Analytical Report

The Health Sciences Group, etc.

*Photo Credit: http://s64.photobucket.com/user/mflissinger/media/sadpanda.gif.html
Chris Lennox, Chris Wunderli, Hien Ho, Jeannette Killinger, Kyle Magner,
and Reily Brown
1
Table of Contents
Analytical Report 1
!he Health "ciences #roup, etc 1
!echnical Writing$ "alt la%e Co&&unity College'
(ntroduction '
)urpose "tate&ent$ '
*escription$ '
(nter+iew ,uestions$ '
Methodology -
.ccupational !herapy -
*ental Hygiene /
)har&acy 0
)sychology 11
(nternational Relations 11
(nter+iews 1'
*ental Hygiene 1'
.ccupational !herapy 1'
)har&aceutical !ech 1-
)sychology 1/
Results 10
Career Keywords 10
Resu&e 2le&ents$ 13
Key 2xperiences$ 13
4etwor%ing$ 13
Mista%es that are &ade and how to a+oid the&$13
5
Technical Writing: Salt lake Community College
IAB room !"
#ate: $ebruar% !& !'(4
)o: #r. *ason Coote%
$rom: )he +ad Panda ,roup -group (.
+ub/ect: Anal%tical 0eport
ntro!uction
"urpose Statement:
!he purpose o6 this analytical report is to help the group get into our speci6ic 6ields and
the training progra&s
#escription:
!his pro7ect is going to 8e a8le to wor% 6or al&ost all areas o6 study Because o6 how
di+erse the group is, we had al&ost no co&&onality 8etween our 6ields, so we decided
to 6ocus on how to get into our speci6ic 6ields and training progra&s
nter$ie% &uestions:
.riginally our 9uestions were not +ery use6ul We did not really ha+e an idea as to how
this pro7ect would wor%, seeing as we ha+e se+en di66erent areas o6 study But, a6ter a
6ew e&ails and group colla8orations, we narrowed down what the group was going to
6ocus on, getting into our 6ields and training progra&s
With that in &ind, the group de+eloped the 6ollowing co&&on 9uestions$
,$ What career %eywords are you loo%ing 6or:
,$ What are the &a7or %eywords you loo% 6or when you do your three second glance:
'
,$ A6ter you choose the resu&es, what are the &a7or things you loo% 6or: ;ie
education, experience, re6erences<
,$ What type o6 experiences would you 8e loo%ing 6or when hiring so&eone 6or this
position:
,$ How would a person go a8out getting the experiences that you loo% 6or:
,$ (6 you had it to do o+er again, what ad+ice would you gi+e yoursel6 on networ%ing and
how to go a8out it:
,$ (6 you had to pic% the top three &ista%es you see when loo%ing at resu&es, what are
they and how do you ad+ise a+oiding the&:
A!!itional &uestions:
, A6ter 6inishing the pre=re9uisites, what is the next step ( need to ta%e:
, *oes the school ;"LCC< wor% with speci6ic *ental Hygienists 6or students to o8ser+e,
or do ( need to 6ind &y own:
, How do ( su8&it an application:
'etho!ology
(ccupational Therapy
ntention:
( was luc%y enough to 8e a8le to contact so&eone to inter+iew 6airly easily (n &y 7o8 (
wor% pretty close to the people that wor% in the o66ice ( as%ed the hu&an resource
director i6 ( could inter+iew her and she was &ore than happy to do it We set up a ti&e
and got the 9uestions done 6airly easy
!o get into the progra& people are loo%ing 6or students who can 8e leaders !hey are
loo%ing 6or experience o6 so&e sort in the 6ield to set you apart 6ro& other students And
o6 course they also loo% at what you were doing 8e6ore you were loo%ing into getting
into the progra& i6 it is rele+ant to the 6ield, such as the re9uired classes and so&e
experience in the 6ield
My second inter+iew was a little &ore di66icult to set up then &y 6irst inter+iew Howe+er
it pro+ed to 8e &uch &ore rele+ant and help6ul to what our group was trying to get
across ( inter+iewed an occupational !herapist Her 6ield o6 expertise was early
inter+ention !he &ain 9uestions that ( as%ed her that ( had to do with education were
as 6ollows$
How &any years are re9uired in school:
-
What are so&e o6 the re9uired classes:
What were your college expenses:
Was the progra& you entered into co&petiti+e:
*o you ha+e a 8achelors or &asters:
What do they typically loo% 6or when choosing so&eone to get into a graduate
progra&:
Research

( learned 6ro& that inter+iew the i&portant things to ha+e when trying to get into the
progra& in school #rades are o6 course i&portant 8ut she explained that re6erences
and experience are +ery i&portant "he reco&&ended that ( try and hold on to the 7o8
