find time to put it together.

    Grow your social media.

    Social media plays a significant role in businesses today. It is helpful in both marketing and setting a tone for your brand. Social media also helps you to network. Take a class on building social media. The lesson I took to grow my social media was Beat the Algorithm by the College Nutritionist. Check it out here!

    Take a business course.

    Registered dietitians build significant business courses to help guide new businesses through the starting process. Rise to the Top is a virtual business course created by Maggie Michalczyk, RDN, and Mary Ellen Phipps, MS, RDN that helps dietitians grow their social media, stand out as an expert, and create a profitable business. It focuses on everything from marketing to billing and taxes, making it great for entrepreneurs.

    DietitianHQ is another excellent program that offers both membership training and a 4-day symposium for entrepreneurs. A seminar is an online event offering masterclasses from successfully registered dietitians who have been in your shoes.

    The Unconventional RD business Bootcamp offers three courses about content building, making income, and email marketing. Finding dietitians who help dietitians build businesses is a great way to start your brand while supporting the profession!

    Get a business coach.

    Starting a business is complicated and confusing, especially if you have never done it before. Get a business coach to help guide you. They created a company by helping others to develop a business. Cultivate Advisors is one example to check out!

    Business coaches genuinely want to help you and your business to succeed. They can offer great tips to help get you off the ground. They can give insight into the parts of building a business you did not expect to have. Investing in your business early will help you to make it with fewer setbacks.

    Don’t reinvent the wheel.

    There are so many resources already out there to help entrepreneurs make their businesses thrive. Teachable allows you to create beautiful online courses, so you can share your knowledge without worrying about creating a new platform.

    The Better Nutrition Program offers dietitians an easy way to gain information from their patients and clients. Their nutrition assessment tools are easy to use and analyze, which help you to make recommendations for your patient’s health efficiently.

    Surround yourself with people who support your business.

    Never be afraid to ask for help! Surround yourself with people who encourage your vision and plan. There will be bumps in the road, and having people to lean on or talk about these challenges will be crucial as you continue to build. Your support system may offer different perspectives or be your best listener. Let yourself have a cheerleader! You do not have to do this alone.

    Get Excited!

    This is your business! It is your passion. Get excited about it! The more excited you are about your business, the easier it will be to put in the tireless time and effort to get it off the ground. The feeling you get when you put in the work and create your passion, knowing the success is truly your own, is unlike any other. Have fun building your business, knowing it is YOURS.

    PS. If becoming a successful and very knowledgeable registered dietitian is in your future, grab one of our FREE toolkits! 

     

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  • Dietitian Career Advice

    Best Job Search Tips for New Dietitians

    You’ve done the hard work- completed a DPD program, a Bachelor’s degree, a 1200 hour dietetic internship, and passed the national registration exam. You are now a registered dietitian! You’re ready to land your first job as an RD, but… where do you even begin? Below are my top tips to help you land the position of your dreams.

    Get clear on your goals. 

    After completing rotations in various areas, you may know what position you would like to work in. Was clinical not your thing? What about food service? Narrow down your niche, and then use LinkedIn, practice groups, Instagram, and even Google to help you create your goals and find inspiration from other RDs.

    Network. 

    Dietetics is a relatively small field, so use your current network to help you succeed. Is your past preceptor connected to a dietitian you admire on LinkedIn? Reach out and ask for an introduction. There’s no harm in trying, and it’s ok to do some creepy searching for the sake of your dream job!

    Use social media.

    Before you begin job searching, make sure your social media presence is professional and represents you well. Next, join virtual groups dedicated to RD job searching, research potential organizations through their social media pages, and learn more about open positions by studying them online. This will help you learn about the organization and role you are applying for and can help you have a great interview.

    Use the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

    The Academy has various resources that can help you learn your worth, such as the compensation packet. This packet shares up-to-date knowledge of salaries for different niches in the field. Use the salary calculator to determine the average income for your education, experience, and even location! 

    Prepare. 

    Once you land an interview, do your best to be ready. Our Get Hired Coaching will teach you how to restate the question, provide 2-3 points or a STAR theory, and answer with a clear conclusion that ties into the company or role. Extra preparation for an interview can set you apart and help you land your dream job sooner. 

    While the job application process may be new and overwhelming, using these tips and tricks will lead you down the right path. Do you think you would benefit from extra help in this process? Check out the Get Hired Course to help you showcase your talents, sell yourself to employers, and stand out from the competition. 

    PS. We have so many great career resources to help you land your dream job!

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  • Dietitian Career Advice, Student Life

    5 Unexpected Nutrition Jobs

    This list is sure to get you excited about the unique opportunities and possibilities in store for your future in dietetics.

    Did you know there is an American Overseas Dietetic Association and even pet dietitians? One of the remarkable things about dietetics is that there are so many routes one can pursue. Here’s a list of 5 unexpected jobs in nutrition that may spark your interest. 

    1. OVERSEAS DIETITIAN

    Kate Campbell is a registered dietitian with Commonwealth Healthcare Corp on the island of Saipan. After five years without a dietitian, she was hired by the hospital to build up the dietary department. Read her interview with Nutrition Awareness here.

    2. FARMER RD

    Once an ICU dietitian, Diana Dyer decided to pursue a different end of the dietetics spectrum by focusing on disease prevention as an RD-Farmer and “growing the food her community needs to become a healthy community.”  Read more about what her job entails here.

    3. PLAYWRIGHT RD

    Barbara Storper was asked to give a presentation on nutrition at an inner-city school. To connect with the children in “their language,” she utilized juggling, audience participation, magic, and more. Her shows have been a tremendous success and have now reached more than 3 million school children across the country. Read more about her here.

    4. CULINARY TRENDOLOGIST

    Kara Nielsen identifies new food trends and advises her clients, for example, restaurants, on what will be prominent in the food world and when. This job requires love for research as she’s frequently studying menus across the country and the news for new information. Read an interview with Kara here.

    5. PET NUTRITION CLINICIAN

    Helen Porter is a pet nutrition clinician from Porter Pet Pals Animal Nutrition Services. She focuses on providing services to those animals in need of a nutrition care plan or diet management, according to her interview with Today’s Dietitian. Read more about her tips for pet RD’s here.

    BONUS: Do you want to learn more about unique dietitian jobs? The FREE Dietitian Dream Jobs e-book is for you! 75+ exciting careers for registered dietitians. Click here to get this free e-book straight to your inbox.

    P.S. Read about Founder Jenny Westerkamp’s unique career path in entrepreneurship and sports nutrition! Plus, she shares lessons learned along the way!

    P.P.S. Read more about various nutrition-related jobs here and here.

     

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