Revised resume, application answers can lead to new healthcare jobs

Despite the importance of words in the healthcare industry — doctors’ prescriptions, medical procedures, insurance benefit definitions — Gina Bari says she’s often surprised at the threadbare descriptions job seekers use to explain their previous experiences and future expectations.

“Some people think a job in healthcare requires nothing more than education and experience so they see no real need to punch up a resume or an application,” says Bari, a former HR specialist for Advocate Health Care in Chicago.

Bari says she has seen numerous resumes and applications with several one- or two-word phrases, which do nothing to improve someone’s chances at getting hired. “Jobs at a hospital or a medical center are like jobs everywhere else. The people who hire are looking for employees who make their jobs easier,” she says. “If a hospital is hiring new nurses, they want those nurses to be not only qualified but competent and trustworthy. You have to convey those traits on your resume.”

To do so, Bari suggests including phrases that stress how you’ve worked with other departments, how you’ve helped cut costs and how you improve efficiencies. “Use your resume or application to stress your reliability and your capacity for great teamwork,” she says.

A few suggestions:

• Tighten up your objective or opening statement: A top-ofresume summary should explain how a job candidate wants to utilize their strengths in their work. If a hospital’s HR department is looking for a nurse who is effective working in a variety of departments, use your resume to break down your various roles and explain how the hospital benefited from the employee’s efforts.

• Stress accuracy: Given the thorough background checks on candidates, be as honest as possible. It’s easy to verify academic and professional degrees. Don’t fudge your qualifications, even if your previous employer accepted your credentials. If you claim to have a degree you never really earned or one you’re still working toward, you’ll eventually be exposed. Accuracy also means using proper grammar and spelling.

• Include action words: Your new job isn’t focused on sitting around so make sure your resume doesn’t make you sound so passive. Talk up your talents with action verbs like, “moved, expanded, created, increased, resolved” and others.

• Make numbers count: Employers aren’t only looking for people with potential — they’re looking for accomplished workers who have already been there and done that. That’s why it’s important to include any tangible evidence of success stories with previous employers.