The job-related headlines have provided an ongoing emotional roller coaster the past few years swinging wildly from pessimistic news of doom and gloom to optimistic reports of economic recovery. This week I read about something positive and real that encouraged me – a system in healthcare technology that is creating new jobs and will continue to do so in the coming years. These are Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), also referred to as Health Information Technology (HIT) (and a bevy of other monikers with accompanying acronyms).

HIEs have been around, on a small scale, for at least a decade, allowing the exchange of medical records between formerly unconnected electronic systems. The systems will decrease administrative costs for providers while improving the quality of healthcare for patients.

While there are some networks in various States, there are currently no state or federal regulations governing the exchange of medical records. However, there are several organizations working towards a nationwide, regulated network.

This will create more jobs as the system matures. On the bureaucratic level, there will be people in state and federal government responsible for creating and monitoring these networks. There will be the techies creating the software (there’s already several companies out there, but as we know with technology, there’s always room for competition and room for improvement). There will be the sales force and the tech support staff installing, training and helping providers maintain the systems. And finally, there will be the end users themselves, possibly an entire job in itself once these systems become fully integrated into the healthcare system.

How can you jump on this burgeoning bandwagon? Should you hop on board? Whether you’re looking for work or already employed the answer is YES. This is a system that you should definitely keep your eye on as it continues to grow and change, whether you’re in management, tech support, patient services or even employed as a nurse or physician.

Here are a few of the ways that you could use your healthcare experience to assist the transition to HIE’s:

1. Serve on a regulatory committee providing your healthcare expertise.
2. Become a point person who provides test runs of one of the new systems that eventually gets installed in your hospital.
3. Combine your healthcare experience with your love of technology to write software or consult for an HIE.
4. Take classes in software development if this field interests you.

Follow the HIE news at the Nationwide Health Information Network Watch.

Many of us have been there. We thought that we would stay
at our jobs forever! But before we knew it, fate intervenes and alas, we are beginning a new job with people we don’t even know and struggling with the “Should I say this? How will people take it?” issue. More importantly, there is the “I have no idea what personality my boss is and I would really like to know a little more at this point” syndrome.

Although it may be virtually impossible to pin your boss’ personality down in the first week of your new job position, there are some things that you can do to impress a boss of most any personality. Here is what we recommend:

1. Remember that your job, whether you like it or not, is to make your boss look great. I know, I know, this can be hard sometimes to remember or WANT to do…but remembering this at all times will help you become invaluable to the organization.

2. Schedule a meeting with your boss quickly. Review any expectations, etc but mostly present yourself as a learner and find out what you can do to make things smoother within the organization.

3, Get to know the other staff members. Sitting in an office or hanging at a counter with zipped lips is not the way to impress the powers-that-be. Get out on the floor. Make friends with staff members and the people who are frequenting the establishment.

4. Remember to wear your learning cap. Recognize that you are NEW and that even staff members in other positions can teach you. Be a sponge. It will help you pick things up more quickly and impress them as well. It will also help you do your job even better.

5. Ask staff members what the organization is lacking, or what they are frustrated with (note this is not a question for the first day, more like after you get to know them a little) and see what you can do to help.

6. “Go the extra mile” and “Take the high road” whenever possible. This will benefit you and the people that you work with. The staff members and boss will see that you have high integrity and that you truly care for other people.

7. When you are complimented, ask what you can do better at as well. This shows humility and a willingness to learn.

8. Remember that you are not just working for your boss, but for fellow staff member and the public as well. The “I am here to serve you” attitude, although it seems petty (and never say it aloud) can go a long way in helping to impress your boss in the early days and beyond.

We are pleased to introduce New York-Presbyterian Hospital as a new Featured Employer here at Hospital Dream Jobs. NewYork-Presbyterian has extremely high levels of both employee and patient satisfaction scores. They maintain these scores while serving over 2 million patients a year.

They are the largest not-for-profit academic medical center in the nation and last month, they received the prestigious ranking of #6 in America’s Best Hospitals list by U.S. News & World Report.