(>& currently in 8ecause that will gi+e &e good experience and set &e apart 6ro& other
applicants trying to get in Another &ain thing ( learned was that 8e6ore you can e+en
apply 6or the &asters progra& you ha+e to ha+e a certain a&ount o6 o8ser+ation hours
done !his was a little 8it discouraging 8ut at the sa&e ti&e it does &a%e sense
.ccupational !herapy now re9uires a &aster>s degree to e+en 8e a8le to wor% in the
6ield (t used to not 8e that way 8ut now it is ( was planning on going on and getting &y
&asters so this didn>t really change &y +iew at all ( was told that ( a& on the right trac%
and to %eep seeing a councilor to &a%e sure that ( %eep ta%ing the right classes
Re)uirements
Master>s degree
.8ser+ation hours
(nternship hours
2xperience
Re9uired classes done
*et%orking
(ts 8est to constantly ha+e the &ind that anyone at anyti&e can help you !he 7o8 you
ha+e, the people you %now &ight 8e a8le to gi+e you a head start in getting into the
progra& Re6erences are huge to get into a graduate progra& *e+eloping re6erences
ta%es networ%ing and 6inding in6or&ation 6ro& people
Conclusion
(n conclusion there is a de&and 6or occupational therapist &ore speci6ically in the area
o6 wor%ing with elderly .nce you get through the progra& and get 6inished with all the
re9uire&ents getting a 7o8 isn>t the 8attle (t>s 7ust getting into the progra& that is the
di66icult part !he &ain things that sets you apart 6ro& others is experience, good
re6erences, and the personality that will show the& that you are 6it 6or the progra&
?
#ental Hygiene
"alt La%e Co&&unity College recently changed the re9uire&ents to get into the *ental
Hygiene progra& Because these changes were &ade within the last year, &y sources
o6 in6or&ation are li&ited, and e+en so&e o6 the Health "ciences Ad+isors don@t %now
what is needed to get into the progra& ( 6ound &y 8est source o6 in6or&ation to 8e the
application ( had to 6ill out
'etho!ology
( inter+iewed a Health "ciences Ad+isor, 6illed out an online application, and researched
online ;speci6ically the "LCC we8site<
Health Sciences A!$isor
His 7o8 is to help students %now what they need to do in order to get into
health related 6ields An6ortunately, the ad+isor ( spo%e with didn>t ha+e
&ore to tell &e, than ( already %new His expertise was nursing, 8ut there
wasn>t a *ental Hygiene ad+isor a+aila8le to tal% to
A6ter 6inishing the pre=re9uisites, what is the next step ( need to
ta%e:
*oes the school ;"LCC< wor% with speci6ic *ental Hygienists 6or
students to o8ser+e, or do ( need to 6ind &y own:
How do ( su8&it an application:
(nline Application for #H program
!here is no way to get into the *ental Hygiene progra&, unless you 6ill out
the application, which is only a+aila8le during the two &onth application
period
What are the pre=re9uisites:
What will set &e apart 6ro& other applicants:
Health Sciences A!mission portion of S+CC %ebsite
Contains &ore in6or&ation than what ( was a8le to get 6ro& the Health
"ciences Ad+isor
How &any applicants are accepted each year:
When will ( 6ind out i6 ( ha+e 8een accepted or not:
/
What is the next step, a6ter acceptance:
What happens i6 ( a& not accepted this year:
Results
Because ( ha+e already 6inished &y application, ( already %new a lot o6 these answers
Howe+er, they were +ery snea%y a8out so&e o6 the things that will set you apart 6ro&
other applicants !here is no way to 6ind out so&e o6 these things ;unless you are luc%y
enough to get an inter+iew with an ad+isor that actually %nows<, until you are al&ost
6inished 6illing out the application .nce you get to the end, another section opens up 6or
you to 6ill out
A6ter you 6inish the pre=re9uisites, you ha+e to ta%e the H2"( exa&, and score at
least B?C on each section Dou can ta%e the test again, 8ut it costs E0? each
ti&e, and you ha+e to wait at least 5 wee%s
"LCC doesn@t re9uire that you wor% with a speci6ic *ental Hygienist Dou 7ust
ha+e to &a%e sure to record your -1 hours, and then ha+e the R*H sign o66 on it
!o 6ill out an application, you ha+e to add the Health "ciences @channel@ to your
My)age !he online application is accessed through that channel
!he pre=re9uisites areF
Biology 51/1, 51/?, 5'51,
5'5?, 5-51, 5-5?
