First-hand Job Search Tips from Johns Hopkins Hospital VP

The VP of HR at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Pamela Paulk, gave me a few great tips on getting the job you want at the hospital where you want to work. And, if some of her pointers sound familiar, it’s because they are! Ms. Paulk shared these tips with me, regarding applying for hospital jobs:

• Know what you want: Know which type of environment, or hospital, you will work best in, and focus on that. Do you prefer larger hospitals or small? Or maybe a hospital environment isn’t even for you at all, but medical office jobs are the way to go? Either way, think about it before you begin your medical job search.
• Be on time: Yes it sounds so simple, but being late is a surefire way to make a bad impression, or, worse yet, miss your job interview slot altogether! Paulk states that she personally doesn’t scrap a candidate for tardiness alone, but some hiring managers do, and either way it certainly counts against you. Furthermore, due to her busy schedule, she may not ever have another opportunity to interview the candidate if they miss their allotted interview time.
• Make your CV (or résumé) stand out, but not with typos! Johns Hopkins hospital, for example, hires about 1,500 to 1,800 people annually, but they receive about 10,000 applications monthly! Therefore, “getting your résumé to the top of the stack” is key, says Paulk. Actually, just keeping it in the stack is important too. Proofread, and accentuate your strengths on your CV. Don’t give the screeners any reason to rule you out.
• Apply for multiple jobs: If you are very focused on a particular employer, apply for multiple positions, in a variety of departments, to increase your chances of getting your foot in the door. Even if the job you get is not your top choice, you can transfer later when something else opens up. Once you’re employed, other positions may become available to better fit your career goals for the long-term.
• Work your connections. In other words, network! Paulk, for example, worked as a hospital consultant for years before she took the job at Hopkins. Her connections at a variety of hospitals helped her to decide where she wanted to work, and introduced her to executives nationwide, so she had many options when she decided to look for permanent employment.