To help job seekers learn more about their culture, career areas and upcoming events, NewYork-Presbyterian has created a new career website. This site offers a wealth of information and gives job seekers an opportunity to hear first-hand stories from hospital employees.

Edy, a Clinical Laboratory Chief Technologist, says that the people she works with are truly quality people, focused on patients. On her video, she shares that one Friday evening, an Oncologist approached her with a baby’s bone marrow aspirate in hand. “I need to treat this patient today,” he said. The Oncologist, Pathologist and Edy sat side-by-side to run the needed tests far into the evening so that the baby could receive care that night. “I’m a mother.” She says, “And that baby is someone’s loved one.”

Marisol, a Physician’s Assistant in the surgical department agrees. “The teamwork is amazing.” She thrives on connecting with her co-workers and also enjoys the annual Employee Recognition Day. “The care here, for all people, is outstanding.” She says, “The best compliment is when a patient tells me that they are comfortable and happy. They also like that I can speak Spanish. And everyone that I work with here is so very compassionate and caring. It makes a big difference for me.”

In spite of high unemployment rates and budget cuts at medical centers nationwide, NewYork-Presbyterian continues to hire and support employee benefits and programs. In 2009, the hospital hired 1,918 new employees, including 658 new nurses, and they expect to hire more than 1,900 employees this year. It’s obvious that they value their team members, patients and quality care.

Search for current job openings at NewYork-Presbyterian.

We recently met with Career Coach, Graham Caulfield, to bounce some questions off of him about job searching. Caulfield has worked for companies including Zig Ziglar, Honeywell, Telstra, NEC and Philips in sales and marketing and finds great satisfaction in helping people to obtain their Dream Jobs.

HDJ-What kinds of services does a career coach offer?

Graham- Just a few of the benefits you could experience by working with a career coach include:

1. Expediting the process of determining your new career direction.
2. Helping you with a systematic approach to finding your career fit.
3. Giving you feedback and guidance from someone who has helped hundreds make career changes.

In this economy, old ways of job searching will delay your employment. Responding to Newspaper and Internet ads as your only means of searching will almost guarantee extended unemployment. But a skilled career coach can help you to develop targeted job search tools (like your professional resume), hone your skills for marketing yourself to employers, and design a strategic game plan for finding your next job.

HDJ- How else can these services help someone who is job searching?

Graham- They offer jobseekers the chance to learn how to use all of the tools at their disposal. It provides them with an understanding of how to use their time and resources to the greatest advantage. Career coaches help by listening, providing feedback, and asking powerful questions to improve the job seeker’s ability to market and sell themselves in the job market.

They can coach you on how to answer interview questions most strategically. It’s not always the most qualified person who gets the position-sometimes the person who communicates the most persuasively will get the job.

HDJ- What strategies might benefit someone searching for a job in the healthcare field?

Graham- A good career coach is going help a job seeker identify their unique selling points. With so many applicants in the Healthcare industry having similar qualifications, it is important to communicate exactly what it is that “sets you apart”. It’s not enough to assume that it’s obvious or that everyone will recognize your talents.

HDJ- Do you recommend networking? Why or why not?

Graham- Yes, absolutely. It’s not who you know, but who knows you. Job seekers should become a member of a networking group or two to meet new people and establish a presence in a supportive environment. Sharing ideas leads to exposure and opportunities for everyone.

Usually networking contacts won’t be potential employers. They will be people who know about potential employment. If one discovers that a contact is a potential employer, they should take off their networking hat and pursue employment.

Effective networking also includes being involved on social and professional networking sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter.

HDJ- What is a common job searching mistake that you see?

Graham-That’s any easy one! People don’t read the advertisement and job description carefully. Read it 324 times, then read it again. Also, analyze and use those key words from the ad and job description to ensure that your résumé matches the employer requirements.

HDJ- Thank you Graham! Follow Graham on Twitter.

There is a ton of help available to help you with your job search online and today we want to highlight some of them that have resources valuable to your job search. Whether you need help with a resume, need to access job listings or need help networking, resources abound. Here are some resources that we recommend:

1. Help my Resume- A no-cost resume rewriting service with a mission in mind to help people present themselves better. Their vision: “By the end of 2011, we will be the leading advocate, conscious, voice and solutions provider to, and on behalf of the unemployed, regardless of age, sex or race throughout the United States.” They have a comprehensive blog with a ton of good job searching information as well. Follow them on Twitter and Like them on Facebook.

