VCMC.edu

VCMC is not just a training resource, it's also a launch pad for new careers.  With this in mind, we're going to spend the next few weeks blogging about how to turn that training into a paying job.  Up first, how to view your past so that it helps your future. 

When you get the kind of top-notch professional training offered by Valley College of Medical Careers, it's generally to open up a new career path.  Many people moving into a new field think their past job experience is of no value.  While you'll surely use your VCMC training as the main point when you apply for your next job, you have to supplement that with your past experience, both on your resume and in interviews. 

Think about the skills you demonstrated in your past work, and highlight them as you interview for new jobs.  You should look at each job you had and think about what you can say about it — the responsibilities you were trusted with, the successes you had, the skills you learned. 

A helpful exercise is to sit down and write out a list of your past jobs, then fill in the kinds of skills or personal qualities you needed.  After each of them, provide an example.  For instance, you might have worked a retail job, handled the cash register and counted out the money at the end of the night.  That's an example of trust and dependability, as well as being detail-oriented.  And when you apply for a specific job, you should look for which of those skills are most important. 

Start with the job ad.  The ad below was posted on Craigslist in January 2011; we've shortened it a little and put some key words in bold:

We are a very busy medical group looking for a hard-working team player with an outstanding work ethic to join our group. Duties include all aspects related to medical billing, including:
>Posting charges and payments, handling insurance claims, collection and follow up, and creating monthly reports
>Administrative/office support duties include filling in on phones, scheduling appointments, other duties/special projects as required.
>Must have knowledge of insurance billing (HMO, PPO etc.) and coding (ICD-9, CPT)
If you are detail-oriented, hard-working and able to multitask, please email resume ...

In addition to the specific job knowledge called for, look at those words we've put in bold:  They all call for skills that don't come only from medical billing.  Anyone who's ever worked in an office has had to multitask, and probably had detail-oriented tasks.  Anyone who's worked retail knows about “busy,” and also about customer service and working hard.  Explain how you were valued in past jobs for being a team player.

With your solid new VCMC training, and a fresh view of your past successes, you're ready to send out your resume and start your new career, whether as a medical assistant, medical biller, pharmacy technician or vocational nurse.  Next week we'll talk about how to put together your resume.