Che&istry 1111, 111?
2nglish 1111
Math 1111
Co&&unication 1111
Health 1151
"ociology 1111
)sychology 1111
Chances o6 getting into the *H progra& are higher i6 you ha+eF
Co&pleted a C.*A
accredited progra&
!a%en 2nglish 5111
!a%en Medical
!er&inology 1111
A Bachelors degree
An Associate degree
2xperience as a *ental
Assistant
.nly 1/=10 students are accepted each year 2ach student is re9uired to
&aintain at least a CG in each class, or they will 8e dropped 6ro& the course
An e=&ail is sent to your 8ruin &ail account noti6ying you o6 denial, or
B
acceptance, in April
A6ter acceptance you are re9uired to co&plete C)R certi6ication 6ro& A&erican
Red Cross, or A&erican Heart Association Dou &ust 8e properly i&&uniHed with
!dap 8ooster, MMR, Hepta=+ax, Chic%en pox ;or positi+e i&&unity<, and ha+e a
negati+e !B test
(6 you aren@t accepted, you can reapply during the next application period !he
H2"( exa& is only good 6or one year, so you will ha+e to reta%e it, 8e6ore
applying again
"harmacy
ntention
!he intention o6 this section o6 the report is to answer the 9uestion o6 how one gets into
phar&acy school
Research
Because o6 ti&e constraints, we weren>t a8le to contact anyone at phar&acy schools to
see what sets apart those who are accepted and those who are re7ected We had only
those schools we8sites to get access to 8asic re9uire&ents 6or acceptance (nstead,
three inter+iews were conducted with phar&acy &anagers responsi8le 6or hiring in their
co&panies
(nter+iews
Ben Andruss, )har&*, phar&acy &anager at Walgreens
Brian Harris, R)h, 2xecuti+e *irector, "enior Care )har&acy
phar&acy &anager at Wal&art
Re)uirements
A&aHingly, a degree ;BA or AA< is not necessary (n 6act, &ost students ha+e no
college degree upon entering phar&acy school !here are core classes that are
re9uired 8y all schools and other classes necessary at select schools
0
Re9uired classes
1 year #eneral Che&istry wIla8s
1 year .rganic Che&istry wIla8s
Hu&an Anato&y
)hysiology
Micro8iology
College Alge8ra
!rigono&etry
Calculus (
)hysics
.ther classes
"peech
"tatistics
Calculus ((
Cell Biology
)hysics ((
!echnical Writing
!he )CA! ;)har&acy College Application !est<
Re9uired at all accredited schools
!ests o6 %nowledge o6 core classes
(ncludes a +oca8ulary section and short essay
(nternship
Many phar&acy schools now re9uire internships as part o6 their curriculu& Whether
you see% a career in a hospital, retail, or closed=door phar&acy setting, an internship is
an excellent way to gain a 8etter wor%ing %nowledge o6 your 6ield and +alua8le insights
)har&acy students &ay apply 6or an intern>s license a6ter co&pleting the 6irst se&ester
o6 the )ro6essional )rogra&
1?11 hours in total are re9uired
311 are in class
/11 are interning in a phar&acy
3
Results
Most phar&acy schools re9uire a #)A o6 50 and a )CA! school o6 at least B1C "o&e
schools re9uire letters o6 reco&&endation as well !his is where networ%ing co&es in
handy 4etwor%ing is a syste& o6 getting to %now 6riends and colleagues ;or at least
ac9uaintances< in the sa&e 6ield as you !his can also 8e use6ul when see%ing a 7o8
a6ter graduation (t>s always help6ul to ha+e a cache o6 re6erences to rely on But
networ%ing is only a toolF the grades and )CA! score still need to 8e solid
"o&e extras that loo% good on an application
)har&acy technician experience
Jolunteer wor%
)ro6essional society &e&8ership
"sychology
'etho!ology:
My two in6or&ation sources were Marshall "&ith and 2&ily .rtiH Both students at the