2. Expert Resume Man- We first met Graham on Twitter, where he keeps a steady stream of interesting job conversations and resources going. Today he posted a great tip: “Never include marital status, religious/political affiliations in résumé. Don’t insert picture either.” Graham is a career coach and if you feel the need for some more in-depth analysis of your resume, job search or defining your objective/goals, he’s the one to go to.

3. Landon Long- We also met Landon on Twitter. He is great at outlining the common pitfalls on resumes and offers a free course on his website about resume writing. The course includes access to four newsletters on job interviewing.

4. HealthCareers.net offers a great blog with a lot of healthcare job stats and growth predictions. In addition, they have job listings, health news, education and financial aid information. You can even view educational programs by State.

5. Job-Hunt.org offers hundreds of listings for job resources including online job searching tutorials, a Guide to Lay-Off Self Defense and more. From Job-Hunt website, “Job-Hunt is dedicated to the millions of people who have had their personal lives disrupted by the loss of a job…We hope that Job-Hunt can help open doors and provide assistance and hope to job seekers…A job loss can be a new beginning as well as an ending. A career is a process, not a destination! Don’t give up!”

6. Don’t forget to check out our blog for great resources and also our job listing section for thousands of healthcare jobs!

Why do you work in healthcare? You can’t deny that our chosen field makes a huge impact on people, how they live and even the outcome of their lives. When we chose healthcare for a living, it usually has something to do with making an impact and being able to positively affect lives.

But every job has its challenges, and whether yours are conflict with co-workers/superiors, low pay for long hours, patient “unappreciation” or just plain-ole office politics-jobs can get discouraging. How can you prevent those discouragements from affecting your job performance and burning you out?

Here are some suggestions for you:

1. Never doubt the impact that you can make. You won’t always hear it and sometimes, you might hear it in an odd fashion (such as a twisted compliment or overhearing family members talking about you), but know that your impact is great. Consider jotting down each compliment that your receive. Then you will have a list to refer to when you have a tough day.

2. Know when you need a break. If you are overly tired, feel discouraged or dread going to work, it’s time for a break. There is a reason why your employer allows vacation time. Breaks will keep you refreshed and thinking clearly. Take the breaks that you are allotted.

3. Encourage and use humor while on the job. Humor is an essential stress reliever and having some appropriate fun with your coworkers can do wonders to relax everyone who is there. Feeling stressed? Keep a joke book at the desk and pull it out when everyone is as tense as a stretched rubber band.

4. Don’t forget to eat! I’m not kidding. In the healthcare field we are incredibly busy and at times will go hours without the food needed that fuels our body and minds. Don’t let yourself move into low blood sugar, irritability and stress. Make sure everyone has scheduled breaks to eat and take those breaks. If you can’t, stash some higher protein snacks in your work area that you can grab on the go.

5. Communicate with your patients, co-workers and superiors. Communication is incredibly vital to keeping the work environment running smoothly. If you are uncomfortable with someone, there is a reason. Try and talk it out. Make it a priority to verbally de-clutter the workspace as needed. This will help everyone’s stress level, even those not directly involved with the issue.

Other than qualifications and skills, are there other things that you should look for when interviewing candidates for positions? Things that may give you a hint to personality, comfort zones and ability to interact well with other people? Absolutely.

My local computer repair store always takes good care of me. They understand I often have deadlines and that without my laptop, my work is absolutely stilled. My repair work doesn’t provide them with a ton of money—but I feel valued there. They all greet me when I come in, stop to talk awhile, and take good care of whatever issues my computer decides to have.

