Health Information Careers Blog
Breaking into the HIM Field
Date: January 28, 2011 - by Debra Slusarczyk
Tags: advice,careers,landingthatfirstjob,networking,HIM
Q: I am a recent graduate here in Nebraska in Health
Information Management. I plan to work toward my RHIT credential, but the
problem I am facing is that none of the employers is willing to hire me
since I have little experience. Do you have suggestions as to what I
should be doing differently? It is difficult to get experience when no one
is willing to give you a chance.
A: You want to make sure that your resume (portfolio) is up to
date, with your latest trainings, etc.
Contact any friends in the field, and network, network, network. Go to all your local meetings and state
meetings if you can. You can also try to
volunteer at a local hospital in the Health Information Department. If you can volunteer a few hours a week, you
can use this as experience on your resume.
Also volunteering is a great way to get your foot in the door in a
healthcare facility. Be patient! The job market for all industries is moving
slowly. Be creative and not only look
for jobs in an acute care facility.
There are many alternative care settings that need our expertise. Long term care, hospice, rehabilitation,
correctional facilities, ambulatory care, etc..
You may want to try to the old fashion way of hitting the pavement, and
visiting your local facilities and dropping off your resume. If you know anyone who works in local
facilities, have them watch the internal job postings for you also. You may have to work in a position that is
not in the area you want, but it will give you an advantage to see if a
position becomes available in your area of interest.Q: This article describes how some employers and recruiters are trying
to address the growing demand for health IT professionals. What can
aspiring health IT or HIM professionals take away from the hirer’s
perspective to aid in their own job searches?
A: Having
an HIM and IT background along with experience is a win-win situation. Employers and recruiters search for this
marriage of fields because we have moved forward toward electronic
documentation. Educate yourself and have up to date
skills. Networking is crucial. You want to be utilizing has many reputable
data banks as you can to post your resume and connect to possible
opportunities. You must be diligent and assertive to keep
yourself focused. Follow up is also very
important. If you hear from a potential
employer, follow up with them. There can
be a fine line between the follow up that is professional and timely, versus
when you may become too pushy and turn off a potential employer. So be careful. Make sure you are using keys words in your
resume, so when a search is being done by recruiters/employers, that your
information is available to them. Think
also what will make your resume stand out, versus another candidate. If you have a potential employer in mind,
and a position is available, look at what they want, and then do an inventory
of your resume against that. Again make
sure that your resume fits that they want, and that you resume stands out. Your choice of words and action verbs are
key!!! Your resume is an introduction
of you!!!