A, and 8oth in charge o6 research la8 groups Marshall started his own neuroscience la8
this se&ester that deals with hands 6ree co&puter use 2&ily &anages se+eral o6 the
la8s in the neuroscience depart&ent at the A
( spo%e with Marshall a8out la8 opportunities at the A and we discussed the one he
runs He personally has no say in who is in+ol+ed in his la8, 8ut he pointed &e to 2&ily
who does "he inter+iews students who are interested in the position and decides i6 they
6it the criteria
( was a8le to sit with 2&ily on Wednesday, Ke8ruary 15 and discuss this assign&ent
with her and as% her our list o6 9uestions
Results:
4ot &uch surprise here Hiring &anagers in the neuroscience depart&ent pre6er
students who ha+e la8 experience 8e6ore especially i6 it pertains to neuroscience !hey
li%e clean resu&es with only rele+ant experience and without re6erences 2xperience in
neuropsychology can co&e 6ro& rele+ant psychology and 8iology courses Many
students that co&e into the la8 ha+e wor%ed in one 8e6ore 8ut the &a7ority ha+e not, at
least not at the A (n 6inding candidates 6or a la8 who do not ha+e pre+ious experience,
hiring &anagers loo% at #)A, related coursewor%, and the students> o+erall goals with
the la8 4etwor%ing is the 8est way to get in+ol+ed !he A has a psychology we8page
that lists the pro6essors, la8s, &anagers, and courses (t is a great resource and a way
to get in touch with so&eone with 9uestions a8out psychology )ersonally, ( was a8le to
11
inter+iew 2&ily 8ecause &y 6riend Marshall told &e a8out her and his 6riend introduced
us 4etwor%ing drastically increases the chances o6 6inding wor% in any 6ield and 6or a
college student, there are usually &any resources around 6or networ%ing
nternational Relations
'etho!ology:
When doing this section o6 the pro7ect, ( was the la&e duc% ( couldn>t get an inter+iew,
in person or online with anyone at the "tate *epart&ent or the Anited 4ations, and
what ( want to do does not re9uire &e to get into a speci6ic 6ield or progra& to get a 7o8
Mostly, what it ta%es is an internship with an 4#., the A" #o+ern&ent, or an
(nternational #o+ern&ent "o&e are +ery co&petiti+e, others are not But, 7ust li%e
college diplo&a>s, where you graduate helps a lot "a&e with internships, the &ore
prestigious, the &ore opportunities you ha+e through na&e alone, networ%ing with the
Lgood Mol 8oys clu8N and experience With that in &ind, ( researched what an internship
is, how to go a8out getting one, and what type ( would want when loo%ing at &y degree
What it is:
An internship is a pre=pro6essional wor% experience that pro+ides students, recent
graduates, and those see%ing to change careers with the opportunity to gain experience
in a particular career 6ield Kor students, internships also supple&ent acade&ic classes
and, in so&e cases, earn college credit Kor recent graduates and indi+iduals
considering a career change an internship is a way to try a new 7o8 without &a%ing a
per&anent co&&it&ent An internship is a way to test the waters in a +ariety o6 career
6ields, to gain Oreal=li6eO experience, and a way to decide on = or opt out = o6 a certain
+ocation
Ho% to get it:
"tart with the sites that let you search speci6ically 6or internships (nternwe8co&, 6or
exa&ple, has an ad+anced search 6eature that ena8les you to speci6y location, industry,
7o8 6unction, ti&e o6 year and %eyword .r you can +isit your college>s Career "er+ices
or (nternship )rogra&s o66ice
Specific for nternational Relations:
11
