ADHA Access May-June : Page 23
That uncertainty, that the future you had planned for is now an unknown, can be debilitating. Lezlie Cantrell, RDH, MSDH, PhD Candidate, knows that feeling of hopelessness and the temptation to give up. “It would have been easier just to pack up and move and never deal with it,” Cantrell said. “But in my mind, that would have never made a difference.” Her situation, although similar to others’ in some ways, is unique. She worked as a community college instructor for four years, using her experiences and knowledge to shape herself to be the hygienist she wanted to be – someone who could educate others and spread the word of dental hygiene. But that life was threatened when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She spent the next months plan-QLQJWKHFRXUVHDKHDG�f;GHWHUPLQHGQRWWROHWWKHGLDJQRVLVGH¿QHKHU After undergoing a radical mastectomy and eight rounds of chemo-therapy, she was told her teaching services were no longer needed. Like many, Cantrell had to learn to cope with the sudden changes in her life, the questions about her identity and purpose, and it was in those moments, asking those questions, that she discovered there is still hope. She turned to networking and mentoring, or reaching out to those in similar situations. Communication became a necessity. “We’re all going through different things, and no one knows what another person is going through,” she said. “Reaching out to people, talking with people and being an advocate for dental hygiene in the FRPPXQLW\�f;LQWKHVWDWH�f;ZKHUHYHU\RXFDQ�f;WKDWZLOOGH¿QLWHO\KHOS open doors that you didn’t know about.” 1HWZRUNLQJKDVEHHQDQLQVWUXPHQWDOSDUWRI¿QGLQJDQHZMREIRU Cantrell. After reaching out to fellow hygienists and putting her name RXWLQWRWKHFRPPXQLW\�f;VKHZDVDEOHWR¿QGZRUNDW(OVHYLHU3XEOLVK -ing, Co. as a freelance writer and Dental Textbook Content Manager. Using networking to cope with the changes and to further her career was a tactic that Dahlke also chose, in hopes of achieving the career she once strived for. “My friends, my colleagues, my fellow graduate students were very, very helpful,” Dahlke recalled. “You create this bond with people when you go through the same thing. We were all struggling with a lot of the same concerns.” Dahlke admits that at times it was trying, but she was encouraged DQGHQFRXUDJHVRWKHUVWRNHHS¿JKWLQJ+DYLQJDFOHDU�f;GH¿QHGJRDO�f; she said, is necessary. “Being able to forge through all the obstacles that were in the way, I knew that there was an endpoint. There were some times when it was really frustrating that I didn’t know how I was going to get there, but I knew that, with the help of the people that I worked with, and my fellow graduate students, they would enable me to get there, because we kind of leaned on each other.” Dahlke continued to network, and continued to volunteer as often as she could. At the time, she was working just one day per week in DSULYDWHRI¿FHDQG¿QLVKLQJKHUZRUNDWVFKRRO6KHFUHGLWVQHWZRUN -ing with helping to get her name out to prospective employers. And she thanks her volunteer work for getting her where she is today— working as a business and clinical consultant with a dental practice PDQDJHPHQW¿UP “Volunteering has gotten me to where I am today,” she said. “The company that I am working for didn’t check my references. They knew who I was because I was out there, and it was one of those things when, you’re visible in your community in whatever aspect it is, people get to know who you are, and they start looking to you.” For Cantrell and Dahlke, networking and volunteering have led to steady employment. Unfortunately, there are still many hygienists, like Hall, who have networked with their local and state components, and YROXQWHHUHGWKHLUWLPH�f;DQGKDYHVWLOO\HWWR¿QGDSHUPDQHQWSRVLWLRQ Does this lessen the importance of networking? Not at all, says Hall. “[Volunteering] was another way for me to feel like I do have a purpose, and that something will come along,” she said. $QGVRPHWKLQJKDVFRPHDORQJ�f;LQWKHIRUPRI¿OO LQZRUN+DOO DGPLWWHGWKDW�f;DWRQHSRLQW�f;VKHQHYHUFRQVLGHUHGZRUNLQJRQD¿OO LQ basis. But that changed when she met a local dentist through her volunteering efforts. ■ Building a Resume With more and more students graduating from dental hygiene programs and entering the workforce, dental hygienists need every advantage at their disposal to help ensure that they stand out to prospective employers. Mary Kelly, RDH, BS, says that the resume is a great way to get noticed, and has offered the following tips to help your resume stand out. 1. Keywords Are Key Use keywords from the employer’s job description to show KRZ\RX¿WULJKWLQWRWKDWSRVLWLRQ8VHDFWLRQZRUGVWR describe your experience instead of just listing previous em-ployment. “Worked for the past eight years on a state com-mittee addressing early childhood caries” is a statement that demonstrates you have been involved in activities of current caries prevention.  ,QFOXGH$OORI<RXU4XDOL¿FDWLRQV  'RQ¶WH[FOXGHTXDOL¿FDWLRQVDQGH[SHULHQFHRXWVLGHWKHGHQ -WDORI¿FHe;IRUH[DPSOH�f;H[SHULHQFHJDLQHGIURPDFWLYLWLHVLQ your dental hygiene organization or your school PTA or other interest. If you have done oral health presentations as a vol-unteer at your child’s school, list this: the potential employer may want you to go to other schools as a marketing effort.  0DNH6XUH<RXU5HVXPH6D\V([DFWO\:KDW<RX:DQW  ,WWR6D\ Typos and [unintended meanings], especially with online submissions, [are common mistakes]. Some misspelled words—and many names—will be overlooked by your word processing program. Print out your resume, read it out loud to make sure it is what you intended to write, and have someone else look it over, too.  <RXU&RYHU/HWWHU,V<RXU)LUVW,PSUHVVLRQ²0DNH,W  &RXQW A friend who happens to do hiring had insisted that I [use a] chart instead of a cover letter to emphasize how clearly my skills match the needs of the position. I think that this can be the magic secret in getting the job you want and deserve. This format stands out and directly shows your skills directly matching what the position requires.  'RQ¶W)HHO&RQ¿QHGWR2OG5HVXPH7HPSODWHV   7KHUHLVDORWPRUHÀH[LELOLW\LQUHVXPHZULWLQJQRZ-XVW listing previous employment is not going to make you stand out. Taking your skills and making them into assets for your future employer will get noticed. ³+HVDLG�f;µ,WKLQN\RXVKRXOGGRVRPH¿OO LQZRUN7KHUH¶VDOZD\V a need for that somewhere. It may not be a constant job, you may not go to work every day, but at least it will get your foot in the door somewhere.’” :LWKLQWZRZHHNV�f;+DOOKDGIRXQGKHUVHOIEDFNLQSUDFWLFH�f;¿OOLQJLQ IRUDGHQWDOK\JLHQLVWXQDEOHWRPDNHLWWRWKHRI¿FH6LQFHWKHQ�f;VKH KDVSLFNHGXSDOOWKH¿OO LQZRUNWKDWVKHFDQ�f;DOORZLQJKHUWREHFRPH part of the community again. “He really put things into perspective for me,” she said. “I was try-ing to get my resume out there and tell them that I just need a job, and it wasn’t ‘I’ll take what I can get.’ That really changed my view on how I was doing things, and that’s when I started to reroute [my strategy].” Through all of this, Hall has kept an upbeat look at her situation. Without it, she might not be in the position she is in today, even if VSHFLDOIHDWXUH continued on page 25 access MAY-JUN 2012 23
Publication List
Using a screen reader? Click Here