Resume and application advice
Posted By: Corporate Anonymous on 2006-06-06
In Reply to:
I handle resumes and applications (via email) for a national company. I would like to give some resume and application tips as I am amazed every single day at what gets sent to me with the expectation that the applicant be considered for a professional, paying position.
Please consider the following:
-- Please do yourself a huge professional favor: Make sure your email address is professional. It is far better to have an email address "janedoe334@hotmxxxx" than to have "funkydoglover6@xxxx" or "thejoneses@xxx". Your first and last name (even if it has to be followed by numerics) would be best and if you need numerics why not add your zip code? Please. You will sound responsible, mature, and serious about your professional identity.
-- Please make sure your resume is an attachment. It is best not to embed a resume unless the application or employer specifically asks you to. Most embedded resumes sent in emails come with all the code and I simply will not wade through it all to see if there is something there to consider.
-- When you write your resume, make sure your contact information is at the top, including an address, your phone number(s) and email address. (I suggest you print off your resume and have someone else proof it for errors, inconsistencies, formatting issues, etc.)
-- Name your resume appropriately. Please don't attach it simply called Resume. It would be best to name it with your first and last name and the word Resume in caes it gets separated from your email or, better yet, if it is saved to a file without the email!! (Example: JaneDoeResume)
-- Please, oh please, state in the subject line what position you are applying for. Who is interested in an applicant who cannot even take the time to state what position they are applying for? Not me! I doubt many are.
-- Please send one email with resume for each position you apply for. If you apply for three positions, I can only electronically file your email/resume in one position folder and you may be overlooked when collecting folders.
-- Please make some type of statement in the email and don't just send a blank email with the resume attached. Just a simple, "Please consider my attached resume in application for XXXX position" is just fine. A summary or synopsis of your qualifications or your life's history really is not necessary in the email because we are going to study your resume for that information. A brief cover letter-type email is fine but it should read within the single window pane without scrolling.
-- Last, but not least, please read over your email for errors (should go without saying, I know) and remember to attach your resume! It is so much more difficult to keep up with multiple emails because the resume was left off, then you want to add another piece of information, etc. Do not be in such a hurry that your application email shows it. As well, if you are applying for several positions and you are doing a copy/paste of the email content, make sure you change any job position titles within the email appropriately.
I really hope you will find this information useful -- I know for all the individuals who handle this information on the incoming will certainly make note of an outstanding resume/email application and sometimes that extra, "Hey, this applicant has done a great job in presenting herself thus far" can go a long way!
Corporate Anonymous
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
application expectations
When a new graduate or inexperienced MT applies for an online position and takes the transcription portion of the application, what are the companies expectations? Are we supposed to be 100% accurate, or do they allow you to leave 1 or 2 blanks where the dictator mumbles to the point of just not being able to understand them?
Do all companies have QA that will review the reports before submission? If so, as an applicant would leaving blanks count against me. Surely the most experienced MT leaves mumbled words blank. Just wondering.
resume
I agree. I have posted my resume, and after sending out dozens of resumes to specific companies, someone from a MT site contacted me. Good starting pay and good folks. Good luck!
My Resume
Under my EDUCATION heading, I simply wrote 'Medical Transcription Student' and listed the time I went to school under that. For example August, 2007 - January, 2008. I simply did not state the name of the school I went to. (I figured if they read my resume and were genuinely concerned, they would ask me.) Then the next paragraph I listed all the types of reports I have done. ( for example - I have practice transcribing Clinic Notes, Operative Reports, etc.- I listed them all) Next paragraph listed all the specialities I have practice doing. (for example - I have practice transribing reports for Dermatology, Cardiology, etc.) Last paragraph stated that I have 9 months experience in transcribing reports. I DID NOT list this experience under work experience. It is clearly listed under education.
Do What I Did- Pad Your Resume
And by "pad," I mean... make it all up. Give yourself 2 years, or 3, or 4 of experience.
It got my foot in the door a year ago, making great money now.
Just have to be confident that you know what you're doing.
And, if you're not- then maybe CareerStep is the way to go.
Resume
What I did when I started looking for at-home jobs (before I started MT school) was created a "web" resume. All it had on it were my name and my email address. I created an email address specifically for that so that it wouldn't clash with my personal email.
I haven't been to the job board here yet, so someone correct me if I am wrong. I don't see how just having your name and email address would be a problem. I'm teaching my son (who is 15) that on job applications where a SS# is requested, to just put in "available upon hire." My opinion is that for telecommuting work, your location should also be "available upon hire/contract."
post your resume
when you are ready. Some companies do hire newbies even if they do not post.
try posting your resume here and
check out the job seeker's board.
post resume
there should be a link at the home page of this site.
You have to REALLY rake that resume over!
