career Archives - RDH Resumes and Career Guidance

Launching Your 2017 Dental Hygiene Job Search

December 26, 2016 By Doug Perry, Dental Hygiene Resume Coach

One year ago today, were you happy with your job or was 2016 supposed to be the year you got something better? Now, think ahead, what do you want one year from now – to still be thinking about making a move or to have done it?

The week between Christmas and New Years Day is perfect for career reflection. A lot of the busy-ness and stress are over and you are coasting into a fresh start. But don’t coast into 2017 without a career plan and goal.

Let’s get really intentional with your career moves in 2017 so you aren’t reflecting on what COULD have been in 2017. Here are five steps to help you take action and make the move that may change the course of your entire life, or at the very least your career. Leave the regrets of 2016 behind and let’s get this train moving in a direction YOU want.

Step 1: Clearly Identify Your Market

Get really clear on the offices or companies you want to work for. It could be a geographic area or it could be offices you have hand-picked. It’s really important to create a clear target because all of your efforts to market yourself to those employers can become much more organized, precise, and efficient. If you start with a bigger list (say more than 100 offices) that’s okay. You will likely narrow it some as you go.

Put that list into a spreadsheet program, including the name of the practice or company, address, email address, website and social media addresses, maybe even a key contact or two that either works for that office or has some other connection to them. If you need help generating a list of offices in your area, let me know and I can point you to some resources for that.

As I mentioned above, refinements to the list will come so think of this is a living document that evolves. New offices will open, and others will close. Additional connections with key people will be made. Make notes about each office as you go because this is too important to simply trust to your memory.

Step 2: Create Your Printed Materials

There are several printed materials you need for a successful career move. Most think a resume will be enough. Maybe it was about 20 years ago, but you really need to do more to stand out. So here’s a list of things to create:

Business Cards: Just get an inexpensive set that matches your postcard and resume (you can see samples of how I did that here).
Postcards: For clinical dental hygiene, these will take your job search to a more pro-active level.
Resume: Make sure it’s different (in a good way) – that it grabs attention is succinct and easy for an employer to find what they are looking for.
Cover Letter: Even if an employer doesn’t ask for one, include it. It’s a nice summary or way to introduce yourself and connect with employers in a way a resume simply can’t. And, if others aren’t providing one, you have just created an additional way to stand out.
Testimonial Sheet: It’s one thing for you to say how great you are, but far more convincing when others are saying it. Testimonial sheets are a fantastic way to show you are the type of job seeker that goes the extra mile.
CAR Sheet: Employers are influenced by stories and examples and if you can give them actual ways in which you have made a difference, you’ll be hard to ignore. CAR sheets paint a more clear picture of who you are as an employee.
Thank You Cards: Have these ready to send out when you complete an interview. Most won’t send them, so when you do it demonstrates you value customer service and the experience patients get when they have you as their hygienist.
Post-Interview Summary: This is yet another way to stay at the top of an employer’s mind once the interview is over. It’s a great reminder of your strengths and how you are the perfect match for them.

Step 3: Create Your Digital Materials

Employers like being able to find more information about you – studies show that more than 90% will “Google” your name. Rather than have them stumble on to something you don’t want them to find or to confuse you with someone else with your same name, give them a place online to learn more about you that YOU control. Here are a few suggestions:

Personal Website: It’s very inexpensive to create a personal website and that’s why more and more hygienists are doing it. It’s a form of career posturing and positioning. Employers will see the extent of your professionalism. Moreover, a personal website demonstrates that you are current with the times, tech-savvy, and take your career very serious (all of which are things they want in new employees).
LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn is an easy (and free) way to create a digital professional footprint. Of all the social media platforms, LinkedIn is the career-oriented one. It also gives you some additional tools for connecting with other professionals, performing job searches, and receiving professional endorsements of your skills. I offer an over-the-phone training to help educate hygienists about all the tools LinkedIn offers so let me know if you are interested in that.
Facebook & Twitter: Both Facebook and Twitter are also great ways to show employers you are serious about dental hygiene. Sure, lots of people use them strictly for social purposes, but if a potential employer finds your Facebook page it’s a good idea to have them seeing you share things that show you have a passion for dental hygiene. Along with your personal page, you can create a unique Facebook page for the purposes of your career – see what I created for my wife Tracie here.
YouTube: Have you ever thought about creating a video resume? You can create them with or without actual video, but they too can be very effective at engaging a potential employer in what it is that makes you different. Here is my wife’s original resume video and a sample one I created for her that is more of a slide show. Don’t judge, they are a little old, but you will get the spirit of what we accomplished with them.

