Pursuing a job in the healthcare industry is not always a simple task. Even when it seems as if countless positions are available, the competition can be quite tough and getting your foot in the door may feel next to impossible. One single job may elicit hundreds of applicants. So, the question is, how do you get yourself noticed? How do you secure an interview for a highly-coveted job?
If you are currently pursuing a career in the healthcare industry, the one tool you have to get yourself noticed and give you a fighting chance over other applicants is your resume. Before an employer is going to schedule any interviews, he or she is going to first look over the resumes which have been submitted to figure out which ones seem to show promise. You can't expect an employer to waste time on conducting an interview if the applicant is not qualified for the position in question, doesn't have the necessary skills or does not have sufficient experience to meet their current demands. Resumes are how employers narrow the field.
It is for this reason you need to invest the time in making sure your resume fits the bill. While updating your resume can be one of the most time-consuming steps when beginning a job search, it is also one of the most essential. Without a good resume, your chances of getting noticed diminish dramatically.
These five factors must be included in your resume if you want any chance of securing an interview:
Clear Statement of Your Objective
In this section of your resume, you will need to make a clear statement of your objective and where it is you intend your career to go. Of course your main objective is to get the job, but you also need to lay out your career direction, while at the same time letting the employer know you are an exact match for the position they need to fill.
Don't make a generic statement here. Lay out where you have been and where you plan to go as a result of your employment with their company. Regardless of your past jobs and experience, your objective can help catch an employer's eye and let him or her know they've found an ideal match.
Complete Summation of Your Education
Adding a complete, yet concise, summary of your education is key in letting a potential employer know you have the degrees and/or qualifications they have deemed necessary. For example, a company looking for a Physical Therapist Assistant will want to know the applicant they are interviewing has completed an accredited PTA program, obtained an associate's degree and is licensed to work in the state where the company is located. Just because someone has experience as an Executive Assistant doesn't mean he or she is qualified to be a PTA.
Listing your education and degrees towards the top of your resume will make it easy for a potential employer to see you have what is takes.
Your Job Experience
The job experience section of your resume needs to include a list of jobs you have worked regardless of whether it was full-time, part-time, as an intern or independent contractor. At the very least, you'll need to list:
- Names of the companies where you were employed.
- City and state where each was located.
- Position you held (If you held multiple positions, list the last one you held.)
- Period you were in the company's employ. (This should be listed Month/Year to Month/Year.)
- A brief description or bullet list highlighting the responsibilities you had.
This list should be complete, yet need not drag on and on. Be brief in your summation. Include any important information or data you consider relevant to the position for which you are applying. Structure this section so it is easy for an employer to scan over your past employment and see how you might fit into their organization.
Specific Achievements
Listing out your specific achievements is a way to allow employers to see what you brought to your previous companies and what you could potentially bring should you be hired. Here is where you can list specific examples of how you:
- Saved the company time
- Improved sales and income potential
- Sped up production
- Improved quality of services
- Initiatives you introduced
- A positive difference you made
- Successful projects you were part of or ran
- Organizational issues you resolved
Be sure to use percentages and numbers to highlight extent of your achievements.
A Detailed List of Your Skills
This next section should be a detailed list of your skills. Depending on the position for which you are applying, your skills could either help you secure an interview or lose out on a job for which you may be the ideal candidate.
If you are applying to be a physical therapist, you'll want to include not only your science and motor skills but also your ability to plan health care treatments, work as a member of a team, provide detailed instructions to patients, understand patients' needs, observe and diagnose different situations, make decisions, problem solve, as well as have strong communication abilities.
Now this may be just the beginning of a good resume, however it will give you a good start.
For a more in-depth look at what it takes to produce a powerful resume potential employers are bound to read, I urge you to download this eBook. If you are interested in having your resume written for you, The People Link offers a professional resume writing service as well.
The People Link is a professional recruitment service specializing in finding and placing qualified healthcare candidates in positions across the country. To find out more about the various job-seeker services we offer, please visit our website or call 888-773-0014 for a free, no-obligation consultation.
