When you first set out to find healthcare jobs, you should carefully consider what your own requirements and parameters are going to be; this will help you narrow down the areas you intend to look at but at the same time, you should also maintain an open mind as there are so many different opportunities available which will require your existing skills acquired from what may initially look like it is a completely unrelated field. For instance if you are performing searched on “jobs healthcare administration” you may not have considered that your experience and the skills you have acquired will stand you in good stead for a position in medical sales; the truth is you will be considered a serious candidate!
Here are our top ten tips for getting a job in the medical sector:
Tip Number 1
Look at what an employer is asking for before you rush in an application. Understand the requirements and think very carefully about how your own skills, experience, and qualifications match the needs of the potential employer. Personalize your resume so that you highlight the skills and experience you have which match the needs of the employer directly. You do not want to have important and germane qualities hiding in the text of your resume; if an employer is looking for qualifications in nuclear medicine as an absolute requirement, then your qualifications in the resume should have them front and center and in bold. Remember the employer is going to be looking at dozens of resumes and they should not be expected to go digging for your qualities – this is the first initiative test you are being set by the employer so do not fail!
Tip Number 2
Use accurate and up-to-date information on job vacancies as this is crucial to helping you gain a thorough understanding of what an employer is looking for. Frequently, an employer will change or amend the vacancy listing as they gain experience of communicating with candidates themselves and this is vital information for you to use. Only use a web site, which is dedicating staff and resources to sifting through vacancy information and continuously updating the listing database. If they do not have this function, simply ignore them as you are going to be wasting time, effort, and money.
Use only web resources, which specialize in the health sector; general web sites are simply not able to deliver the degree of detail you will require in your job search.
Tip Number 3
Candidates do not pay fees or commissions to be placed with an employer – this is not usual or customary business practice as it is the employer who pays such costs if they are pre-arranged. You should subscribe to a listings service, which will incur a nominal fee, but make sure that it is not charging employers to list as this restricts the number of vacancies that such a service will be able to offer to you. Always ensure you get a free trial of a listings service before you commit to paying your money for membership.
Tip Number 4
Control your resume and ensure that you are the one who decides who gets to see it and under what circumstances. If a web resource is unable to provide you with the tools to manage your resume then you should not use it. Your resume is an important document, which allows you to get a foot in the employer’s door, and it reflects directly upon you both in the quality of the resume itself and how it is used. Avoid recruiters and services, which simply economize your resume and mass, market it to a listing of possible employers – it is unprofessional and unlikely to solicit the type of positive response from a potential employer that you are hoping for.
Tip Number 5
Take time to research your potential employer and prepare the ground thoroughly by educating yourself on the industry and market within which they operate. This will dramatically improve your confidence and especially when it comes time to be interviewed. More than this, if you are able to cut down those positions you are not interested in, you will be free to concentrate on those areas of the market which you feel are more suitable, making you more effective and far more likely to get the job you are after. In addition, it is all too apparent to an experienced recruiter or interviewer which candidates has taken the time to prepare for the selection process and which ones are just “winging” it; don’t allow yourself to be classed as the latter!
Tip Number 6
The jobs market is fiercely competitive and in order to make headway you must differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack; in marketing terms this is known as differentiation or branding and in simple business terms, it is known as developing a competitive advantage. We have touched very briefly on paying for a listings or vacancy database, but you may question why bother with this at all given that so many employers advertise vacancies on free listings sites? The answer is simple; not every employer does this and nowhere near is every vacancy ever listed on a free web site. More than this, the service is free to users which means you are looking at the same restricted pool of listings as the rest of your competition; in no shape or form have you created any competitive advantage by accessing information open to everyone else!
Tip Number 7
Listing services must continuously update their information on a 24/7 365 day basis – if they do not, do not use them!
Tip Number 8
Only use web services, which specialize in the medical sector – general vacancy web sites, do not carry enough detail for the information to be worthwhile to you.
Tip Number 9
Arrive for your interview well groomed and punctually. Sounds stupid but it is so simple. You are almost guaranteed that one or more of your competing candidates will not do this – it is an easy win for you so just do it!
Tip Number 10
Try applying for positions, which are beyond your comfort zone; try applying for a vacancy you feel is above your pay grade or slightly above your experience levels.
If you are being called for interviews for these positions then rethink your entire strategy based on how employers see you rather than yourself.
You may be very surprised at the result!