When loo%ing at international relations, you should 6ocus your internship with$
4#. ;4on=#o+ern&ental .rganiHation<
!here are thousands, 6ind one that is in you are interested in
A" go+ern&ent
Any o6 the &any agencies will do
(nternational go+ern&ent
2&8assies are a great place to intern
,ey Wor!s:
Learn a second or third language
"tudy, +olunteer, or wor% internationally "ee% as &any experiences a8road as
possi8le
Co&plete an internship speci6ically with an 4#., the A" go+ern&ent, or an
international go+ern&ent
"tudy world go+ern&ents and religions
*e&onstrate your depth o6 dedication, willingness to adapt, and coping
&echanis&s to co&8at stress and di66icult situations
*e+elop s%ills in the areas o6 organiHing groups, e66iciency, and the a8ility to cal&
people
"ee% cultural experiences on ca&pus and get in+ol+ed with international
students
Learn a8out geography and international tra+el regulations
"tay a8reast o6 international news and politics
"harpen your intercultural co&&unication s%ills
Learn to see all sides o6 a pro8le&, including econo&ic, social, political, and
en+iron&ental
15
2arn a rele+ant graduate degree such as international diplo&acy, international
relations, or law

Conclusion:
A6ter doing this research, it 8eca&e apparent that grades, languages, and
writingIco&&unication s%ills are hugely i&portant 6or getting into internships .ne o6 the
8iggest pieces o6 ad+ice that ( got would 8e to start s&all while you are in college, and
go 8ig when you get out When thin%ing s&all, intern at your local political o66ice or try
and 6ind an ad+ocacy group to intern at !hen, when you graduate, ;it is %ey you
understand that you ha+e to start at the 8otto&, and will &ost li%ely 6ind an unpaid
internship< go 8ig, applying at one o6 the three areas that ( &entioned 8e6ore
nter$ie%s
#ental Hygiene
&: What key %or!s !o you look for on a resume-
A$ Co&pletion o6 an AA" in *ental Hygiene, rele+ant certi6ications, and any experience
in the dental 6ield )re6era8ly as a dental assistant, 8ut any type o6 wor% in a dental or
orthodontics o66ice
&: What is the best type of reference. character or %ork-
A$ Most de6initely wor% re6erences
&: #o you factor in personality %hen you are hiring-
A$ Des, we do a wor%ing inter+iew to see how the Hygienist does with patients (6 they do
well, that &atters &ore than experience as a dental assistant
&: What are some re! flags that you ha$e seen on resumes-
A$ A high turno+er rate When people ha+e 7u&ped 6ro& 7o8 to 7o8, it &a%es you wonder
why
&: What %oul! you recommen!, as far as getting e/perience-
A$ *o whate+er you can Jolunteer your ti&e, i6 you ha+e to, 7ust get that experience
(ccupational Therapy
&: What career key%or!s are you looking for-
1'
A$ 2xperience in the 6ield, care ta%er, &anagerial experience, leadership, led
&anage&ent, culture andIor organiHational side o6 the organiHation
&: What are the ma0or key%or!s you look for %hen you !o your 1 sec glance-
A$ Manage, care, leadership
&: After you choose the resumes, %hat are the ma0or things you look for- 2i.e
e!ucation, e/perience, references.3
A$ 2ducation, at least a 8achelors, how long they>+e stayed at a 7o8, 8alance in the
resu&e, organiHational s%ills ( loo% at what they were doing 8e6ore, and see i6 it is
rele+ant to the current 6ield
&: When, in your opinion, %oul! you go from a one page resume to a t%o page
resume-
A$ (6 you>+e held o+er three 7o8s that are applica8le
&: What type of e/periences %oul! you be looking for %hen hiring someone for