Step 4: Practice Your Interview Skills

Job interviews are intimidating. But if you spend lots of time preparing, you can actually become quite good at them. Rehearse and practice what your responses will be to some of the most common questions. I would suggest that you practice answering each question a good dozen times so you REALLY know what you want to say and can rattle if off without the “ums” and other awkward pauses. Use your phone or some other device to record yourself so you can see how you sound and make adjustments, same goes with practicing in a mirror.

Prepare yourself mentally by creating a routine and a plan (when you will leave, how you will get there, and things to bring with you such as the office phone number in case you are late) so you aren’t thrown off by unexpected things. Practice some deep breathing techniques to slow your pulse down while you are waiting to be interviewed. Channel the neocortex (or rational) part of your brain and learn to relax your amygdala (the “fight or flight” side).

The more relaxed you are, the better you will be able to focus on and note potential red flags in both the interview and in the office culture and environment. And be ready to ask some good questions of the interviewer – not to put them on the spot but to show them you are serious about your career.

Step 5: Launch Your Campaign

Once you have all your materials lined up and ready to go, start applying to jobs as they get posted on Craigslist and other job posting boards in your area.

Okay, that’s the obvious part.

But take it step further, by sending out a set of postcards to your target list of practices (if you are seeking a clinical position). Then jump into some networking, both in-person (through component meetings) and online through groups, forums, and LinkedIn connections.

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. The secret to networking, however, is in what you can do to help others. When you get out and help others solve problems they have (even very very minor), they will feel compelled to help you.

And the final piece of advice I can give is to never give up. Job searches can be very discouraging at times – you have to remind yourself of that. For every good day, there’s a disappointing day. Everyone gets rejected for jobs (usually lots of them). Sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise, but the main thing is to keep plugging away at it – there is a job out there for you but it may not be open just yet.

I almost hate to put numbers on it because it can be so vastly different from individual to individual, depending on a wide variety of circumstances. However, it’s very normal for a job search to take 30-90 days. If it’s taking you longer than this, then consider that you may not be putting in the required effort or doing the types of things that make the biggest difference.

What are those? Well, pretty much everything in this article and even more (see my FAQs page). I’ve covered a lot of ground, but keep in mind there is lots more you can and should try do. Every week I get in 2017 I am going to get into the nitty-gritty details of these things. I will be there for your every step of the way – if you doubt that, see what my former clients say.

If there’s something mentioned in this article you are unsure of or have questions about contact me. If you feel overwhelmed or don’t think you have the time or skill set to do some of these things, then hire me to do it for you.

There’s no shame in it – everyone has different schedules and abilities – sometimes you just need a pro or a little extra help to land a great dental hygiene job.

Now, take action – make 2017 the year you make the move. Get out of the crappy job and into something that is more meaningful to you. Read. Set. Go!

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

October 17, 2016 By Doug Perry, Dental Hygiene Resume Coach

I know for a fact there are many of you out there who are employed but working for an office that isn’t so good – isn’t providing the best care for patients or mistreating you in some way. What do you do?

The truth is, there is no easy answer.

Quitting solves that for you, but not for the patients, and it may create a new problem for you if you haven’t got a better job lined up. Trying to change the culture or practices of an office that is not owned or managed by you can be pretty daunting.

But I do have a few thoughts for you to consider that hopefully will at the very least spawn a solution that is unique to your situation so you can feel like you are moving in the right direction.

Assess the Situation

Take some time to really think through and list all the problems that exist. But next list all the positive things that are going on – with maybe only a very few exceptions there are always at least some positive things about having a job.

You can do this activity in a day if you want, but to be fair I would give it a solid week or two of really evaluating and assessing. Everyone has bad days and you just can’t be accurate when you base everything on one particular day so give it some time.

Very important: Make your assessment away from the office when you don’t feel as threatened or rushed, or are surrounded by the drama of it all.

Analyze and Decide

The results of this should give you an honest answer about the first big question: Should I stay or should I go?

