Hello! My name is Hannah and I am an MLT student in my clinical rotation which will be completed at the end of June 2011. I am starting my job search and have a few questions. I have never put together a cover letter and resume, so any advice one could offer would be great!

Being that I am a student, with no lab experience outside of my clinical rotation, what can I do to catch an employer's attention? I've had many jobs, but they are not related to lab science. Should I still include them, would they offer any insight into skills I may have? Would including my GPA and any academic awards be worth putting on the resume?

Thank you for any help you may offer!

Hannah

Hi Hannah, putting together a resume when you don't have relevent work experience can be tricky. It's best to focus on anything relevent to your job search, including your lab-specific education, any skills you have focused your training on, and any related activities (think internships, rotations or volunteer work in healthcare).

Also, one point recruiters have really harped on in the recent economic downturn, is that if your resume seems to be lacking something, add to it by adding to your professional plate. Join a professional society or participate on a committee. Consider contributing to ADVANCE, by writing an article for our Student Center or becoming a student blogger. Contact me at khatt@advanceweb.com if you're interested in these opportunities.

 Here are a few resources you may find helpful. Good luck with your job search!

• http://laboratorian.advanceweb.com/Student-and-New-Grad-Center/Student-Top-Story/Getting-it-Right-on-Your-Resume.aspx
• http://laboratorian.advanceweb.com/Article/Recruiter-Meets-Resume-7.aspx
• http://laboratorian.advanceweb.com/Columns/In-FOCUS-With-ASCT/Creating-an-Effective-Resume.aspx

Kerri,

I found the articles informative and helpful in finding a direction to go in when starting my resume. I am a student member of ASCP and ASCLS, I did not know that these memberships could contribute to a resume, so that excites me. Volunteering is a great idea, I am checking into that at my clinical site.

I sent you an email in response to the oppertunities you mentioned that may be available at ADVANCE. Those are things that definitely perked my interest!

Thanks again!

Do you still need help with your resume? If so, you can forward it to my e-mail address. I am a Career Advisor within the healthcare industry and write resumes professionally for individuals like yourself who are looking to gain employment. You can forward it to the email address listed below.

Sincerely,

Vince

vdesroches@mail.com 

 

A successful resume is very important as it conveys your personal details in the best possible way. It should explain all your skills, abilities, qualifications and experience to employers precisely and effectively. It can be used to make multiple applications to employers in a specific career area.

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Success will not lower its standard to us. We must raise our standard to success. - Rev. Randall R. McBride

Hey Hannah,

Being that you are just getting started it good to get it professionally done, or some recruitment companies actually help you do one as well as give you practice questions to answer when on the interview. One that is really good is Healthcare connections, the help you through the whole process as well as find the jobs for you. Its actually a free services too, so it really worth trying because if they don't find a job for you right away you are still in the data base and they call and prep you when something is found that suits you. The website is www.labcareer.com, and the number is 866-346-8522, all the people there are good, and they basically hold you hand the whole time. Its pretty good stuff.