Include relevant work experience. Make sure you put down the technology you used while learning, i.e., wav pedal, accessing digital mp3/dss files. You can also list your reference library. If you have a letter from your school (you should get one on graduation) extolling your virtues, include that if you can.
Always paste your resume in plain text in your email to a company. Yes, I know that ruins your format, but companies don't mind that--they expect it. And most of them won't open up an attachment. Unless they specifically ask for an attachment, paste everything in your email or in the applicable space on their web site.
And, yes, always be courteous and kind and say thank you. Just because they haven't hired you today doesn't mean that can't in the future.
re: posting resume
Yes! I posted on Careerbuilder and Monster.com, and also applied for anything and everything on all the different MT job sites, mtstars is one, mtbot, mtjobs, etc...
is it ok to send out resume or best to drop off one?nm
.
The only way to find out is to put together a kicking resume
no brainer!
Post your resume on the various job boards.
Most of them are free. There are some companies that do not post openings but hire from the resumes. You can also apply to companies who do post. Those that want experience may be a bit more willing to hire you because of your medical background.
Fix your resume to fit the MTSOs requirement
i.e., cardiology, acute care, etc. If they need someone with acute care for 5 years - then put it on your resume!
Place your resume on the various job boards.
There is one here and I know other sites have free boards too. You can also send resumes to local offices/hospitals.
You asked this below. You need to post your resume
on the job boards.
Call them or send them your resume
sounds like you don't have much of a choice - or if you are employee - take your unemployment and start your own job search
You need to post your resume on all the MT job sites. They
are free to post. There are companies that will not post ads, but will hire from the resumes.
Post your resume on the various job boards. It is
free.
Actually, the MTStars resume board seems as appropriate ...(sm)
I just went over there and tried to access the resumes, and you have to pay (a nice fee, too) in order to access any personal information other than your name, your experience, your general location (which I'm sure you can leave as just "Colorado" or whatever), and your desired line rate. No address, phone number, or any other contact information is available without paying the fee ($50 is the lowest), so someone would have to REALLY want that information in order to get it. This makes it no different than the MTJobs site.
Post your resume on all the job boards. There are companies who
do not post openings for whatever reason, but they will hire from the resumes posted. It isn't a guarantee, but gives you more exposure and the chance to perhaps get a job. I agree with the other poster to try for an in-house position. When I first started out 20 years ago I never heard of an at-home MT, we pretty much all worked in an office or in a facility. Many times medical offices hire someone to work in medical records and there may be several facets to their job, one of which is transcribing and might be something you want to consider.
If any company offers you a position but want you to buy equipment/software up front be very cautious. Come here to see if anyone has heard of the company, as there are companies preying on newbie MTs. If a company offers you a position at a radiculously low rate also proceed with caution and come here and ask about them.
The best thing for you to do is post your resume on the various free
job boards. There are companies that will hire from the resumes and don't post openings. Unless you went to one of the better schools you probably don't stand much of a chance of getting an at home position. Even if you did go to one of the better schools it may be difficult to find an at home position. There are companies that will hire newbies and pay them almost nothing, there are companies that offer mentoring programs that may or may not pay you anything and some may even cost you. There are companies that may offer you a position and then say you have to buy equipment/software from them first. These are probably not legitimate companies and you need to stay away from them.
Most companies want 2 years of experience, though there are exceptions. Your best bet would be to look through your local classifieds and see if you can find a position in a physician's office or a hospital.
Have her post resume on the various job boards. Some companies
don't advertise, but they will hire from resumes. You have to be careful though as there are some companies who will try to take advantage of newbies.
Your MIL will have a much harder time finding a position than someone who took a course through a company that is known to have a good program. Programs like the one she took are pretty much a waste of money and many end up paying more $$ to get into a better program or going through a mentoring program.
Newbie posting resume here, is .09 too much for line pay?
Not sure what to put for my line pay in the resume section. Anyone got any suggestions?
You create and submit a resume and see who offers
s
But don't send your resume. It has personal information on it. Right Misha?
LOL, gotcha!
Post your resume on all the various job boards, send resumes to
local clinics/doctor's offices, apply to local hospitals. As a newbie getting a job is hard, but some companies will hire you based on the school you got your certificate from. Some schools are better than others and if you didn't get your certificate from one of the better ones changes are harder of getting a job. Most likely you'll need to work in-house for a while. There are some companies that will offer you a job, many at low to no pay, and there are a few companies that are not legit, so be sure you investigate before accepting. If you have to fork out any money for equipment or software in order to get the job be cautious, especially if they require you to purchase it from them.