This isn’t as simple as assigning one point for the positives and one for the negatives to determine the direction. Obviously some factors weigh heavier than others. If your boss is doing something outright illegal and your reputation is on the line, that’s probably enough – even with all the positive patient and co-worker relationships, or salary and benefits – to pull the plug.

So give each factor fair consideration when you make the decision.

Now What?

The next big question is this: “If I stay or go, what’s my plan?”

If you stay, you need to put together a meaningful list of things you can do to impact change. It’s likely you will need a series of lots of small things. AND, you also need a deadline. If your small efforts don’t create meaningful change, what is your exit strategy going to be – how will you search for jobs and what’s your goal (for how long)?

If you decide to go, then you you can skip ahead to the exit strategy and start putting plans together for identifying the type of work environment you want and then how to market yourself to attract an employer that has created that type of an environment.

You CAN Bring About Changes

Jumping back to your thought process about making changes in your office. There are ways you can do this. I wrote extensively about leading your boss several months ago. Click here you want to get some specific strategies on that. Likewise, there are things you can do about leading your co-workers better or introducing better systems and policies. Don’t get intimidated by the odds or size of the problems – your patients deserve your best effort in trying to make things work.

There’s a great book called “Influencer” by Joseph Grenny. Watch here and you can see Joseph talk about how organizations can change their culture or behavior in very short order.

Know When to Say When

But there is very definitely a fine line and point where for the protection of your career, your reputation, and your sanity that you have to pull the plug and move on. If after your best efforts and clear analysis of the problem it is not going to move, don’t feel bad in leaving and make plans to do so.

And one more very important tip: Don’t make a bad situation worse by burning bridges. Find a way to gracefully remove yourself from the situation. Make them wish you weren’t leaving.

There is Hope

The longer I do this – consult with hygienists – the more I am convinced there is hope in finding a great job. Many of my dental hygiene clients come to me pretty dejected and beat up – feeling they will never get out of the crappy job they are in or move from unemployed to employed.

But I’ve been privileged and honored to witness some amazing successes with them, enough to know something good will come from your discouragement if you create a meaningful plan and persist. Just hang in there, keep working your networks, find new ways to stand out, invest some time in developing your interview skills and sooner rather than later you will land a great dental hygiene job.

5 Steps to Staying Employable in a Changing World

September 5, 2016 By Doug Perry, Dental Hygiene Resume Coach

It’s no secret the dental hygiene job market is saturated. So staying employable throughout your career will help you maintain industry relevance among employers.

Your relevancy to the industry in the years ahead will require a mix of passion, curiosity, mingled with a mindset and determination to push yourself. That means improving your marketable skills in areas of technique and technology, but also in areas of general industry knowledge and communication savvy.

All of that has a direct bearing on your ability to sell yourself to new offices and your growing network of peers. Never before has the demand for flexibility and growth as a professional been so important. Technology and information is changing and being distributed at increasingly faster rates. This isn’t meant to scare you – you just need to think differently than in the past about managing your career as a dental hygienist.

Here are five steps to taking control and owning your career so as to remain relevant to employers:

Follow the Trends

Notice I didn’t say “join” the trends. It’s way more important to follow the trends so you can decide which ones to join or dismiss. Some industry trends are fleeting and not worth your time, but the only way you will know which ones are valuable or not is if you are following all of them so that you have context.

Outside the dental hygiene world, I am going to take stab that if you were to get into the Pokemon craze of recent weeks/months, you might think you are getting into the latest big thing. You would be wrong. According to a Washington Post article from August 25, the app is starting to see a big decline. So getting in on the latest “thing” isn’t always all that necessary.

To that end, what are dental hygiene’s biggest trends right now? What are people predicting in the next couple of years? How about 10 years from now? Who are the key innovators? If you don’t know any of this, you really owe it to your career to jump in and start paying attention.

Own Your Education

Everyone is required to do CE, right? But what are you doing with that CE? Are you seeking out meaningful CE or just completing hours to keep your license. Those who really want to advance their career will go above and beyond. Sure, not everyone can afford to go to every conference much less take that time off. Here again, your education requires a set of standards that you establish.

