dental hygiene job hunting Archives - RDH Resumes and Career Guidance

E-mail Best Practices for a Dental Hygiene Job Opening

August 19, 2015 By Doug Perry, Dental Hygiene Resume Coach

One hygienist recently asked if it’s okay to use the e-mail message as a substitute for a dental hygiene cover letter. Yes, you can do that (and many do), but it’s not a best practice.

There’s two reasons: first, it’s not as professional and second, it may be a missed opportunity.

A traditional cover letter sends the message that you are a dental hygienist that goes the extra mile – you’ve decided that you are going to stand out and be different than others. Employers like that for obvious reasons!

But just as important, the person receiving e-mails for job openings isn’t always the person making the decision and they may not think to print your beautifully-written e-mail to accompany your resume. So the intended audience never even sees it!

Even if they did print the e-mail – it doesn’t look as professional as a nicely formatted cover letter.

With that aside, you still have to type something in your e-mail message, right? So here are five tips for sending a great e-mail.

Evaluate Your Address

I wrote about the importance of a strong e-mail address a few months ago. Make sure you have an address that represents you well, and you can see several tips on that if you click on the link.

Keep Your E-mail Short

How short? Shorter than your cover letter – something like a couple paragraphs consisting of a couple sentences. Here are a two examples:

Example A

All Smiles Dental,

I would like formally apply for your open dental hygiene position posted on DentalJobs.net. Please confirm you have received my attached cover letter and resume. I look forward to sharing with you how I can be a great addition to your office.

Example B

All Smiles Dental,

Please confirm you have received my attached cover letter, resume, and testimonial sheet as application for the dental hygiene opening you have posted on DentalJobs.net.

I look forward to sharing with you all the great experiences I have had helping patients re-discover their beautiful smiles.

Strengthen the Signature Line

Surprisingly, most people don’t really use signature lines. They put their name at the bottom and call it good. I recommend four things on a signature line:

Your name with RDH behind it (e.g. Emily Walker, RDH)
Your phone number (preferably cell number)
A link to one online profile (LinkedIn profile, your website)
A very short (3-10 words) by someone that inspires you, or that says something about you.

People love to click on links, especially if it will give them more information about you. Your own personal website, in particular, is extremely compelling and is almost guaranteed to get clicked.

And everyone loves a good quick dose of inspiration, but it’s got to be short or they won’t read it.

PDF Files Only

Attach your resume, cover letter, testimonial sheet, and CAR sheet (latter two are optional but very effective) in PDF format only. Don’t mess with sending Word or other types of documents as they can change in appearance depending on what they try to open the file with. PDF files are easy to create, will preserve your fonts and design, and are universally acceptable.

The Powerful P.S.

Post Scriptum, or “PS” as it is commonly referred to, is a term used to describe an added message after your signature line. Believe it or not, this is an extremely powerful tool for how poorly positioned it is. Studies show, people will skim e-mails, but they read the PS line.

So use it to your advantage. I would suggest adding a quick sentence about some connection you have to the office (someone you know that they might know – patient, friend in common) or, use it to show that you have already done some homework on the office. Here are a couple examples:

PS – My friend, Linda, is a patient at your office and says you guys are the best!

PS – I was on your website and love your approach to helping patients who are especially anxious!

Dental Hygiene Solution to an Employer Problem

July 8, 2015 By Doug Perry, Dental Hygiene Resume Coach

Have you ever thought of yourself (a dental hygienist) as a solution to an employer’s problem – don’t be modest! You really are!

Every employer looking to hire someone has a big problem on their hands. Not only do they need to find a warm body, they need a good warm body. Someone that represents them well with patients and someone who can get along great with the existing staff and office culture.

You may think that because the dental hygiene job market is saturated that this is an easy problem to solve. And maybe in some areas and situations it is, but they can usually only hire one hygienist. So it still has to be a good decision or it may end up costing them lots of money. And they do leave little clues as to what kind of a solution they are looking for

So let’s put the ball back into your court and show you how to find those clues and communicate back to them the solution called YOU.

Where are the clues?

