Resume WritingDentalelle @ www.dentalelle.com

SIMPLE FORMAT

FORMAT

There are three types of resume formats - chronological, functional, and a hybrid of those two. 

The functional and chronological formats are only different in one key way and that is where you place your accomplishments, skills, and experiences. In a chronological you list them beneath each job you've had and the job section is near the top, whereas in a functional you place them in their own section near the top. And then beneath that section you create a simple listing of jobs you've held.

Because most dental hygiene jobs require a very similar skill set and perform many of the same duties, it makes more sense to place all of that within its own dedicated section at the top, as opposed to the repetition of putting the same information under each dental hygiene job you've held.

The only exception is if you have some very specific accomplishments - unique to each job - that you can highlight. Even then, I recommend a hybrid of the two types because it gives you best of both worlds - a little bit of room to include your skills at the top and a little bit of room to emphasize some specific accomplishments beneath each job.

TOO LONG

The main purpose of a resume is to get an interview. You want the resume to stand out but not in negative ways. Arguably, one slightly negative way could be the length. Generally, keep it to one page. I have done resumes for hygienists who have no experience on up to 40-plus years and they all fit fine on a one-page resume.

In most cases, there isn't much up-side to making it longer than a page - no one ever got hired because of what they had on the second page of a resume. As an employer reviews 30-40 resumes (or more) for one job opening, there simply isn't much time spent on each one.

The only exception I recommend is if you have lots of dental industry leadership experiences beyond clinical dental hygiene. For example, if you have made lots of presentations, written lots of articles, performed lots of research, participated in lots of local or national association leadership positions, then you really do have a great case for needing the extra space.

BORING

There's one guaranteed way to make your resume boring and that's to make it look and read like everyone else's. You don't have to get crazy, in fact I would caution against that, too. Instead add small touches of flare. 

This could include adding a little bit of color, increasing the font size on your name, using a font different than Times New Roman, adding your picture to the resume, using lines or other graphic touches to create sections, using bullets and columns instead of large blocks of text, and also using bold or italics here and there to create emphasis.

DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE

Resumes that are packed with single-spaced blocks of text are intimidating for human eyes that are already not enjoying their review of dozens of applicants. Moreover it makes it challenging to navigate and find the key words or information an employer is looking for. One big thing you can do to improve the readability of your resume is to include extra white spacing and markers.

I love white space on any document - it points to two great attributes we all hygienists should seek to showcase - clean and organized. Try to include line spacing settings of 1.1 to 1.5. It's okay to pull the margins out a bit (to .4 or .5) to help achieve that.

Markings are related to what I was talking about it Caution 3 above. You want to include things like larger fonts in key places, bold, bullet points, and graphics not just to keep your resume from looking boring, but also because those signals that help guide the employer to finding specific things they are looking for. Think of it like a map - if you were in a city you have never seen before and looking at a map, you would want for there to be lots of signs and landmarks to help you find where to go.

WHAT NOT TO DO…

WHAT NOT TO INCLUDE

Here’s a few things not to include to fill in space – all of these would be fine on a resume website, however:

Most things un-related or non-transferrable to dentistry

References or even a line “References available upon request”

Hobbies

A list of all the CE classes you have taken

High school you graduated from

High school activities or recognition

AWARDS

Finally, if you have received any kind of dental industry recognition (either while in school or after) that’s a great thing to include.

By contrast, “Outstanding PTA Mom of the Year,” while really cool, probably wouldn’t mean much on your resume.

EDUCATION

Another common question I get is about non-dental hygiene education. I guess I can go either way on if you got a degree in English, for example, prior to dental hygiene. There’s sometimes lots of cross-over in professions, particularly if it’s health-related. I worked with a hygienist that was also a nutritionist – that’s very complimentary to dental hygiene and so I highly recommended she included it.

I would even go so far as to say, additional education or training can give you an advantage. You have that value-add to offer a practice. In your interview, you could say something to the affect, “Along with my background in dental hygiene, I’m also a licensed family therapist which I have found really helps me communicate effectively with patients.”

NON-CLINICAL WORK EXPERIENCE

A lot of hygienists ask about including prior dental assisting experience. I think that’s a great thing to include.

Recognizing that the tasks and skill sets are not the same, there’s a lot to be said about a hygienist who has prior assisting experience as an employer might correctly assume you can better relate to assistants you work with or around.

ARTICLES WRITTEN

Again, things that show a deep commitment to your profession are great to showcase.

Articles you have written about dentistry-related topics would be a great example of that.

VOLUNTEER

I would stick mostly with just relevant volunteer service. While other kinds of service are great and even interesting to know, a resume is designed to showcase your professional life and unless your volunteer service has complimented or is related to dentistry it’s really not the right place for it.

If you really want to include that kind of information, consider creating a website for yourself so you can add more indepth information about you.

REGISTRATION

It wouldn’t be out of line to include the current licenses you hold, including the number.

This would allow an employer to verify your information.

YES HAVE A PHOTO!

PICTURE

When you market anything (product or person) you need to create differentiators – things that make you stand out or appear different.

Since not very many hygienists put a picture on a resume it’s a great way to differentiate yourself. Additionally, it makes the document look sharp and professional – like you put extra time into it. As an employer, “do I want to hire the person that looks like they put the least amount of time, effort or expense into their resume or the most?”

