Résumé Rules for Health Care Industry Job Applicants

 

By Rick Fromme

Looking to launch or further your career in the health care industry? You may be in luck. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that more than 25% of the new jobs created nationwide between 2013 and 2018 will be in the health care. There are millions of people working in some capacity in health

resumes (Photo credit: realisticresumes)

 care, whether it’s in hospitals, doctors’ offices, clinics, hospices, other facilities or even doing home health care.  Similarly there are an additional 1.1 million industry-supporting jobs, such as in medical sales – pharmaceutical, biotech, medical devices and other technologies. While the overall projection for positions in the industry remain positive, competition for lucrative positions remains tough.

Unless you’re fortunate to inherit a family business in the health care industry, more than likely you’re going to need to a résumé that’s spot on, guaranteed to get you invited to the all-important job interview.  It’s an advertisement of your skills, experience, knowledge and education presented in their most favorable light.

Do an Online Search

Do an online search and/or go to your local bookstore and you’ll find hundreds of articles and periodicals pertaining to how to write a good résumé. Bob McIntosh, an established career trainer, empathizes with applicants when he writes: “Do you heed the advice of professional résumé writers, recrui

David Bruce Jr LinkedIn Profile (Photo credit: Frederick Md Publicity)

ters, HR, or hiring managers? They all offer good advice, but their advice will be different. In fact, you can ask 20 résumé experts their opinions on how you should write your résumé, and you’ll get 20 different answers. So who is correct?”

While not wanting to be perceived as flippant in saying “Who the heck knows?” the truth is, it’s the person reviewing the résumé s the who decides to invite you in for an interview. Or not.  Short of using computers to search for delineated keywords, résumé reviewers can be somewhat subjective when perusing through hundreds of them.

           

It takes a medical recruiter or hiring manager reading a résumé about 12 seconds or less to know if they want to read more or move on to the next candidate. Hence, your résumé, at a minimum, needs to be concise, easy-to-read, error-free and impressive. No problem, right?

 Always post your résumé whenever possible because many recruiters rely on résumé keyword search to source new candidates. It should contain very specific keywords that reflect your specialties, job functions and, if applying for a job in medical sales, specific product categories sold. Similarly, a résumé that doesn’t include industry buzzwords won’t garner an interview and will likely end up in the trash. Recruiters want to see you know what’s trending in the health care field, what industry keywords mean, and why they’re important. Know and use them. But don’t overdo it, either.

Recruiters Store Résumés in Databases

Recruiters store résumés in databases and use keywords to find potential applicants. A résumé that doesn’t include relevant keywords is essentially non-existent  because it won’t show up when the 

Graphviz Keywords (Photo credit: Aldon)

recruiters do a keyword search. Health care resumes should have relevant keywords spangled throughout. Use language that is pertinent to the desired position.

Don’t just list your past jobs – detail them: A bullet point list of the jobs you’ve held doesn’t give  a hiring manager enough information to make your resume stand out. Whenever possible, you want to show quantifiable results with numbers, dollars and percentages. Short of that, you want to highlight accomplishments  you achieved while at each job, not simply list the duties you performed.

Keep it concise: Remember that aforementioned 12-second figure? That’s why it’s critical your résumé is succinctly written, logically formatted and free of distracting and unnecessary extras such as graphs and graphics. Include only the most relevant information and keep your  résumé  to two pages, maximum, providing you have the experience and accomplishments to back it up. Most pundits say information such as personal and professional references should not be included in your résumé. Along with your contact information, it should reflect two concepts: your relevant experience with highlighted accomplishments and education. 

Recruiters usually receive hundreds of résumés for most positions. How, within just a few seconds, do you make yours stand out? One way is by having a compelling summary paragraph or objective at the top of the first page. The summary paragraph should be thought of as your sales pitch. If the summary paragraph isn’t enticing, the recruiter may not even continue reading the rest of the page. The summary paragraph should highlight your education/certifications, work experience, and accomplishments. Specialized training, medical volunteer work, and awards are examples of items that can make your stand out.

Modified Google Reader (Photo credit: mattjb)

Your résumé should not only be aesthetically appealing, but visually readable. While containing as much pertinent information as possible, there should still be plenty of white space to let the  page “breathe.” Employers who read hundreds of  résumés will glance at them for as few as 10 to 12 seconds before deciding to read them at length. Make yours scannable by writing shorter word blocks, three to four lines at most. Use pithy bullet point phrases whenever possible. Don’t use fancy fonts that are difficult to read. But take advantage of italicizing and bolding specific text, use larger font sizes, etc. There should be a logical, organizational flow to your résumé.

While it certainly takes more work for the applicant, most recruiters recommend tailoring your résumé to each job to which you’re applying. Employers don’t want a one-size-fits-all résumé  that doesn’t address their needs or follow the job description. Health care professionals should customize their résumé for each job; not doing so is a mistake. For example, a résumé for a hospital opening  shouldn’t be the same as one for a position at an orthopedic surgeon’s practice.

Things to Consider

Some  résumé experts recommend including a one-line description of each company you worked for. Whether it was a small, specialized firm or a major international conglomerate, it  may matter to a prospective employer.  Others maintain that if you were in medical sales, you should  detail what you were selling and to whom, particularly if you’ve served a well-known client.

resume (Photo credit: ruSh.Me)

No employer cares what you want; they only care about what they want and need. If you happen can solve their problems and fulfill their needs, they’ll love you. Eschew the self-serving 
objective statements such as “Seeking a position in a progressive company where I can utilize my journalism skills.”

Your résumé needs to show relevance. Employers are interested in the past 10 or 15 years of your work history; in some cases less. Age discrimination may also be a concern, so don’t show all 25-30 years of your work life.

A poorly formatted résumé is almost sure to end up in the discard pile. Hiring managers need to be able to quickly scan over a resume to identify if the job seeker is a good fit. If the résumé is difficult to read, it won’t be. A good résumé has a consistent format throughout, has bold headers, and is usually in chronological order – unless it’s a functional resume. Ensure your job history, specialized training and education are clearly formatted and are easily discernable.

A mistake many new job seekers make is padding their résumé to make it longer. Health care recruiters don’t want to know you once worked at McDonald’s. If the information isn’t relevant to the position you’re applying, don’t include it. It’s better to have a short résumé than to have one with irrelevant information. If you lack job experience, you may highlight your education, academic achievements and/or training, or relevant volunteer experience.

It’s helpful to look at résumés of coworkers in similar fields. Of course, there are myriad examples online. In addition to using your computer’s spell check tool, it’s a good idea to have several other people read over your résumé as well, not only for content, but for formatting as well.

A good  résumé functions as a tool and work of art, whereas a poorly constructed  résumé can be a wrecking ball and a masterpiece of self-destruction.

Rick Fromme combines entrepreneurial enthusiasm with an insider's knowledge of the medical industry to co-found MedMasters.com. Both his drive and perspective help provide health care professionals with a superior mechanism with which to communicate, network and market their strengths. Prior to founding MedMasters.com, Rick operated a highly successful medical device distributorship. Other milestones in his 12-year career in the medical industry include a key position at a medical device start-up company that was later sold to the Ethicon Endo division of Johnson & Johnson.You can also reach Rick by connecting with him on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Youtube. 

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