this position-
A$ Wor% in the 6ield, leadership, experience, s%ills with co&puters and paperwor%,
scheduling, 8eha+ioral training
&: Ho% %oul! a person go about getting the e/periences that you look for-
A$ Wor% in the 6ield, apply 6or positions, and &a%e sure people %now you are serious
a8out getting a position 2ducation, and shadowing are also a good thing
&: f you ha! it to !o o$er again, %hat a!$ice %oul! you gi$e yourself on
net%orking an! ho% to go about it-
A$ !al% to e+ery8ody Let e+eryone %now what your interests and end goals are ;ha+e an
end goal< using social &edia sites li%e Lin%ed(n Ju&p on opportunities #et out and tal%
to peopleP
&: f you ha! to pick the top three mistakes you see %hen looking at resumes,
%hat are they an! ho% !o you a!$ise a$oi!ing them-
A$ !oo long, too &any words, they don>t explain the gaps, don>t put to &any 7o8s on
there
"harmaceutical Tech
&: Career key%or!s, %hat are the most important ones-
A$ !he &ost i&portant ones are license, experience, and pursuing phar&acy school
&: Resume: What !o you look for an! in %hat or!er-
A$ "chool$ you &ust ha+e a license, experience is good, 8ut is not necessary and gaps
in 8etween 7o8s loo%s really 8ad
1-
&: ,ey e/perience: What !o hiring managers mean an! ho% to ac)uire it-
A$ ( would rather not wor% with Lli6ers,N ( need techs who are loo%ing 6or so&ething
8igger, and they will need a re6erence showing that
&: What !o you e/pect from references-
A$ ( don>t chec% the&, 8ut i6 ( did, it would need to 8e wor% related
&: Tactical solutions for net%orking-
A$ Dou gain networ%s through experience, and shadow hospital phar&acists
&: What career key%or!s are you looking for-
A$ Hard wor%ing, 6lexi8le, dependa8le, co&puter s%ills
&: What are the ma0or ,ey%or!s you look for %hen you !o your 1 secon! glance-
A$ Be 8old, 8e creati+e "hort, succinct 8ullets #ra&&atically correct, 6ully 6leshed out
sentences are not necessary ( lo+e to see phar&acy technician license and
experience !his can tip the scale in your 6a+or
&: After you choose the resumes, %hat are the ma0or things you look for-
A$ 2ducation, the school you attend &atters (>& 6a&iliar with &ost phar&acy schools in
the west Right now, the A;uni+ersity o6 Atah< puts out a 8etter product than Rose&an
Ha+e they used &y co&puter syste&: !hat helps 2xperience in the 6ield is a plus
&: Ho% %oul! a person go about getting e/perience that you look for-
A$ Be 6lexi8le with salary i6 your &ain idea is to gain experience But don>t gi+e yoursel6
awayF don>t go in saying you>ll wor% 6or 6ree Dou o6ten get what you pay 6or
&: f you ha! to !o it all o$er again, %hat a!$ice %oul! you gi$e yourself on
net%orking an! ho% to go about it-
A$ ( li%e 7o8 shadowing !al% to people #et to %now people through wor% experience
&: f you ha! to pick the top mistakes you see %hen looking at resumes- What
are they an! ho% !o you a!$ise a$oi!ing them-
A$ !oo long, anything longer than 1 page get trashed *on>t put on wor% experience that
isn>t applica8le to the 7o8 you>re applying 6or *on>t put on anything negati+eF do not
+olunteer incarceration, 6irings, 8ad ha8its, etc Also, do not &ention religious a66iliation
"harmaceutical Tech
&. What career key%or!s are you looking for-
A .pen a+aila8ility, experience, educationItraining, pro8le& sol+ing, sel6=&oti+ator
&. What are the ma0or key%or!s you look for %hen you !o your three secon!
glance-
A 2xperience, license
1?
&. After you choose the resumes, %hat are the ma0or things you look for- 2 i.e.