A few weeks ago Dell told me they would be out to replace my hard drive the next day and to back-up my computer before then, but my system would not back up. For help, I ran up to the nearby store and a technician I had not worked with before was being difficult. First he said there was no way he could get to it that day. I said it had to be today because Dell would be out tomorrow to completely replace the hard drive. I also said I understood that there would be extra cost involved for a rush job. But he continued on and on about how he couldn’t bump other customers, etc., and how my system is “old” (by one year) so it may not be an easy process, etc., (my fault for having a year old laptop, I guess). Finally, another technician who I know personally stepped over and physically removed my laptop from this guy’s hand, and in spite of a packed schedule, said he would do it for me. He was kind and the tone of his voice was soothing and soon I found myself walking out of the store — happy and confident that it would get done.

Now perhaps that first technician is super skilled in all that he does and a whiz with everything technical. I don’t know. What I do know is that they almost lost my business that day because of his attitude with me. We all know that even super-skilled employees must also be good with people or they will lose business upfront and create discontent.

So how can you make sure that the people you are hiring are the best at all aspects of the job, including customer service? I suggest that you look for the following when interviewing:

1. A smile. Better yet, see if your interviewee has a sense of humor. A sense of humor may get them through when a customer or patient is upset about something or otherwise difficult. Toss a few jokes out there. Laugh yourself, and note their responses.
2. An ability to continue to smile, or have a right reaction, in difficult situations. To test this, run your interviewee through role play situations. If you are hiring a nurse, for example, allow them to play the nurse and become a very difficult patient with a high fever and an extreme lack of sleep.
3. A willingness to understand that MOST people, at all times, are doing their best. It really is true that the majority of people are fighting a battle in their life in some way. This has an effect on their attitudes and responses to all of us. An understanding that people are doing the best they can with what they have to work with helps soothe waters and may prevent an employee from becoming defensive or angry. This can be accomplished through role play and then by discussing the role play after the fact. Ask questions like “why did you respond that way?” and make sure that you compliment them when they have great responses to the difficult patient.
4. A solid handshake and eye contact. Although insuring that someone has a firm handshake almost a cliché that has been around a long time and we often laugh at, you can get a sense of how comfortable your interviewee is with people based on their handshake. Is it firm and confident? Do they look you in the eye when they shake your hand and during the interview? In addition, watch their body language during the interview. Looking at the floor or room instead of you indicates that they are either uncomfortable or lying. And eye shifting after you ask them a question may also indicate this. Foot bouncing or other nervous habits many indicate also that they are not comfortable talking to other people.

All in all, our best employees are ones with both the competency to do the job well and also the ability to work with people in all walks of life and situations. Don’t be afraid to interview for both aspects.

Twitter is another social site that can be helpful when job searching. With the wonders of modern technology, those who list job openings can automatically post each job to twitter as they are listed, giving you the heads up that something has become available within the category that you are searching. In addition, job posts are a popular retweet-meaning that people often pass on information about jobs posted to their own followers.

If you don’t have a Twitter account yet, go to Twitter and sign up using your email. Once you activate your account, log in with your information. You will already be following people as Twitter has this set up automatically, and if you want to you can easily unfollow them by clicking on their name and then using the option to unfollow under the sunshine. Click on “profile” to see the page that other people see when clicking on your username.

To change your background, choose “settings” and then “design”. Twitter provides several optional backgrounds, or you can upload a photo for your background. You can also change the colors of font for your links and your sidebar colors. Experiment until you find options that you like and then click on “home” to see the results.

We do recommend that you both upload a small picture (60 pix) for your avatar and that you also include a one-line bio. To do this, go to “settings” and then choose “profile”. If you have a website, list that there as well.

Now you are on Twitter and it’s a great time to search job listings and also develop relationships with people who can recommend you for job positions. To start this, use the “find people” tab at the top of your page. Search for the words in your specialty and follow those people who might be a resource in your job search. You also have the ability to create a list if you want to place different accounts in various categories. Also follow our list of 176 (and growing) health organizations/recruiters that regularly post jobs and check it on a regular basis.

Here are some accounts of ours to follow for job listings:

RadiologyJob

StaffNurseJob

TravelNurse_Job

Pharmacy_Job

NursingMgmtJobs

Surgery_Jobs

RadTechJobs

BioTech_Job

Physicians_Job

Hospital_Jobs

Nursing_Job

If you want to connect with us on other news in addition to job listings, follow us on our main account at HospitalDrmJobs. See you on Twitter!