The best place to find what an employer needs in a good hygienist is in the job announcement itself. Read it very carefully because what they write as qualifiers is some of what they either really liked or disliked about the previous hygienist. There are two kinds of qualifiers “technical qualifiers” and “soft qualifiers.”

The technical qualifiers are things like “two years of experience” or “working knowledge of Dentrix.” Those are important, but often times are negotiable if the soft qualifiers are more significant. For example if you have two hygienists apply for the same job, one has experience with Dentrix, but is a little bit quiet or reserved and the other has no experience with Dentrix and is very personable and friendly, an employer will often overlook the lack of Dentrix experience feeling that they can train that, but can’t train someone to be “friendly.”

Separate out the technical and soft qualifiers into two different lists. Next, go to their social media pages and website to see what kind of feel you can get from reading their posts and information. How do they strike you? Are they all business or kind of a fun bunch? Write all of that down. Finally, think about any kind of personal connections you may have with the office – do you have friends who go there? Do you know someone who worked there at one time? If so, then chat with them about the office atmosphere and culture. They may even be a great reference for you – employers trust recommendations from someone they know many times over someone they don’t know.

Now that you have all this information, it’s time to sprinkle it into your materials and interview prep.

Resume
It’s okay to start with a generic dental hygiene resume you have created. Then for each new job you apply for, do a “save-as” and customize and file it for that specific job you are applying for.

Ensure your resume addresses the office’s problem. This may mean swapping out some lines in favor of different information or re-ordering how it displays to ensure they see it. Pay specific attention to the “About Me” section (sometimes called “Summary” or “Objective”). This may be a good place to insert some keywords they use in their job announcement or that you see in other places that seem to be unique to that office. But there are other places throughout the resume where you can make unique.

You may even want to omit some information from your resume if you feel it either doesn’t apply to the specific job or may be detrimental.

Cover Letter
Your cover letter is probably the main document you will want to customize. I recommend a sentence that acknowledges what they are looking for, using the same words they use and then using the sentences/paragraphs beneath it to talk about how you are the solution to that and more. I wrote about cover letters here.

For example, “From your advertisement, I see you are seeking someone who is detail-oriented, flexible, and can handle stressful situations.” And then further down is something like “Co-workers have applauded me for my organizational skills and how I am able to adjust and handle all different kinds of personalities and situations.”

Testimonial Sheet
I’ve written a lot about my recommendation that you keep short (1-5 sentences) testimonials from patients, co-workers, and employers and then place them on a Testimonial Sheet. If you have lots of these then you have the luxury of hand-selecting the ones you give to the employer, based on the specific things they are looking for. If they want someone who “goes the extra mile” then give them a quote from a former patient who said you “go the extra mile.”

Make it a routine habit to gather these throughout your career – you can’t have too many. Then, when you are seeking new employment, you can choose the ones that best fit each job opening.

CAR Sheet
I’ve also written about CAR Sheets – CAR stands for Challenge – Action – Resolution. Think of it is a micro case study, where in just 3-5 sentences you write about a problem, the action you took, and how it was resolved. You can read more about CAR Sheets here.

Similar to Testimonial Sheets you can pick and choose the best examples of your work and assemble a CAR Sheet that addresses the specific solutions a potential employer needs.

Interview
Finally, if you get an interview, this is your opportunity to really hammer home the key problems that office needs to address in a hygienist. First, empathize with them about it and then reinforce you as the solution through a great example from your experience.

For example: “It’s tough to lose a great hygienist as they become almost like family. It’s been hard for me to leave jobs over the years as I really miss working with my co-workers and the synergy we created, but the upside is you get the opportunity to still hire a great new hygienist and have new experiences together.”

I know I sound like a broken record when I say it every week – but standing out, doing things different than other job applicants is what gets you hired. Doing this kind of work to create a more customized response to employers is truly what makes you stand out and appear different. It’s worth taking the time so that your job search is over and done in a matter of weeks as opposed to months and even years.

5 Reasons You Aren’t Getting Dental Hygiene Interviews

June 24, 2015 By Doug Perry, Dental Hygiene Resume Coach

It may be sunny outside right now, but the dental hygiene job market is still cloudy.

However, there are breaks in the clouds for those that go the extra mile.