e!ucation, e/perience, references.3
A 2ducation, training, license, open a+aila8ility, good re6erence
&. When, in your opinion, %oul! you go from a one page resume to a t%o page
resume-
A When you are wor%ing in a +ery specialiHed 6ield
&. What type of e/periences %oul! you be looking for %hen hiring someone for
this position-
A Ha+ing 8een a cashier or phar&acy tech 8e6ore wor%ing in a custo&er ser+ice 6ield
&. Ho% %oul! a person go about getting the e/periences that you look for-
A "tart o66 as a cashier 6or the store
&. f you ha! it to !o o$er again, %hat a!$ice %oul! you gi$e yourself on
net%orking an! ho% to go about it-
A #et to %now lots o6 people in the co&pany in di66erent 6ields
&. f you ha! to pick the top three mistakes you see %hen looking at resumes,
%hat are they an! ho% !o you a!$ise a$oi!ing them-
A .+ercrowded, too long, and too wordy
"sychology
&. What career key%or!s are you looking for-
A )articularly La8 or Research experience in a rele+ant 6ield o6 psychology We li%e to
wor% with indi+iduals who ha+e had experience tal%ing to, and wor%ing with people in
ser+ice or social wor% 7o8s as well A rele+ant degree is typically the &ost i&portant
thing an indi+idual can co&e into the 7o8 &ar%et with, and experience in a particular 6ield
usually co&es hand in hand with said degree
&. After you choose the resumes, %hat are the ma0or things you look for- 2i.e
e!ucation, e/perience, references.3
A We loo% 6or indi+iduals who stand out 8ased on what they do with their ti&e in
college or wor%ing in a research 6ield (ndi+iduals who ha+e experience in a sel6=run
research la8 are always pre6erred We also really li%e to see applicant who has 8een
in+ol+ed in their own la8=wor% or done their own research studies inside or outside o6
their schooling
&. What type of e/periences %oul! you be looking for %hen hiring someone for
this position-
A )articularly experience in a neurology la8 or experience in testing 8rain data
1/
&. Ho% %oul! a person go about getting the e/periences that you look for-
A &uch o6 the experience we would loo% 6or is o66ered through the course o6 earning a
degree Most o6 the indi+iduals who co&e to us with a rele+ant - year degree ha+e
experience in a research la8 or rele+ant psychological studies
&. f you ha! it to !o o$er again, %hat a!$ice %oul! you gi$e yourself on
net%orking an! ho% to go about it-
A Always tal% to people who could help you 4e+er try to &a%e it through college alone,
and ne+er try to 6ind a 7o8 alone Colleges ha+e the necessary resources to help
students get the experience they need #etting your na&e out there and getting to %now
people in your 6ield is the 8est way to hear a8out upco&ing opportunities and ha+e
+ia8le re6erences to put on an application
&. f you ha! to pick the top three mistakes you see %hen looking at resumes,
%hat are they an! ho% !o you a!$ise a$oi!ing them-
A We really are not interested in all the 7o8 experiences 6ro& one indi+idual We loo% 6or
experience rele+ant to their particular 6ield and rele+ant to what we are loo%ing 6or
#ra&&atical errors are not a signi6icant issue 8ut they arise e+ery now and then We
li%e to see clean, well=organiHed resu&es with o8+ious dates and distinctions 8etween
sections We pre6er it %ept short and to the point Re6erences are not necessary on the
initial application 8ut i6 we are interested we li%e to contact re6erences later Because o6
the 8road scienti6ic reach o6 psychology we see do a lot o6 experience in indi+iduals that
is rele+ant to psychology 8ut not a particular 6ield Here we loo% 6or la8 experience
particularly in neurology !hings li%e 8eing a part o6 case studies or de+elop&ental
research experience are good to ha+e, 8ut in the neurology 6ield, we are not interested
in seeing things li%e that Keep it si&ple and 6ill a resu&e only with the experience that
will help you in the position you are applying 6or
&. What are some re! flags you ha$e seen on an application-
A as pre+iously stated, gra&&atical errors and 6or&atting issues are the 8ig ones,
though not too co&&on We li%e to see that the applicant has had experience 8e6ore
and is a8le to hold a position 6or a while
&. What kin! of references !o you look for on an application-
A We don>t as% 6or re6erences on the initial application 8ut i6 we are interested in a