I think you have the wrong person or someone else's resume. I have been working for 10 years. I
xx
Read the job seeker's board, post your resume. nm
While you're researching the schools, be sure to get a good resume sm
and keep it updated at the local hospitals, services, etc. If you are really interested and have some training, you're chance of hospital work is better than having none. That is the best training ground you can find. Years ago I started at a local hospital with a semester of medical terminology. Those breaks are rare now, but you might get lucky.
In all honesty, though, you will probably have to take a "legitimate" course. I wish we could get the word out nationwide. I also know people who paid their money and still had no marketable skill. Good luck.
Just wondering, since you lied on resume, did you also cheat on test? nm
x
Newbie post your resume on all the job boards. Respond to
ads posted on the job boards. Look through your local paper.
anyone who whines with the "how am I supposed to get a job" thing gets their resume deleted...
x
You have not been transcribing 10 years. Your resume reflects about 4 years tops. I am going to put
very little MT experience and now you're pushing software that posters can get for free. There is a problem with that. You need to search YOUR heart ands ask yourself just how helpful you are really trying to be to new MTs or if your lining your own pocketbook because you don't know how to transcribe yourself.
Would really appreciate advice
Advice
The employer DOES know how well you'll do. At least, he thinks he does. He knows that you have the same training that other failed new-hires had--all the new MTs from that school who didn't work out and wasted his money.
You can do well in your course, but if your course did not teach what you truly needed to know, you've learned little. Your opinion about the quality of the education isn't important at all--you have no basis to know if it's good or not.
You hope it is, but employers are telling you that it is not.
It's unfortunate that you spent your time and money on a bad choice, but that was your choice. At this point, the best thing you can do is try to salvage what you can from it.
Yes, someone might be surprised, but complaining about the injustice you have received as a result of your decision isn't going to inspire anyone to want to give you that chance.
It would be better for you to improve your capabilities and apply again. The employers are telling you that you are not ready to work.
Another choice would be for you to write up what your course did cover, in detail, with a comparison to other schools' coursework. Present that to the employer and ask if they will test you.
You'll have to present yourself very professionally for this to work. You have a number of language, grammar, and punctuation errors in your posts, so you would do well to pay close attention to that. You don't want that to alienate an employer. That may, in fact, already be what has alienated them.
I need advice!
Greetings;
I am a new MT attempting to start my own service as an independent contractor. My issue is this, my husband deployed for Iraq yesterday, he will be gone for 8 months. I will be returning to my home town for this time period. Can/Should I start my own service in that area, or should I try to obtain work with a service until I return to my current home? How does one handle a situation like this when moving is enevitable. What do you think? What would you do?
I need advice!
Greetings;
I am a new MT attempting to start my own service as an independent contractor. My issue is this, my husband deployed for Iraq yesterday, he will be gone for 8 months. I will be returning to my home town for this time period. Can/Should I start my own service in that area, or should I try to obtain work with a service until I return to my current home? How does one handle a situation like this when moving is enevitable. What do you think? What would you do?
Need advice
I need some advice. I have a 5 yr old and a 3 month old. I going through a mentoring program right now and I am also close to completing school and get my certificate in med transcription. My situation is that I take care of the kids during the day (5 yr old pretty much entertains herself but of course the baby doesn't) and I'm exhausted to the point that if I try to stay up until midnight or beyond transcribing I'm grouchy in the morning from lack of sleep. My boyfriend isn't much help. Please, I'm not looking for advice dealing with him but advice on how to juggle the kids, mentoring, and schooling. I appreciate it.
Need advice
The school I am going through provided cassette tapes to transcribe the homework reports from. I do not have a transcriber and don't feel like purchasing one since I will more than likely never use it again and I only have 7 chapters left to do. Does anyone know how I can record them onto my computer? My sound recorder only records 60 sec at a time unless I want to pay for more and I'd rather not if I don't have to. I figure if they are on my computer than I can use express scribe to type them up.
Advice...
 Sell your self. So you don't have experience but you have knowledge of the field. Check the offers on the job board. That is how I found the 2 MTSOs I work for. I've only been in this field for a month! When you email your resume to them type a little blurb that shows how eager you are. Worked for me.
Advice
I am currently in the office from 3 to 5 days a week, depending on the amount of work. I am unable to work from home with his current system. I also think he likes having me there to help with other duties like receptionist work, billing, etc.
bad advice
I am upset by you telling this potential MT that she should look elsewhere. Leave that to her to decide.
I am also a new MT and used to really enjoy this board and its wonderful advice and information, but because of such negativity, I have been getting on less and less. This, of course, does not apply to everybody. If this is true that in 5 years, we are all going be jobless, then why aren't all MTs going back to school now? Why wait for the inevitable?
If I want depressing information, I'll watch the nightly news. In the meantime, I am going to relish in the fact that I am able to earn a living and be there for my children when needed. If this completely dies out in a few years, so be it. I'll deal with it then.