Figure out what you can do with the time and resources you have then make the absolute most of it that you can. And, that includes training you don’t get credit for – articles, videos, and other media are all available in great quantities online. And they often only require minutes of your time. My friends over at HygieneEdge are always putting out short how-to videos that you might find helpful. Andrew Johnston and Michelle Strange have been running for almost a year now on an amazing podcast – A Tale of Two Hygienists (check them out in you iTunes store).

Join the Conversation

There are hundreds of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn group pages out there where you can carry on active and productive discussions about all things dental hygiene. These are not only great places to get information, they offer you opportunities to network virtually with your peers. Most of them you will probably never meet in person, but some you could and some of the more localized groups offer you the advantage of combining that virtual convenience with some real-time meet-up opportunities.

So, join, and most importantly participate – give your take on things. That creates a win for everyone!

Don’t Get Stuck in Your Generation

It’s easy to assume you don’t have anything in common with your peers who are much older (or much younger). A huge part of our abilities and skills as professionals comes with practice (advantage older generation), that’s obvious! But there are also tangible benefits to energy and flexibility (advantage newer generation).

With many years of practice and repetition, there’s very little you haven’t experienced – younger generations can and should learn from that. But older generations of hygienists can benefit from the enthusiasm and ability to quickly grasp new technology that younger generations have.

When we get stuck or overly-reliant on strengths of our current generation and don’t look to what we can learn from our counterparts who are either younger or older, we are missing some things that can make us really valuable to both patients and employers.

So make make friends with your peers from every age group – you really need that balance and perspective for the big picture of your career.

Make Career Relevance a Priority

This kind of encompasses everything I’ve already mentioned, but it really does take a shift in attitude to not get caught up in the day-to-day routine of dental hygiene. It’s so important you invest extra time in your career, managing it, planning it, setting goals, forcing yourself outside of your comfort zone, and in general stretching yourself.

One of the biggest things preventing most people from taking the steps to remain relevant is the feeling that there isn’t enough time. So it’s really important to chart it out and take small, steady steps. You don’t have to win the race – others can compete for being first or second or whatever! Slow, steady progress is more than adequate to staying relevant.

It’s just like brushing and flossing – the patient who becomes an incredible at both two or three days before their exam is still going to have cavities and bleeding gums. But by chipping away at it consistently and for just five minutes each day will make all the difference needed.

If it’s not your passion, none of any of this article will make sense to you. But most of you got into dental hygiene because you loved it and were stimulated by the challenge it gave you. All I am proposing is that if you want to keep that love for this industry alive you have to set and keep it as a priority – a personal mission. Standing still is not progress – you are either moving forward or backward.

And, unfortunately, as relevance slips away, you become less employable in an already very competitive market and that makes it hard to land a great dental hygiene job.

Warning Signs Your Office is Headed for Trouble

July 5, 2016 By Doug Perry, Dental Hygiene Resume Coach

Is your dental office environment changing? It’s not uncommon for an office to evolve into something different than what it was when you started working there.

Your office environment includes a lot of things like leadership within your office (boss or bosses), temperament of your co-workers, the workflow, and even the situations and moods of patients you are seeing.

Ideally, you want to be in an office environment that is improving or at least moving in the right direction, even if at a slow pace. But there are lots of offices that are going backward and so it’s important to be aware of some warning signs.

The Revolving Door

Does it seem like new employees just aren’t sticking around? An office with a healthy work environment should be able to retain most of its employees for a fairly lengthy period of time five to 10 years, and even well beyond.

So if your office seems to have this steady flow of hires leaving before their first year is up, or if the doctor has been there forever, but only has one or two employees that have been there forever, too, that’s an indication that the work environment isn’t the best.

Most people generally like to stay for a long time. It’s painful and challenging to change jobs so people often have very good reasons for doing it.

Complaint Control is Out of Control

Almost every office has some level of moaning and complaining about this or that. That is VERY normal – in fact it can actually be a little bit cathartic or therapeutic for co-workers to vent a little bit about patients who just don’t get it or an insurance company that keeps rejecting coverage they should provide.

What you want to watch out for is EXCESSIVE complaining “things,” but even more important is about each other (sometimes a form a gossip). It can be a nasty habit to constantly be complaining about one co-worker to another, and very seldom leads any solutions or long-term job satisfaction for the person complaining, the co-workers hearing the complaints, or the person being complained about.

