Unemployment is climbing at an alarming rate. It is no wonder many of us are constantly looking for surefire ways to land a job; possibly going as far as lowering salary expectations. Many colleges have career centers to help students gain employment. Typically on campus career centers offer face-to-face help with building resumes, improving interview techniques, and providing leads to jobs.
I frequently visited the on campus career center when I was working on my associate degree. I noticed that the center wasn’t fully utilized by students. I could walk in at any time and get immediate assistance because there weren’t anyone waiting. On the other hand, there was a guaranteed long wait at the financial aid office. Keep in mind that this was almost a year ago in the midst of the country’s financial break down.
I never really understood why hardly anyone was waiting for help at the career center but there were always long lines at the financial aid office – just putting things in perspective.
Currently I am working on my bachelor’s degree online, while being gainfully employed. I’m often asked for tips on getting a job without experience. Landing a job without experience is one of the obstacles many students and new graduates face in the health information management field. There are many HIM jobs available that requires years of experience and some jobs are posted for a long time before anyone is actually hired. This can be very frustrating for students and new graduates.
The following is a list of strategies for landing a job in any industry:
1. Students utilize your on campus career center. Of course, this tip is only applicable to a student who is attending school close to where they live. Also, this tip is only helpful if your school actually has an on campus career center. Note that community colleges will usually offer this to their students. I am amazed at the number of students who are in the job market and are not seeking assistance from available resources at school. Don’t have a career center? Okay then ask your academic advisor for assistance with finding a job. Your academic advisor may have useful job leads. You will never know until you ask.
2. Resumes must be specific to the job posted. Some students make the dreadful mistake of having one general resume that they upload for different job types. For example, if you are applying for an entry level position as a Health Information Technician and have zero experience, the resume should highlight courses you completed related to the job description – such as computer technology classes. On the other hand, if you are applying for a medical coding position without any experience, the resume must highlight your coding credentials or successful completion of advance coding classes. If you’ve completed anatomy and physiology or pathophysiology classes, definitely highlight this information too as these courses are actually the foundation to mastering clinical documentation and becoming an expert medical coder.
The goal is to make sure your resume captures key words related to the job description to avoid getting lost in cyberspace or filed in the trash can.
3. Create a professional email address. Many of you already know this is common sense but you would be surprised how many people use inappropriate email and usernames when networking for jobs. For example, if your email address is cherrylips@domain.com or mostwanted@domain.com – don’t be surprised if you are not getting any replies to your resume.
4. Network, Network, and Network. Inform your instructors, professors, classmates, family, and friends that you are job hunting. I must admit that my instructor provided some leads to available hospital positions after I made her aware of my difficulty finding a job. One of those leads opened the door to an entry level position in a hospital’s Health Information Management Department via a temp agency. After 4 months, the Director offered me permanent employment for a higher level position with better pay and benefits.
5. Attitude, Attitude, and Attitude. Another tip that should be common sense is to maintain a positive and professional attitude at all times. I am dumbfounded by negative attitudes from a few students about entry level positions. I’ve learned that professors and managers are constantly observing my behavior. My attitude is to always go beyond the call of duty. I may have learned that in my past while working in retail with the goal of provided 100% customer satisfaction. I’ve always applied this particular work ethic. For example, when I started working PRN as a temp my attitude was to give 200% to the HIM department. My attitude is no problem with a smile if my supervisor needed me to perform functions that were outside the tasks of what I was hired.
I am hungry to learn everything I could about the department and gain as much experience as possible. Initially I was hired to prep and scan medical charts and I would set my own daily goals to complete more charts than the previous day. When I was asked to pick up ambulatory discharge charts – my attitude was no problem with a smile. When I was asked to pick up inpatient charts from all 3 buildings and all 6 floors of the hospital –without a map – my attitude was no problem and with a smile.
Unbeknownst to me, upper management was observing my work ethics and unbeknownst to them I really enjoyed the work. I would have done the job without pay to gain experience, which leads me to my final piece of advice.
6. Volunteer to gain experience. Does the job post require experience? Consider volunteering for about 6 months. You could choose to volunteer 8 hours a day or 8 hours a week. The goal is to prove your worth while strengthening your resume. When I’m asked by my peers about getting a job and I suggest volunteering – they tend to look puzzled. I understand that the goal for many students is to get a job to make money but honestly you aren’t losing anything when volunteering. Consider volunteering while continuing your job search. This may help you stand out as a better candidate during an interview. Thus it may open doors at the place you are volunteering or open other doors.
Good luck pounding the pavement or pounding Google during your job hunt.
