Career Archives - Page 14 of 28 - The Voice of Job Seekers

Job Search advice from a Dental Hygienist Career Coach with Doug Perry

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Through any profession understanding, your audience is essential to market yourself in a way that keeps you in the mind of employers. Doug Perry’s wife is a dental hygienist who had a hard time marketing herself. Since marketing and communication is what Doug does, he helped his wife and many other dental hygienists find opportunities. Through his research, he found most dental hygienists do not know how to market themselves. Hopefully, through our conversation, you will implement some of Doug’s successful strategies and thinking. Understand this: Conventional and traditional does not catch the eyes and ears of most employers.

Or, as I would say, employers will not hear you.

Which of Doug’s strategies will you try? Have you tried any of these strategies before? Did they work? Why do you think they didn’t work? Ask yourself these questions during this conversation.

I would love to hear about your experiences in one of three ways:

Blog: TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com (Use the send voicemail feature)

Email: [email protected]

Voicemail: 708.365.9822

Doug Perry (@GetHiredRDH) is the founder of GetHiredRDH.com and author of Landing a Great Dental Hygiene Job. He is a Dental Hygienist Career Coach, who serves that community through coaching and resume writing services (and other media). He gets his client’s name out in front of hundreds of potential clients through marketing strategies that keep their names in front of employers. You should know that Doug’s day job is a Communications Director of the state Association. Anyone could apply the strategies Doug uses.
Here are some highlights from our conversation:

Doug started his career coaching venture because his wife had a difficult time finding a job as a dental hygienist. He noticed that most dental hygienists don’t know how to market themselves.
Doug’s background in marketing and communications is useful in helping his clients standout. Dental hygienist are not trained in those areas so most of them don’t know what to do
The crux of marketing for dental hygienists is the soft skills in treating patients, rapport with staff, and understanding and communicating with the dentist. It is something that is learned over time as you earn trust
Doug said that one of the challenges in marketing is getting his clients away from the “…this is the way it has always done.” When you Google “dental hygienist resume,” it is likely you get a boring resume that doesn’t stand out. It looks more like anyone else’s resume
Doug’s stated that you had to look at the cosmetic side: Different font sizes, adding color, format, and even adding a picture. It is challenging to get hygienist to focus more on accomplishments and results
He understood that it was not widely accepted to add a picture on a resume. He suggests and implements as people feel comfortable doing it. The picture helps the candidate stand out and elicit trust–a critical attribute with dental clientele
Doug wrote a book based on strategies that helped his wife find a job so fast. One of the strategies he shared was sending a postcard. What tends to happen with postcards–people saved them until they needed someone in a pinch. They also created a dedicated website and video resume produced by his son

You don’t want to miss next week’s “Veteran’s Day” special episode. I will be publishing that show first thing Tuesday morning, November 11. If you have friends or relatives who served our country, all of who served valiantly and job searching, please plan to recommend and share next Tuesday’s episode.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Your Career Trajectory, and a Business That Will Pay You Back

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This episode should equip your career in two ways:

It will stimulate your thoughts to create a business as an option to finding a job, and for some that aspire to be entrepreneurs it might be the best career option
You will be motivated to look way past your next job, add new critical feedback to your personal brand, and clarify your career trajectory

David Van Rooy (@dlvanrooy), author of Trajectory: 7 Career Strategies to Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, is Senior Director of International Human Resources Strategy & Operations at Walmart. In his prior role at Walmart, he was responsible for the world’s largest performance management and employee engagement programs, covering nearly 2.2 million employees globally. David received his doctoral degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Florida International University (FIU). Much of his work was covered by many national and international outlets including USA Today and CNN.

David explains why career trajectory is an important element to everyone, and why will it affect the outcome for someone’s career
I ask David, “Do job seekers/employees discount the value of feedback? Where should people seek feedback?”
David shares about Think Big, Act Small, Move Quick (BSQ) strategies to one’s career trajectory from his book.

Laura Humphreys (@Liber8me) is the author of the nominated small business book of the year, “Liber8me.” Liber8me exists to help small business owner operators build a business that is not dependent on their time to make money. In essence, it’s a simple, practical formula that first shifts the mindset then puts steps in place to grow with confidence. She has been a freelancer/entrepreneur for the last 24 years, and believes that “… going out on your own with a view to building a business instead of being employed by someone else is a viable option for people these days.” Her book is a “2014 Gold IPPY Award Winner”, and nominated for a “Global Business Book Award.”

These are a few highlights of our conversation:

Laura shares that she started out as a secretary and learned a lot about running a business through that experience. She built a public relations firm from scratch and sold it for multi-millions (some sources said 15 million dollars)
She shares why it is important to build a business that people can be freed financially
I asked Laura to share about this article that perfectly is aligned with the ideas from her book that was published in Entrepreneur New Zealand magazine ( The 9 Don’ts of Business), 1) Don’t start a business without knowing what you offer or what is needed 2) Don’t be afraid to hire people 3) Don’t run a business without a budget 4) Don’t let them grind you down! (Love this!)
We also talked about another blog post, “Have you created a business or a life-long job?” that resonated with me. At the end of the article, there is an profound line that reads, “Are you choosing to build a business that will pay you back or are you choosing to work for a living?” She offers insight to the advice for others to build a business that would pay he or she back

Correction: I gave a shout out to Penny Sanseveri, whom I gave the wrong company. The website is www.authormarketingexperts.com. I apologize for the error, Penny.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

9 Ways Volunteering Can Shape Your Career

Volunteering is worth time and effort to advance in your career, or transition into a new one. The chance to choose the work environment and the time you wish to invest in your future is very popular and effective.

If you have doubt whether effort is worth it, then consider these reasons to volunteer:

1. Sharpen newly obtained skills

New certifications, diplomas, or degrees can increase benefitting the organization and costing you only time. There are times when the volume of opportunities will make a big difference in the continuing education of the user.

2. Make mistakes and learn from them

You can choose an environment that is slower and will tolerance trials and errors depending on the work. It even helps if you have a mentor who has time to monitor your progress and provide feedback.

3. Time to do something bold

Something you want to try? Volunteering can provide an opportunity to take a calculated risk. See #2.

4. Reveal weaknesses that can be strengthened

In my opinion, that is an element that many people are afraid to get past. We would like to ride out our strengths to the sunset, but the reality: We are afraid to grow and change.

5. Try new approaches to solving old problems

To some degree, everyone has to become a marketer in his or her career. When you change careers, you must market yourself in a way that shows that your old skills and attributes apply to your new career. Additionally, you must try new approaches to old problems. Volunteering provides that platform in a way that is not as costly, except for your time.

6. Build your resume

It has been proven that volunteering can great work experience, especially if you are piloting a new career path. This is a great opportunity for additional references, and to track improvement to show employers your abilities.

7. Networking

You’re not the only one who uses volunteering for the various reasons mentioned. It helps to know someone on the same journey, but not always a similar career path. For many job seekers who volunteer, the networking opportunities are worth the investment of time.

8. International experience

International work experience in any field is impressive and often it brings you new problems to solve. Mostly, it gives you a global perspective that is something that employers look for in candidates.

9. Document your journey for a blog or video

When you take others on your new journey with you, whether a blog or video, or even a training manual, it adds to your credibility. If you ask your place of service if you can video, many times they will say yes. These mdiums can bring recruiters and employers to you if you are willing to promote your blog even a little.