Advice for a Job Hunter

[SilentMute]

I just graduated my medical coding course and am now looking for a job. I felt a little better when I made my resume because despite never having worked, I do have applicable job experience. Anyway, I've been reading helpful tips about resumes and job hunting, but I thought I would ask on LitNet for any advice I may not have thought of.

I was feeling pretty happy when I started getting calls the first week, but I was soon deflated. Many of these were scams. One was even direct enough to ask for my bank account numbers. Those that are legit--well, I'm not hungry enough just yet to do commission jobs.

I am keeping my sense of humor. The man who created Monopoly did so while he was looking for work in the Great Depression. I am also making a board game: Mystery Job. Do you guys remember Mystery Date? Same idea, with some alterations. You pick up skills and try to match them to a job. You open the door of oportunity. If the skills match the job, you win. However, you lose your cards if you open the door to: Mr. Mafia, Drug Smuggler, Sex Slaver, Scammer, etc.

Anyway, I would appreciate any advice to help me.

These are my difficulties:
1) I'm 35 and don't have any work experience, though I have received training over the years as a secretary and of course, the medical coding.
2) I was taking care of a sick relative for fifteen years, which gave me some experience--but employers tend to be prejudice towards caretakers as well
3) My references are only people I've known in my medical coding course. I've been, unfortunately, a semi-recluse and don't know many people.

[papayahed]

Just today I got a call asking me if I was interested in selling insurance.:icon_bs:

Papaya's 2 cents:

- Make sure you highlight things you did while being a care giver that directly relate to the job you want. (ie time management, dependability, etc..)

- Remember to talk yourself up during interviews (sometimes women have a hard time with that one)

- Don't give up. It could take a while

- Learn from your interviews. Even if you don't get the job ask your contact person the reason why they picked someone else over you. You can learn your strengths and weaknesses. (One guy told me the reason they picked someone over me was because the other person was local. Yeah, thanks for that one...)


more later...

[keilj]

job hunting nowadays seems to consist of sending out literally 40-60 resumes to get one response - no exaggeration. So just keep applying and keep hunting until you start to get some pecks (people who deny this probably knew somebody to get their job - or had some kind of inside track. For the rest of us, we have to send out countless resumes)

Also, your references are fine. As long as you have a couple people who will vouch for you, and they are not all relatives - that is all they want

[SilentMute]

Thanks!

I have to admit, the reason why I hate job interviews is that I find it embarrassing to talk about myself. You have to treat yourself like a product and do your own advertising.

@papayahead--how do you phrase the question about why they hired someone over you?

I'm having a problem because most of the jobs I'm applying for are not an exact fit. Our teacher said to apply for a jobs even if we don't have the work experience they want--because what they want and what they get are two different things. Many of the places are asking for certification that I'm working on and at least two years experience in the field. So, if I don't get these jobs--there are many reasons why.

But thanks for advising me (and I still welcome any more advice). I'm glad to hear that it does take a while. I've heard it before--but when you are in these programs, they sometimes fail to give you a realistic picture. We heard that there is a shortage of medical coders, and so that would seem that there should be tons of jobs. However, it may be more accurate to say that there is a shortage of highly trained coders. They also said we could try volunteering to get experience--but most places either have a waiting list or don't want to be bothered.

While I'm looking for a job, I'm also studying for my certification and trying to add some skills under my belt. I'm hoping that will ease the depression that can come with job hunting. However, getting calls from the scammers did depress me, because it made me feel like they were the only people seeing my resume. However, I found a really great online job site--and I'm not having problems with scammers on this site.

What can be depressing, though, is you wonder why it is so hard for you to get a job--and yet it seems so easy for people who have less skill and bad qualities to get jobs. Of course, many of these people are on government assistance. Employers often give jobs, it seems, to people that they think need them. I get upset because I need a job too, and yet I feel like I get punished for not making bad choices--I don't come in with a surly attitude, black nail polish, multiple body piercings, a t-shirt that says, "Nuke everything!" I don't have a felony or ten children by different fathers.