Are you getting interviews? If so, that’s good – you are doing some things right. But for those that aren’t or maybe the interviews seem just token or like the employer has already made up their mind, here are five problems that may be hurting your chances.

[Resume Service]

Bad Contact Information
This one goes both ways – on your end and on theirs.

Sounds ridiculous, right? A lot of employers today reply by e-mail these days to schedule interviews. This avoids the whole phone-tag thing since most people don’t answer their phones when it’s an unfamiliar number. You can’t avoid when someone mistyped your address but here’s three suggestions:

Create a really easy-to-type or remember e-mail address (I wrote more about e-mail addresses here)
Make double-, triple-, quadruple-sure YOU have it listed correctly on your resume
Do the same for your phone number, and even consider getting Google Voice to route calls through your cell phone so that you can create a custom voice message for potential employers

Sometimes the problem is on their end. When you e-mail your resume always ask for a quick confirmation that they got it. If they don’t respond within 24 hours, call, visit or re-email them – you’ll be glad you did if they legitimately didn’t get it. SPAM blockers are very aggressive these days and sometimes legit mail just doesn’t make it.

No Cover Letter
Lots of employers don’t even ask for a cover letter, but if your peers applying for the job all send one that could by why you don’t make the short list. It’s a standard practice to include a cover letter – no one will penalize you for including one, but some will if you don’t. Here’s how to write the perfect cover letter.

Unaddressed Qualifications
Review the job advertisement very carefully and address each of the things they are requesting. This is one of your best tools for helping to sell yourself. They want someone who is a good fit and if you ignore the qualifications or don’t adequately share how you are a great fit, you probably won’t get an interview (you can read more about this here)

Directions Not Followed
In job markets where there is lots of parity between hygienists, employers will look for anything to differentiate candidates. That includes playing little tricks on you. I’ve read lots of job announcements where the employer will plant a very important statement at the end of the advertisement to see who’s paying attention.

For example, there will be a line that reads something like “Please include in your cover letter the name of the current president of the United States.” Those that comply pass the first test of being “attentive to details” and those that don’t… well, their resume gets tossed.

Nothing Has Happened Yet
It’s frustrating for sure, but employers will sometimes hold off for various reasons, putting not just you, but everyone in limbo. It would be appropriate, assuming you have confirmed they received your information in the first place, to contact them 1-2 weeks after you submitted your resume (I wrote more about that here). I sometimes look at that as a red flag that perhaps the employer isn’t someone you would want to work for anyway.

My wife, Tracie, had an experience like that when she was first seeking employment. There was a doctor that had her come in as a temp several times and told her he would soon be seeking a permanent hygienist, but he would never pull the trigger even though he got to the point where he had no permanent hygienist. For whatever reason he struggled with making decisions and it wasn’t just this situation, there were others Tracie heard about later.

Finally, one of the best pieces of advice I can give when seeking a job is never push pause. By that I mean keep looking, keep sending resumes, and keep making contacts with people. One great job interview or one potential dream job can cause a great deal of stress and the best way to alleviate that is to push forward to the next one… to the next opening in the clouds.

What Dental Employers Want From You

June 10, 2015 By Doug Perry, Dental Hygiene Resume Coach

Last year I posted an article entitled “The Perfect Dental Hygiene Resume” and got lots of great feedback. Some of that came from dentists.

One in particular made several interesting suggestions, but beware – a few were not necessarily to the advantage of the job-seeking dental hygienist. There’s a subtle game that takes place between employers and job seekers and it’s to your advantage to keep it in mind as you seek a job.

Next week I will share those things they want (and you should avoid giving them).

But this week I want to give you the two most important things dental employers want from you that you should give them.

1. How well will this hygienist get along with me and the rest of the staff?

2. How good are they at building and maintaining relationships with patients?

Everything you do to market yourself in both printed and electronic materials to the job interview should keep coming back to a response to those two things.

There are several places and ways you can do this.

Resume

I highly recommend that your About Me section, at the top of your resume, address both in a short (2-3 sentences) statement that communicates the type of person you are to work with and for patients to be around. But you can also blend some of that language into your experiences and skills section.

Cover Letter

Your cover letter is a great place to shine a light on that type of information. The cover letter is really just an executive summary of what an employer will find on your resume, so you have a great opportunity to share how awesome you are with co-workers and patients.