Translation: “If they put this much into their resume, maybe they will put extra effort into their job, too.”

When a resume has those qualities of standing out – it will for sure get extended attention and time from the employer. They will look at it longer and (hopefully) notice other things about you – your skills, experience, etc.

PRIVACY WITH PHOTOS

Privacy is a serious issue today, but I believe a picture on a resume you give to a select number of people doesn’t rise to the same level as other things we do to – almost without even thinking. We create social media pages and plaster pictures and information about ourselves that potentially anyone could get their hands on if they had the skills and interest to do so (remember, nothing is 100% secure online).

We also routinely give bank tellers, hotel computers, and restaurant servers our credit card information. And most of us use WiFi connections to transmit all kinds of data. Security breaches of these kinds happen all the time and can be very disruptive and distressing.

COST OF A GOOD PHOTO

I think everyone is capable of having a nice, professional picture taken of them. Find a good photographer (not necessarily Target or Sears). If you need to save money, make look for a photography student or someone just starting out and just have them take lots of pictures to choose from.

Yes, it can cost some dollars, but this is your career you are talking about. This the place where you will be spending enormous amounts of time and hopefully making a great financial living – isn’t something that is such a big part of our life worth the investment in things like this?

One final recommendation is that you get some shots in both business formal dress and clinical attire. I often opt for the clinical attire because it, psychologically, helps the dentist more clearly envision you as their hygienist.

COVER LETTER

Cover letters are often forgotten as a tool to help you stand out in your dental hygiene job applications. A well-written dental hygiene cover letter is a great way to expand on some things about you that might be more difficult in your resume.

Keep it all Short: Never ever use more than one page for a cover letter. In fact, 5-6 paragraphs of 1-3 sentences each is plenty. Remember, yours is only one of dozens they are getting and they just won’t take the time to read all of them.

If it’s shorter (easier) to get through you stand a much better chance.

Use Bullets: In one of your paragraphs where you list some qualifications you have (hard or soft qualifications), put your list into bullets. This creates a visual break for a reader and makes it both more appealing to read but also easier as the person can simply scan it.

Consistent Design: Create a subtle design that matches your resume. If your resume uses color, use a little bit of color in your cover letter. If you resume has your name in a big font at the top, do the same only a little smaller on the cover letter. If you resume uses Calibri for a font, use it on the cover letter, too. The point is to make your cover letter and resume look like they are coming from the same family but are not identical twins.

CONTINUED

Paragraph One – Acknowledge the Job: Let the employer know in the first paragraph where you heard about the job and that you are applying for it. Knowing where you heard about it is a courtesy to them so they know what ways are most effective in advertising openings.

Paragraph Two – Acknowledge Hard Qualifications: If they want someone with two years clinical experience and experience working with Dentrix, you want to acknowledge first and foremost as they are minimums of what they expect and so you wan to make it clear, early on, you meet that need.

Example. “From the ad I see you are seeking someone with two years experience and a knowledge of Dentrix. Having worked in three different offices over the last five years, I have not only used Dentrix but also other dental software and am very comfortable with them.”

Paragraph Three – Acknowledge Soft Qualifications: These are things related to your personality, work ethic, or professionalism. Similar to the technical stuff, you want them to know you are aware these are things they are seeking and that you meet the need.

I will often use also use this paragraph to transition to some things about you (your personal brand) you think they will appreciate but haven’t specified in the ad, and I will include them in bullet form (see comment above about bullets).

For example:

Unique ability to build relationships with patients that result in greater compliance,

Highly professional in my interactions with co-workers and patients

Live within five minutes of All Smiles Dental and personally know several existing patients

Paragraph Four – Wrap it Up: Simply tell them you look for ward to discussing your qualifications and showing how you can be a great fit in the form of a formal interview, or working interview. Then leave them a phone number to reach you and add your signature line beneath that paragraph.

AGE

Lots of people are worried about age discrimination and so I get lots of questions about age-proofing your dental hygiene resume. The interesting thing is it comes from two completely different age brackets – younger hygienists just out of school and older hygienists who have been out a couple decades.

Both feel they will not get a job simply because of their age/experience. While you can’t hide your age or appearance forever, there are few things you can do to make it less obvious at the resume stage.

Evaluate the Email - I’ll be the first to admit, I have an e-mail address I use that could be a giveaway of my age (dougperry88@gmail.com). No, I am not 88 years old (ha!)! But I couldn’t get dougperry@gmail.com the time so I added the year I graduated from high school.

Only Recent Jobs: There’s no rule or etiquette in resume writing that says you have to have to include your entire work history. In fact, it would be less-favorable to include jobs that are irrelevant to dental hygiene. It would be bad and huge red flag if you simply left the years you worked at each job listed. That’s one of the most important things employers look at on resumes. They want to know how many years of experience you have and since it’s one of the most basic features of resumes not including it may mean automatic rejection.

Leave High School Alone - There are some who will include their high school and graduation year as part of their education section. Totally unnecessary and a waste of space, no offense to those awesome years of your youth! Once a person enters college, I say ditch the references to high school on your resume. Especially for a dental hygiene professional, it really does nothing for you except tell an employer how old you are.

College Years: Unlike the years you list in your work experience, I believe (and I share this opinion with lots of resume writers) it’s okay to not list the years you went to college. The more important piece of information is that you graduated (and are licensed).

AN ONLINE RESUME?

ONLINE RESUMES

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