I remember some of my classmates resented this girl in our class who got a medical coding job before she even finished the program. She never did her hours and shouldn't have gotten her certificate, but the teacher was lenient. We all busted our butts to get our homework in on time--she was turning it in a few months late. She bragged about having other people take her tests and do her homework--in front of the teacher. The girl was charming, she had young children, she was losing her house...I could see why people may have wanted to help her. But at the same time, it is hard to understand why these people get so much help...and people who have more skill and better qualities can't even get a nudge.

[Lulim]

(...) What can be depressing, though, is you wonder why it is so hard for you to get a job--and yet it seems so easy for people who have less skill and bad qualities to get jobs. (...)
That's one thing I don't get either. When the crisis hit my employer last year, I was dismissed, together with 22 other people. One of them used to come round to my office every other day asking for help (on some Excel tables for instance, or how to phrase answers to customers etc.). A couple of weeks ago, we applied for the same job: I received a rejection by return only 2 days after, and she got the job. -- I don't begrudge it, I just don't understand why I wasn't even invited for an interview, seeing as our qualification and work experience are comparable.

Sorry, can't give any advice as to how to get a job though.

[Virgil]

@papayahead--how do you phrase the question about why they hired someone over you?

Well one thing, don't be a "Silent Mute." :p Only teasing. I couldn't help myself. Forgive me.

In a serious vein, just ask for feedback. Quite honestly ask: may I have some feedback? I'm new at looking for a job and was wondering what particularly you preferred over me. Where could I have improved? What was it that the person who was hired had that got the job?

[Delta40]

Ask for feedback rather than ask why somebody got the job over you. The reason you ask for feedback is to get information that will assist you better in your next application. For example, I asked for feedback on a job interview that I thought went particularly well but I did not get the position. They agreed I had the qualifications but the issue was that I spoke in general terms about myself and skills rather than specific instances. I use the STAR model now - not only in addressing selection criteria but also in interviews. You only need to tell of a situation, what your task/role was, what action you took and what the result was or:

Situation - Set the context by describing the circumstance where you used the skills or qualities and gained the experience.

Task - What was your role?

Actions - What did you do and how did you do it?

Results - What did you achieve? What was the end result and how does it relate to the job you are applying for?

The other thing to keep in mind is that for every job you don't get, you are now a step closer to the one you're meant to have!

good luck

[The Atheist]

I just graduated my medical coding course and am now looking for a job. ...

These are my difficulties:
1) I'm 35 and don't have any work experience, though I have received training over the years as a secretary and of course, the medical coding.
2) I was taking care of a sick relative for fifteen years, which gave me some experience--but employers tend to be prejudice towards caretakers as well
3) My references are only people I've known in my medical coding course. I've been, unfortunately, a semi-recluse and don't know many people.

I hope I can offer some sound advice, because I'm a recruiter by trade and have been for 20 years.

First point is that you're looking for a job at a very tough time. That means that you are likely to find it a protracted process, so don't be disheartened.

If you're applying for jobs where you have no experience, then I suspect you may be applying for the wrong jobs. Unless an ad specifies that trainees are welcome, you won't be considered in this kind of market.

You should be applying for jobs which are covered by either your course in medical coding, or as a caregiver or nurse aide - things which you can show you've done successfully. While either would be starting at the bottom, it may well be your best path to growth.

Whatever jobs you do apply for, make sure you write a specific letter for each one which shows how your experience relates to the job you're applying for.

Good luck!

[SilentMute]

Thanks Athiest, Delta, and Virgil!

I'm not applying for jobs where I have no experience. Either I can do the skills, but I don't have work experience...or I can do most of the skills, but there is one skill I don't have. For instance, I recently applied for a job with the Seminole Indians--and they apparently have their own computer system. I had all the other skills, but I'm not familiar with their computer system. I am, though, a quick learner--which is something I mentioned.