The bottom line is that complaining can often get out of control if not checked. And that lack of complaint control leads to bad office environment and even bad patient experiences as they can sense the tension, and that can lead to a whole new level of problems for an office.

No Bonding Experiences

Offices need bonding experiences. This could be as simple as harmless inside jokes and gags everyone shares, to having themed dress-up days on Halloween or other occasions, to after-hours office parties and even trips or retreats the boss pays for.

Co-workers need to see and spend time with each other when they can shed the scrubs and lab coats for their “normal” attire. When all we do is work together we soon only see each other as one-dimensional people, and that at best can lead to boredom with each other and at worst foster a culture of criticism and backbiting.

Offices and co-workers who play better together will also work better together, and so if you don’t see any fun or play time it’s a problem.

Disruptive New Hires

Everyone new has the desire to gain the trust and respect of their employer and co-workers. Most new employees are pretty reserved and careful to keep their behavior in check until they get a lay of the land and feel it’s safe to be themselves – preferring to gain respect over time.

But occasionally, a new employee will come in and feel the need to assert themselves right from the start as a way of gaining credibility and trust. And that can create some disruptions that divide the office or alienate some. I’ve seen this lead to showdowns and some pretty ugly situations if the boss is not strong, able to jump in and head things off.

Personal Life of the Boss

There’s a saying that goes something like, “If momma’s not happy, ain’t know one gonna be happy.” The premise is of course that the mood of the person in charge dictates the mood of the entire group.

We all go through some bumpy roads in life, stresses from outside relationships, to financial, health-related, and clinical problems such as depression and anxiety can certainly be a factor. And because our boss is human like us, he or she will go through some of this, too.

So watch for mood changes or changes in behavior from your boss. Watch for how they interact with your co-workers and patients to try and detect if there are some issues. Without prying into the details too much, I think it’s acceptable to talk to them about why they seem a little off that day or that they seem to approach people and situations different than they did six months ago.

What More Can You Do About Office Culture Changes?

The biggest thing is to stay alert to these things and process them in your mind. Don’t think about any one of them as the end of the world or cause for you to jump ship, but you shouldn’t necessarily ignore them either.

The first thing is to determine if they are systemic or isolated, meaning are these things going to be the way things are for a long time or forever, or are they just temporary? It goes without saying systemic problems are much bigger concerns that have to be addressed. But sometimes we have a bad day and confuse isolated issues as systemic and so there’s an important distinction we have to make.

Secondly, how bad are they? Are the problems fairly small and common within a lot of work places or are they over the top? For that, you can talk to your friends to see how their workplaces compare. One of things I like about all the dental hygiene Facebook groups out there is a way in which you can present your situation to the masses to see if it’s normal.

The other thing is some things can seem really bad, but they will sometimes lead to good things in the very near future which means they really aren’t so bad if you think about it. Whatever causes or leads to a positive change is a pretty good thing and sometimes we just need to be patient and work with what we have to help that change along.

Finally, along those same lines, you can work to create change. Have those difficult conversations with people (boss and co-workers) to see what you can do improve things. Don’t expect a miracle right away, but small progress is good and should encourage you.

Summary

There are lots of warning signs your office could be headed for stormy times or may even have been there for years, probably a few I may have even left out. But if you stay alert to these things you can be a powerful agent for positive solutions, and if things don’t turn around you will have at least gained some valuable experience and be able to jump ship with a clean conscience knowing you gave it your best effort.

How to Perform a Hidden Dental Hygiene Job Search

March 28, 2016 By Doug Perry, Dental Hygiene Resume Coach

Lots of dental hygienists are fearful (for various reasons) their current employer will find out they are looking for a job, but there are ways to help keep the job search hidden.

A lot of this will seem counter-intuitive to what you should do when you are looking for a job, and it really is. Most job searches require almost the opposite behavior from you to be really successful (you want to be as open as possible). However, there are good reasons as to why some job seekers want to keep things confidential and so you have to balance that against some of the activities you would otherwise do.

Here are five key things you can do to keep your boss and co-workers from knowing about your job search.

Subtle Changes in your Behavior and Attitude

This can be hard because we don’t always perceive we are acting any different when searching for a job. My best advice here to just pay extra-close attention to your attitude and work ethic.

