How did you get to where you are today?
I'm training to become a Medical Administrative Assistant. #healthcare #medicine #administrative-assistant #hospital-and-health-care #career-pathway #hospital-and-health-care
4 answers
Jackie’s Answer
Katelyn’s Answer
An ever popular and complicated question! Everyone's career journey is different, but I'll try to answer this with some generic advice that will apply to as many people as possible.
- Take advantage of the opportunities to learn or do more. The more experience you have across many disciplines the more attractive you are to employers and the more confident you will feel when you are faced with new situations. This can be extracurricular things at school, taking on more responsibility at your current job, nominating yourself for a spot on in an accelerated program, etc.
- Build AND nurture your network. Making connections with people is important , but you can't just have an Iphone full of contacts that you only met once at a campus mixer and talked to for 5 minutes. Those people won't think of you when a new job opens up in their department. The people in your network need to know you and what you are capable of so that you are top of mind when new opportunities arise. In order to get to know you, you have to make time for them. Go get coffee, have lunch, be the person to reach out and ask them to get together. You should do this with peers, with people you would consider as mentors and with people you would consider a mentee.
- Set ambitious goals for yourself. Think about where you would like to be in a year (or at the end of your program) and then build a timeline backwards for the milestones you need to hit over the next year in order to achieve that goal. If you want to work at a specific company maybe start out by following their social media, especially if they have a talent specific channel. Look for recruiting events, google search job fairs in your industry, these are all just small examples. Don't sit passively and wait for things to happen to you, make them happen for yourself.
Ultimately there is no magic answer for anyone on how they got to where they are now, especially since no one ever really feels like they "made it" and are finished with their journey. There is always something else to do!