I'm following the advice that my teacher and many other people have given me: even if you lack work experience or you lack one of the skills they ask for, apply for the job anyway. If they find someone who is better qualified and is an exact fit of the description, of course they will probably get the job. However, employers don't always get what they totally want. Even if someone matches the description, they might fail the background check--or the employer may pay too little money and the person will turn them down.

I'm beginning to get leary of jobs that offer to train people. Every single one I've applied for--because those were the first ones I looked at--have been a scam place.

I am going to check into volunteering come the New Year, unless by some miracle I do get a job before then. What is irritating is that many places want you to commit a certain amount of months to volunteering, and if I get a job--I would prefer to be able to be able to leave. Still, it is a way to get some experience and references.

[BienvenuJDC]

Thanks!

I have to admit, the reason why I hate job interviews is that I find it embarrassing to talk about myself. You have to treat yourself like a product and do your own advertising.

Be honest and be genuine. I hate trying to sell myself too, but be confident in what you are good at. I had a marketing teacher once that started every class with an exercise. Tell me one thing that you're good at (many "kids" said...."uh, soccer?"...or something like it) Ok...he said, "Now tell me why that would be valuable to me." You can apply MOST everything to be valuable. Soccer --> Teamwork, "I like to talk to people." --> Good communicator...so on...
BUT....be genuine.



What can be depressing, though, is you wonder why it is so hard for you to get a job--and yet it seems so easy for people who have less skill and bad qualities to get jobs.

It's often because they lie...but, like I said, be genuine (don't embellish)

[The Atheist]

Thanks Athiest, Delta, and Virgil!

I'm not applying for jobs where I have no experience. Either I can do the skills, but I don't have work experience...or I can do most of the skills, but there is one skill I don't have. For instance, I recently applied for a job with the Seminole Indians--and they apparently have their own computer system. I had all the other skills, but I'm not familiar with their computer system. I am, though, a quick learner--which is something I mentioned.

Goodo!

The main thing is perseverance, which you obviously have.

Even if 10% of people are unemployed, it means that 90% are employed, so there will be jobs as people move.

Have you looked at things like condo management? I have a friend who seems to find those jobs easily down [up?] your way.

[SilentMute]

@BienvenuJDC--I started realizing I hadn't wasted my life when I started analyzing the valuable skills I had learned.

@Athiest--I've been applying to assisted living facilities, which maybe your friend meant. Regular condo management, I don't see how my skills match. However, ALFs require nursing care--so they need coders.

[The Atheist]

@BienvenuJDC--I started realizing I hadn't wasted my life when I started analyzing the valuable skills I had learned.

@Athiest--I've been applying to assisted living facilities, which maybe your friend meant. Regular condo management, I don't see how my skills match. However, ALFs require nursing care--so they need coders.

I was thinking condo, because it's an easy job, with reliability, honesty and a few people skills being the only requisites, along with computer ability.

As I say, she seems to think there are a few jobs around. I'm a long way away, so I could well be missing something, but it seemed to me that a history of care would be an asset to someone in those jobs and it might be worth looking at.

Maybe she's smarter than I give her credit for and she's a marvel!

:D

[Emil Miller]

I just graduated my medical coding course and am now looking for a job. I felt a little better when I made my resume because despite never having worked, I do have applicable job experience. Anyway, I've been reading helpful tips about resumes and job hunting, but I thought I would ask on LitNet for any advice I may not have thought of.


I worked in a local authority in 1970's when the whole labour market was being squeezed by a recession. However, I left over a dispute about having to work in a small office with heavy smoking layabouts that made it difficult for me to do my work; the laugh is that these days nobody is allowed to smoke anywhere except outside. I subsequently tried to get another job for a year but was unsuccessful until three offers came through the post on the same day. So all I would say is don't give up even when it seems as though you are getting nowhere.

[altheskeptic]

On your resume tell them you are available at their convenience.

It shows you are willing to work for them, not the other way around.

[SilentMute]

Thanks!