When you know you are leaving (but don’t know when), you may become a touch apathetic about your work and not realize it. Could be following certain in-office protocols that we don’t like or disagree with, or it could be that you don’t feel the drive to connect and communicate as well with patients and co-workers.

It doesn’t necessarily mean you are a bad hygienist, it’s just a natural part of what you might feel is a hopeless cause or situation with your employer and it tends to sap you of your normal levels of energy and enthusiasm.

The problem is, however, that your employer and co-workers have probably worked with you long enough to be able to detect even subtle changes. So you really need to be conscious and try to continue work as normal so it doesn’t send up any red flags. I’ve heard many employers and co-workers remark to an employee who has just given notice that they, “kinda suspected” it was coming – it’s just really hard to not give off those signals.

Quiet Your LinkedIn Account

If you use LinkedIn (and many of you do), it’s very common for job seekers to begin updating their profile account (skills, work history, etc.) in preparation for a search. The problem is, those you are connected with could potentially get notices (which are essentially status updates that are in the news feed and sometimes go out in e-mail notices) of those changes and wonder why or conclude you must be preparing for a search.

There’s a simple solution. Turn off your activity broadcasts on LinkedIn before you begin your job search. This will ensure no one gets notices you are making changes. This is done in your account settings, but here’s a quick two-minute tutorial video on how to do it.

Keep the Search at Home

Don’t use an office computer or fax machine for your job search or sending resumes. Even if you are using your own private e-mail to do it, there are too many ways and opportunities for employers and co-workers to easily see what you are doing.

Some offices even secretly monitor employee computer activity or perform random searches of office computer search histories to see what employees are up to. And fax machines sometimes will send a notice back showing what you tried to send several minutes or even an hour later (likely when you aren’t at the machine).

First of all, I would always avoid sending your resume by fax as it looks terrible on the other end, but if you absolutely have to and you don’t have one at home you can either send one through your local office supply store or you can sign up with any number of online faxing services that usually offer a free 30-day trial. MetroFax is one of those I have used.

Avoid checking the job boards and sending resumes on your phone while at work – you may have someone notice you doing it out of the corner of their eye or may get careless when things get busy and set your phone down while the screen is still showing for everyone to see.

You also want to avoid taking calls from potential employers while at work – hopefully that’s a no-brainer. But here’s a tip I have given in the past to help you professionally and discreetly receive calls from potential employers. Create a Google Voice account. This enables you to setup a free phone line, where you can create a custom greeting for your job search.

You can even have that number route to your cell phone (along with your other number) so that you are essentially able to take calls from two different numbers – I do this and it works great. Whenever a job prospect leaves a message, you’ll get an e-mail notice and written transcription of what they said in their message.

Here’s a quick video tutorial on how to set that up.

Keep Quiet

Are you bad at keeping secrets? If so, you better get good at it. Avoid telling anyone, except maybe your closest friend or two and family. Even people you trust can innocently let the information slip into the wrong hands.

Don’t post about it on Facebook and Twitter – even if you aren’t socially connected with your boss or co-workers. Things are easily relayed back – remember, nothing is secret on the Internet. If it’s out there, it can be found.

I would even avoid complaining about your job to people you associate with as that’s another sign you are or will soon be looking.

Modify Your Resume

You may want to consider keeping your current employer anonymous. I wrote about this recently. You simply replace the name of the current employer(s) on your resume with something generic like “General Family Practice.”

Then, if asked in an interview you can use your discretion about disclosing who it is. Most potential employers will understand the reasons and keep it confidential if you ask.

Summary

Keeping your job search confidential is not easy. However you can do it and the five suggestions above a great start, but there are no doubt some things unique to your situation that can also have an impact. So think through your own situation and do what’s right for you. If you know of others, please share – I would love to hear from you.

Launching Your 2017 Dental Hygiene Job Search

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

5 Steps to Staying Employable in a Changing World

Warning Signs Your Office is Headed for Trouble

What More Can You Do About Office Culture Changes?

How to Perform a Hidden Dental Hygiene Job Search

Creating a Transitional Resume for a Dental Hygienist

Contact GetHiredRDH Now

Positive Resume Action Words

Passive vs. Active Writing

Positive Personality Adjectives

What More Can You Do About Office Culture Changes?

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