Recently I met with Allison Rapaport, founder of Hospital Dream Jobs to learn more about her and why she started Hospital Dream Jobs. I don’t know about you, but I am always curious about the behind-the-scenes happenings with new businesses. I often find that founders have unique reasons for starting a business or cause, and often it is the result of something in their background, a story of something that happened in their personal life or the discovery of a passion for an industry that was previously undiscovered.

J-What motivated you to start the site?

A- In 2008 I found myself in the middle of the economic crisis which was unfolding. The company I was working for as VP of Communications was changing hands and moving many headquarter employees to New York. I suddenly found myself in a unique position surrounded by a department of analysts and managers who were quickly going to be on the job market, many for the first time in decades. Colleagues were asking for my advice on how to search for jobs, to critique/rewrite their resume and help them figure out how to search for positions on the Internet. Word spread and it was overwhelming how many people asked for advice. This was the first time I had shared the job search tips I had used for myself and was surprised to realize how much knowledge I had acquired over the years about how to market myself.

J- What happened next?

A- When the job ended, I finally had a little breathing room. I considered my own business, but was not sure which direction to go. Then my mother suggested an online job board. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made and the more passionate I became about the idea.

As I thought about a website and researched the competition, I saw that there was an opening for another job board – one that is focused only on healthcare, one that listens to job seekers and hospitals and can evolve quickly (small enough to do that, but large enough to have the capability) and one that helps people find their “dream job” whatever their definition of a dream job is.

J- What do you want to convey on the site?

A- It is important to me to convey that you can create your future – through considering possibility, establishing goals, learning something new, and asking for what you want. I thought our site could be a place that serves as a sort of cheerleader for job seekers. I know that searching for a job can be tough and I want to make it as supportive as possible.

J- Why healthcare?

A- Many happy memories! I am now the third generation involved in the healthcare industry. Both of my grandmothers were nurses and my mother ran a healthcare recruitment company for over 30 years. I grew up surrounded by the healthcare industry. I remember my grandmothers’ white uniform with a white cap, hearing the stories of the patients they helped during the day and seeing an occasional off-color comic strip. I also remember working in my mother’s recruiting firm, Hospital Recruiters, cutting out ads from newspapers all over the country and pasting them in a book. She would use these ads to call applicants and place them in jobs. This was before the ease of the Internet.

J- Sounds like you indeed are following your passion, Allison! Thanks for sharing!

“I think the needs of both the job seekers and employers are in getting lost in the current environment,” says Hospital Dream Jobs founder, Allison Rapaport. “My goal is to listen to their needs and have the website evolve to meet these needs.”

In 2008, Rapaport brought together her experience in web development, communications and job searching with her interest in healthcare to develop Hospital Dream Jobs.  Because she also had contacts in the healthcare and technology field, there was a natural fit with developing content for the site as well.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Hospitals/Employers are excited about the ability to search for qualified leads to fill positions and receive alerts from Hospital Dream Jobs with links to the resume of interested parties. They also enjoy the added coups of being featured via video clips on the site and on the Hospital Dream Jobs blog. The ability to set up a profile page with more about their facility is another popular option.

For job seekers, the site is a virtual goldmine as it not only lists jobs listed with Hospital Dream Jobs but also pulls in listings from other healthcare job sites. In addition, there are numerous job resources, including lists of top hospitals, educational podcasts, links to educational facilities/hospitals and a list of recruitment and staffing agencies. The site has 400 job categories and thousands of listings. The job seeker also enjoys the ability to upload their resume/cover letter, send and receive messages, save job searches, create job alerts and learn more detail about the particular hospitals that interest them.

The goals for Hospital Dream Jobs include:

1. Provide quality and a high quantity of healthcare job listings from all parts of the country.

2. Support job seekers as they progress in their career. Offer job listings, tools to track their job search, career advice and resources, and information to stay current.

3. Offer hospitals and recruiters great advertising for their organization and the ability to attract the best in personnel.

4. Maintain an environment that is personable and responsive for all users.

Join us today by signing up for a Job Seeker or Employer account!