As for which school to attend, they all seem very credible and well-accepted. I would go to whichever one seems to appeal more to your liking.
Good Luck and welcome to our world!
bad advice
then if this is the case and we are all up you-know-what creek without a paddle, then why is anybody even being encouraging at all? I took one of those fly-by-night courses because I was tired of being an admin assistant and a friend of mine was taking the course, so I signed up as well. My instructor suggested this board and I felt even more confident after reading many posts on being an MT. From the experience aspect, it seems that getting your first job is the biggest problem.
So is life. I guess your better off becoming a nurse, if you can't handle the blood, become a medical secretary and deal with the office politics while making $8 lousy bucks an hour.
If this is such a serious issue, why aren't we doing anything about it? We all know (even the newbies)that outsourcing is a serios threat. If none of us are making money in this lovely country of ours, then how are we supposed to put back into the economy that makes it what it is?
Why don't we all just sit here and whine and cry about it. That's how things get done, isn't it?
My advice
Apply everywhere, even if they say x-years of experience. Some will let you test. Take full advantage of these opportunities and do your very best. One of them will hire you and give you a chance. An alternative is to visit/call every single doctor's office, clinic and hospital in your area and inquire as to open positions. Be open to both in-house as well as work at home opportunities. Best of luck to you!
HELP, I need some advice......
I am still a student. I have 2 more classes before I get my certificate. I recently started working part-time in a doctors office doing entry level work. She wants me to start doing here transcription already. This is a fantastic opportunity for me, but I don't know what I need to get started. What type of software or equipment should I invest in. I need some advice from an experienced MT. Thank you in advance!
advice
Okay, the doctor I will be working for has a new patient sheet and office visit form that she made herself. She just goes through and checks off the ones that apply to that particular patient. She doesn't like to dictate into microcassette but she has mentioned voice recognition. It seems really simple. Almost too simple. I have all the necessary research material. I just didn't know if there was a special software I needed to buy or equipment. Thanks in advance for your advice.
No more advice from me
I've had it. All over the internet, people keep asking about this school or that school, all less expensive than Andrews or M-Tec (or Career Step). And no matter what they are told, they insist on signing up with the school they asked about.
Then they come back to all the message boards, whining that "everybody wants 2 years of experience" and "how am I supposed to get experience when nobody will hire me."
They seem to forget that they were told all over the place that MANY employers will waive the 2-year experience requirement if they know that you went to a GOOD school that teaches you what you need to know to get a job. And that they won't even bother to test "grads" of many of the "cheaper" schools.
So why give advice, when people don't really want it? All they want is for me to say that they will do just fine going to a crappy school that shouldn't even be allowed to teach MT, just because it is CHEAPER. Occasionally someone does do okay and gets hired, but ONLY occasionally. Just like people used to be taught by their friends, neighbors, or family. Just try to apply for a job nowadays and tell them "my mother taught me." See how fast it gets you hired.
I'm just tired of people whining that they can't get a job without 2 years of experience, when they were told that was what would happen, and exactly which schools could get that requirement waived because they are excellent schools that teach you what you need to know. Of course they're more expensive! They get the job done! They earn their money. They turn out ready-to-work MTs.
If you insist on saving money with those "other" schools, go ahead. But stop whining about not being able to get a job without experience. Because that's exactly what you were TOLD would happen. If you're going to roll the dice, don't EXPECT to win just because some people get lucky.
I'm outta here.
more advice
Hi ladies I just thought of something else you could try also. Pick up you phone book and see if there are any local agencies or MTSO's that you can talk to about work. I finally got a job myself. I am excited but I won't be getting paid much for awhile. I got an internship. I am so excited and I wish you both the best of luck.
Need advice...
How do you get through the seven minute speed round portion of a test. I am having difficulty with this. By the time I am done reading the question once, have "sometimers" during the process along with "personal summers/hot flashes", the test is done before I am even completed with it.
Advice from me to you..
I have read your post and understand your desire to work from home so that you can be with your young children. This is not an easy field. I have no young children in the home, and find it frustrating at times to concentrate on all the new things you have to learn and never taught in school. My husband can be a cause of distraction just because he does not fully understand the amount of concentration required to do the job well. I can not imagine just starting out and having children around. My loyalties would be split, and ultimately my job would suffer.
Do not get me wrong, I love my job. I love learning new terminology and the challenges that being a MT presents. However, in order to do this job well, I have to pretend I am away from home (no household distractions) and always keeping in mind that I can lose this job, just like in an outside work place.
I do have a grown child who is married. I wanted to be an MT for a long time, but the requirements of my child were greater than the time I could devote to a career change, deep down I knew I could not chose between the two.
Pray… Ask that the doors you do not need to enter will be closed, and that the path you are to take will be open to you. Good luck..
|