particular one we will collect re6erence in6or&ation later We want to hear a8out the
&ost rele+ant experience you>+e had so college pro6essors, la8 partners, and 6ellow
students are a great place to start
1B
Results
When ta%ing into account how &any 6ields the group had, the pro7ect was a success
4ew in6or&ation was gleaned 8y the inter+iews, gi+ing e+eryone a step up in preparing
6or 6uture inter+iews !he part that held us up 6or so long was 6iguring out how to &erge
so &any di66erent 6ields into one report With help, we settled on how to get into the 6ield
we wanted, and then how to get hired into it With that in &ind, we set a8out de+eloping
9uestions, re+ising the 9uestions, and then &erging the inter+iews and ta%ing the %ey
points and dra6ting the& into a docu&ent such as this
Career ,ey%or!s
#ental Hygiene nternational Relations (ccupational Therapy
*ental .rthodontic
assisting experience
R*H ;registered
*ental Hygienist<
AA" in *ental
Hygiene
"econd language
;pre6era8ly "panish<
"econd Language
(nternships;4#., 4ot
6or )ro6its<
(nternational
Relations Certi6icate
.ccupational
therapy assistant
*egree in
.ccupational
therapy
)re6era8ly at least 1
year experience
"harmacist "sychology *on4!estructi$e testing
tech
Hard wor%ing
Klexi8le
*ependa8le
Co&puter "%ills
*etail .rientated
*egree )har&*
License
4eurology, Clinical,
Korensic, "ocial,
A8nor&al,
de+elop&ental
psychology
Case studies, "ur+eys,
(nter+iews
"tudy o6 8eha+ior,
&oti+ation, &e&ory,
e&otion, &ental
processes and &ental
health
Brain ;&any
specialiHed regions<
AA" degree in non=
destructi+e testing
;le+el ((<
)re6era8ly
experiences in
di66erent testing
&ethods ;Q=Ray,
Altrasonic, 2ddy
CurrentR<
10
Resume 5lements:
!he co&&on ele&ents o6 the resu&es would 8e experience, degrees, certi6icates, and
co&&unication and presentation s%ills
,ey 5/periences:
When tal%ing a8out experiences, &ost 6ields are loo%ing 6or internships, +olunteer wor%
and school experience in the areas o6 our studies Most o6 the inter+iewers were split on
the way to get experience Most say internships and 7o8 shadowing, so&e say wor%ing
6or the co&pany But the ta%e away 6ro& the inter+iews is to get the experience you
need, wor% 6or the co&pany, shadow a person in your 6ield, and +olunteer your ti&e with
that co&pany
*et%orking:
A co&&on the&e 6or all o6 our 6ields is how 8ig networ%ing is (t helps you 6ind and get
the 7o8s that are desira8le, gets the experience that hiring &anagers are loo%ing 6or, and
helps you understand the 7o8 6aster Most ha+e said that to 6ind the people you want to
networ% with, you ha+e to 6ind an entry le+elIinternship type 7o8, and 7ust start to &eet
people ( thin% that &ost o6 the inter+iewers did not understand the 9uestion as well as
we would ha+e hoped, 8ecause the answers still lea+e so&ething to 8e desired
'istakes that are ma!e an! ho% to a$oi! them:
Kor our extra section, we decided to &ention the things that &ost people do wrong on
resu&es and how to a+oid the& "o&e o6 the &ost co&&on the&es that stand out 6ro&
the inter+iews are$ .+ercrowding, high turno+er, and L8a88lingN
.+ercrowding would re6er to so&eone putting things on their resu&e 7ust 8ecause you
can !hey did not ta%e the ti&e to put things on their resu&e that pertain to the 7o8 they
want !his shows &ost hiring &anagers that you did not ta%e the ti&e to tailor your
resu&e to the 7o8 you want
High turno+er rates show the hiring &anger that yes, you ha+e had &any 7o8s in the
6ield, 8ut it also is a red 6lag to the& as well !hey ha+e to as% the&sel+es why did this
person 8ounce 6ro& 7o8 to 7o8: (s this person relia8le: !he ad+ice that was gi+en was
to 7ust put on the 7o8s that show your experience in that 6ield
LBa88lingN is when you put on too &uch in6or&ation Most e&ployers do not want to
%now what your religious a66iliation is, they don>t care what your 8ad ha8its are at that
point .nly answer this 9uestion i6 you are as%ed in an inter+iew *o not put on your
resu&e any incarceration ti&e Again, that is 6or the inter+iew
Re&e&8er, your resu&e is so&ething that gets you in the door, so you want it to 8e as
clean and pro6essional as possi8le "o&e reco&&endations is to go to a pro6essional
resu&e writer and get it done there
13