Testimonial Sheet

A testimonial sheet is a document that includes quotes of comments co-workers, employers, and patients have given about you. The cool thing here is it’s not YOU promoting you in those two areas, it’s OTHERS. And that lends a higher degree of credibility with those looking to hire you.

CAR Sheet

Think of a CAR Sheet (Challenge – Action – Response) as your own sheet of really condensed (3-5 sentences) case studies. The situation you were faced with (challenge), how you handled it (action), and what the result was (response). This is a great tool for not just talking about how good you are with staff and patients, but actually demonstrating it with real examples.

Digital Materials

I’ve talked in the past about having an online presence for your professional information – whether that’s your own website or possibly a LinkedIn profile page. These, too, are great places to highlight the two things dental employers are seeking from you. A video resume would be yet another.

Interviews

Come prepared to talk about stories, examples, and experiences where you excelled at your ability to connect with patients and staff. Think through three or four different types of scenarios as you will get questions about your ability to build relationships of trust and the better the story or example, the more convincing you will be that you are the best person for the job. Keep them short and succinct, think about the CAR Sheet as the best format for sharing that information verbally.

Yes, this is all extra work you have to go through. But it does make a difference. If you give employers this level of information about you, they will be impressed because very few job seekers go to these lengths and, yet, this is exactly what they want.

Try this Unique Dental Hygiene Job Search Strategy

May 27, 2015 By Doug Perry, Dental Hygiene Resume Coach

There are lots of ways for you to stand out during your dental hygiene job search. But I’m guessing this will be a new one for you.

I call it a CAR Sheet. This has nothing to do with transportation, although it could help you speed up the processing of landing a job.

CAR stands for Challenge – Action – Resolution and it’s a way for you tell more of your story, getting potential employers a little closer to the know-, like-, trust-stage – a major part of landing interviews and jobs.

Dental employers assume because you have a license in dental hygiene that you know how to do dental hygiene – that’s great. But the bigger question is how well you do it.

Accompanied with a dental hygiene resume, cover letter, and testimonial sheet, a CAR Sheet helps employers see how awesome you are before you get to the interview stage. Like a Testimonial Sheet, it validates that you are the real deal.

So let’s create your CAR Sheet. This is a one-page document designed with the same font and overall look of your resume. But for the content, you will share 3-5 experiences you’ve had as a hygienist in very simple, succinct writing. I’m talking about something like five short sentences in one paragraph.

Here’s a one paragraph example broken up:

[Challenge]

[Action]

I could sense her apprehension and decided to give her a little extra attention – more empathy and compassion – and tried to connect on things we had in common to help distract her.

[Resolution]

It worked! She became one of my best, most consistent patients (and a great friend). She thanked me profusely when we were done and would only reschedule on days when I was working.

Here’s the paragraph all together:

At All Smiles Dental, I serviced a patient that had an intense fear of dental offices. She had been to several different practices in the last five years and kept changing because she didn’t feel comfortable. I could sense her apprehension and decided to give her a little extra attention – more empathy and compassion – and tried to connect on things we had in common to help distract her. It worked! She became one of my best, most consistent patients (and a great friend). She thanked me profusely when we were done and would only reschedule on days when I was working.

Again, brevity is important so that you don’t overwhelm the receiver. Just get straight to those three things and move on to the next example – no more than one page in total. Save extended details for the interview.

These are your top experiences – your best examples of how you shine as a dental hygienist. And the best part is, the story isn’t finished yet – keep recording these experiences through out your career. I promise you, they will make a difference in your job search.

Most hygienists won’t go to this length to share information. The ones who do, have an advantage so take it seriously and grab the keys to your CAR and take off!

E-mail Best Practices for a Dental Hygiene Job Opening

Dental Hygiene Solution to an Employer Problem

5 Reasons You Aren’t Getting Dental Hygiene Interviews

What Dental Employers Want From You

Try this Unique Dental Hygiene Job Search Strategy

Creating a Transitional Resume for a Dental Hygienist

Contact GetHiredRDH Now

Positive Resume Action Words

Passive vs. Active Writing

Positive Personality Adjectives

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