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For Melissa Byington, the last 20 years wouldn’t have been possible without the support of everyone around her. From her early days as a physician recruiter to later becoming president of our CompHealth locum tenens division to her newest role as group president at CHG, Melissa grew personally and professionally by learning from others.
In fact, she credits her longevity with CHG to the people around her who’ve made a difference in her life. Here’s what else Melissa had to say about her career over the last two decades.
What is your most memorable moment at CHG so far?
There are too many to count! But, to be honest, it’s still that very first pediatrics placement I made 20 years ago. I felt so proud to get my doc working at Geisinger as we’d had the job for a while prior to me joining the team and we hadn’t been able to fill it.
There’s nothing like the rush of booking days. I was hooked!
Now, 20 years later, I can say physician staffing is my passion, it’s my hobby and I can’t imagine doing anything else.
If you had to choose one thing, what would you credit your success to?
Since the beginning of my career here, I’ve been blessed to have lots of people along the way who’ve given me feedback. Whether that’s been a teammate, a coach, a mentor or those who’ve supported me in other ways, it has really been the collective group that has kept me here and made me successful.
More importantly, it has been through the examples of others I’ve been lucky enough to work for and alongside that I’ve learned that feedback is a gift. Nobody is perfect; we all have something we can work on.
If you could go back 20 years to when you first started out, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
It would be to focus more energy on what I’m good at rather than where I fall short. I believe we should all spend the vast majority of our focus on developing our strengths. Of course, we should work on weaknesses so that they don’t derail success, but we shouldn’t spend all of our effort there. When we develop those areas where we naturally excel, that is when we can become the best version of who we already are.
What advice do you have for others looking to grow their career?
You are responsible for your own success — own it! Don’t set limits for yourself. Try and find something you are passionate about by taking on new challenges and experiencing new things.
I would also say to speak your mind and share your ideas. Learn to be constructive in your feedback and always contribute.
