How to Land a Job in Healthcare—Even Without Experience!
The healthcare industry is always looking for more professionals each year, the industry growing in demand for more jobs because more clients need help, service, and care. In fact, entry-level hospital positions have doubled and offer more on-the-job training positions for those looking to have a career in hospitals and medical centres. The bright side is that healthcare professions and careers offer advancement opportunities like no other. So in this article, we’ve put together some strategies to help you get your career off the ground and into the field you’ve always dreamed of working in.
- Finetune your resume – A lot of healthcare and medical professionals, despite having the right educational background, training experience, and qualifications, are not able to get into jobs because their resumes are simply lacklustre. This means that their skills and work experience are not highlighted enough or emphasised correctly in their application. Take the time to work out the kinks of your own curriculum vitae and really look at it like you are the employer. Never lie in your resume, but you should also learn to showcase your strengths and camouflage your weaknesses into workable abilities.
- Sign up with an agency – If you’ve got an impression against job agencies, now is the time to get rid of that impression. Nursing agency jobs can absolutely help you land the career you’ve always wanted in healthcare. It’s admittedly harder these days to find recruitment opportunities by yourself, so it’s good to have an agency supporting you and your dream of working as a healthcare nurse. An agency like HCA is able to widen the search horizons for you all across Australia, opening up more windows of opportunity for your career prospects.
- Practice your interview and people skills – It’s always good to be ready for an interview because recruiters could call anytime now that you’re listed with an agency. Practice answering basic interview questions such as, “Tell me about yourself,” “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” “How do you handle adversity and struggle?” “What are your career goals in five years,” etc. Prepare your answers for these and more so that when you get a call for a job, you’ll be able to nail it.
- Grow your professional network – In this industry, it’s important to have great professional contacts. Learn to reach out to those who are already in key positions in industries you’re interested in. Ask around how they got into the role, what are the benefits, what they like about it, and what are the challenges. You can also share with them your experiences, ask for guidance and mentorship too. What’s great about expanding your network is the chance to learn from experienced workers and earn a potential recommendation when you earn it.
- Join trainings and upgrade your skills – While you’re waiting for that dream job in the health and medical industry, go ahead and improve on your skills by attending various trainings suited to various roles in health. Even if you don’t have experience as a professional nurse and especially if you just graduated from university, trainings and short courses will make your application look more attractive to potential employers. Look for trainings for Certified Nursing Assistants (CAN), patient care technicians (PCT), pharmacy technicians, psychiatric aides, patient service representatives, medical transcriptionists, etc.
The Australian healthcare industry continues to demand more and more healthcare professionals simply because people realise that health is more important than wealth, and that lifelong care should never be compromised. Talk to your healthcare jobs agency to discuss your career opportunities to realise your professional and personal goals in life.
