10 Unprofessional Job Search Moves

A recent article in Forbes magazine recited the story of a young woman who applied for a job and gained the interest of a hiring manager, only to begin corresponding with that manager through an email account named partygrrrrl2015@gmail.com. The name of the account immediately made the hiring manager wary about continuing pursuit of the applicant.

There are mistakes job applicants can make during a job search that appear unprofessional to those doing the hiring. This especially is true when applying for health care jobs.

We, of course, want our Concorde students and alumni to be successful when applying for a health care job. The Forbes article listed 10 specific ways job applicants can greatly lessen their chances of ever being hired. Study these... then don't do them when applying for your next health care job.

10 job search moves that make you look unprofessional when applying for a health care job

1. Choosing an unprofessional photo for your LinkedIn Choose a LinkedIn profile image that shows your face clearly, does not include any other people and shows you smiling and alert (not, for instance, half-drunk at your cousin's wedding).
2. Failing to reply to a job-search-related email message, voicemail message or text for several days. If you're going to be incommunicado for a few days, let your job-search contacts know that in advance.
3. Using a resume that includes typos, misspellings or poor formatting. If you're not a great writer, get somebody who can edit your resume before you use it in your job search.
4. Missing a job interview without notice. Employers are watching for your organizational abilities as much as they are looking for your great ideas.
5. Showing up to a job interview without doing your research first - or, without having questions prepared and ready to ask your interviewer.
6. Getting to the end of the interview process and then announcing that you don't have any professional references. Get a list of 3-5 references together in advance and be ready to share it with an employer - before you contact them.
7. Stating a salary requirement up front in the recruiting process and then changing it later. If you aren't sure what to say when the question "What's your salary target?" is asked, then ask more questions about the role before you answer.
8. Asking basic questions like "What does your company do?" at a job interview. Do your research before the interview and you'll know a lot more about the organization and feel more confident, too.
9. Failing to get important issues aired early in the interview process. Get deal-breaking topics out on the table early!
10. Accepting a job offer and then going silent or disappearing.

Keep it clean and simple, and you'll land that health care job

Most of the above tips sound like common sense, but you'd be surprised at how many of these missteps occur every day in the health care job interview process. When interviewing for the health care job of your dreams, keep it simple, be prepared, be direct and, above all, be professional, both in your appearance and in presentation.