3 answers
Hattie
Student
Pierre, South Dakota
2
Questions
Asked
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What are some tips for getting into the medical field?
#medicine #healthcare #doctor #dermatology #obgyn
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3 answers
David Avezov
Client Senior Pre-Sales Systems Engineer
40
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
David’s Answer
Here are a few tips that will help you navigate your career into the healthcare field:
Research
Staying on top of industry news and trends, including companies, key players, and buzz, is very important when trying to break into the medical industry for the first time. There are hundreds of excellent healthcare industry news sources, many of which are specialized in a certain field within the medical industry. This will help you not only to find out who is hiring but also you’ll be able to speak intelligently about the industry in an interview or when networking with medical professionals.
Network
You will want to connect with as many people in the healthcare industry as possible. Whenever you are trying to make a major career transition, it’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know. Combining face-to-face networking and online networking is essential. Volunteer, join healthcare professional associations, anything that gets you in front of other people. Online, you can target your social media profiles and job search efforts toward the healthcare industry.
Assess Your Skills (Especially Transferable Ones)
Determine what transferable skills you can bring with you from your current industry, into the healthcare field. For example, healthcare also needs skilled workers in information technology (IT) roles, accounting and finance, sales and marketing, human resources, or administration and secretarial jobs. Those are just a few of the most common examples but think about what skill set you have that could translate into a role that could support the healthcare field. Working as a medical receptionist, or filing clerk are a couple of other examples of popular entry-level medical jobs. Once you get your foot in the door of a medical office, you can prove your interest and work ethic, and get great on-the-job training in other roles.
Consider Taking a Step Back
Whenever someone transfers from one industry to another, often it requires taking a step down, depending on how far along you are in your non-medical career. It’s like transferring from one college to another, or switching majors in college—not all credits transfer at an equivalent rate. The same goes for changing careers—you may have five years of experience in a non-medical career, but you have zero in the healthcare industry, so you may have to take a step down in pay, or career level. Once you get established in your new medical career, you may be able to catch back up.
Find a Mentor
Identifying a great mentor can help tremendously in advancing your career. The best way to find a mentor is to start working in a medical office or hospital, even in a very entry-level job, and demonstrate your willingness to learn and grow into higher-level positions. A mentor should be someone experienced in the healthcare industry, who is well-connected and can boost all of your efforts in networking, job search, navigating the political aspects of the healthcare and educational system, and more.
Research
Staying on top of industry news and trends, including companies, key players, and buzz, is very important when trying to break into the medical industry for the first time. There are hundreds of excellent healthcare industry news sources, many of which are specialized in a certain field within the medical industry. This will help you not only to find out who is hiring but also you’ll be able to speak intelligently about the industry in an interview or when networking with medical professionals.
Network
You will want to connect with as many people in the healthcare industry as possible. Whenever you are trying to make a major career transition, it’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know. Combining face-to-face networking and online networking is essential. Volunteer, join healthcare professional associations, anything that gets you in front of other people. Online, you can target your social media profiles and job search efforts toward the healthcare industry.
Assess Your Skills (Especially Transferable Ones)
Determine what transferable skills you can bring with you from your current industry, into the healthcare field. For example, healthcare also needs skilled workers in information technology (IT) roles, accounting and finance, sales and marketing, human resources, or administration and secretarial jobs. Those are just a few of the most common examples but think about what skill set you have that could translate into a role that could support the healthcare field. Working as a medical receptionist, or filing clerk are a couple of other examples of popular entry-level medical jobs. Once you get your foot in the door of a medical office, you can prove your interest and work ethic, and get great on-the-job training in other roles.
Consider Taking a Step Back
Whenever someone transfers from one industry to another, often it requires taking a step down, depending on how far along you are in your non-medical career. It’s like transferring from one college to another, or switching majors in college—not all credits transfer at an equivalent rate. The same goes for changing careers—you may have five years of experience in a non-medical career, but you have zero in the healthcare industry, so you may have to take a step down in pay, or career level. Once you get established in your new medical career, you may be able to catch back up.
Find a Mentor
Identifying a great mentor can help tremendously in advancing your career. The best way to find a mentor is to start working in a medical office or hospital, even in a very entry-level job, and demonstrate your willingness to learn and grow into higher-level positions. A mentor should be someone experienced in the healthcare industry, who is well-connected and can boost all of your efforts in networking, job search, navigating the political aspects of the healthcare and educational system, and more.
Estelle Archer
Gynecologist
1322
Answers
United States
Updated
Estelle’s Answer
Quick tips:
High College GPA
Volunteer & Shadow
High MCAT
Practice Interviewing
Medical research
High College GPA
Volunteer & Shadow
High MCAT
Practice Interviewing
Medical research
Nabila BERABEZ
Research scientist
11
Answers
Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Updated
Nabila’s Answer
David gave great advice, especially when it comes to networking! Not only will you become more visible to potential recruiters by showing your motivation, besides it will give you the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds, with different positions working in different medical fields! They will become an incredible source of knowledge/information to help you more specifically identify which career and work environment fit you as well as how to achieve your goals! Good luck!