A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry


My Christmas Gift - Enlightened


Posted: Dec 22, 2009

First, I hope those of you who need to hear this will.  I am not by any means saying what I am to hurt anyones feelings, to be mean, to start a ruckus, as a means of causing some to say hateful things, or to seem "better than."  This, however, is something that those of you looking for work and unable to find a position, need to hear.

I recently had an opening for a transcriptionist for my very small buisness and recieved many, many resumes.  Some were wonderful and I wish I could have contracted with all of them.  The part that amazed me were the other 60%.  The punctuation was appalling!  Some of the introductions were given as if we were "chat buddies," i.e. "if u want 2 no more mess me."  A great number, much more than I could have EVER expected, had several words such as MOre, WOrked, NAme, you get the idea.  There were several that had nothing at all in the subject line, and even one that said, "I am interest in you position," and it was from an American.  There were responses that had nothing in the subject line, nothing in the email, but just the resume attached.  It is always a good idea to introduce yourself and PASTE your resume in the email itself, and like many of us, I don't care to open attachments from someone I don't know. 

A simple spellcheck before hitting the send button can be a deal maker or a deal breaker, simple as that.  If you do not even proof your resume before attempting to get a job, why in the world would I believe you would proof the work that you would do for me?

I was VERY tempted to make corrections and send each and every inquiry back, but I simply do not have the time.  I would suggest that everyone, just as a precaution, have another MT take a look over your resume before you send it out.  There are too many reasons not to hire so many of those applicants and a couple very simple steps could change that.  If you are one of the ladies here who are finding it difficult to find work, maybe you should give this a try.

Again, this isn't by any means an attempt to draw out the claws, but simply a voice of concern.  I mean no malice by posting this and I hope it will be taken for what it is and not what some might perceive it to be.

Happy Holidays!

You hit the nail on the head (sm) - Long-time MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm not an MTSO, but I've worked in hospital MT mgmt for years. I have seen similar unprofessional, not to say deplorable, resumes. I don't think anyone should take offense at your posting, rather consider it some free advice that could help someone get a job.

These will be the same MTs who complain the loudest. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Some MTs have been in their positions, doing what they do, for so long that they do not realize times have changed. The medical facility where you worked may have overlooked these types of things but the MTSOs and QA will not.

If these types of MTs perhaps did land a job based on their number of years as an MT, they soon find out their work is not up to par. Instead of learning, changing, or improving - they will be the first to complain about low pay, lack of work, and no jobs.

It doesn't really matter if you have been an MT for 10-15-30 years, your actual skills will speak volumes. There is always room for improvement for everyone, no matter how long you have been at this.

Good English never goes out of style and first - impressions count a lot

[ In Reply To ..]
I think the posting was an excellent one and very helpful. I have been in this line of work now for 30+ years and have absolutely no problem with the low pay, lack of work and so on. With the golden oldies they have been the ones who were taught how to research, have the best skills in order to do this job and betting my bottom dollar on this, would be the last to send resumes that contained a sentence saying u r 2. I realize times have changed, but also know the difference between advice and advise, a word that I see used in the wrong text on these boards all the time, and it is usually a newbie. Guess this oldie has that one down pat as least.
My typo, that should be at least- NM - Golden Oldie
[ In Reply To ..]
g

I often have to agree with this...nm - none

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

That must have been for the 7 cpl job posted on the board - Sometimes the low wages attract that kind of respo

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

No, it wasn't. I pay much better than that. Assumptions are also bad manners. (nm) - O.P.

[ In Reply To ..]
asd

Thank you Ms. Manners - for that bit of etiquette advice

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Excellent post - Thanks for the gentle reminder - yochana

[ In Reply To ..]
I have always felt you need you have the "best presentation" as possible when applying for a job. Somehow America has entered the Slob Age. Look around you, people are dressed like slobs when they go out in public. Looks like they donĂ¢€™t even comb their hair. Rewind to the 1950s....I have seen photos of men in SUITS at the county fair. They CARED about how they looked. Nowadays they donĂ¢€™t.

Your sentence in your post, I quote...sm - resume

[ In Reply To ..]
"There were responses that had nothing in the subject line, nothing in the email, but just the resume attached."

Why is this so wrong? We always hear how swamped MTSOs are with hundreds of resumes, that they look only 5 seconds into a resume, that time is money,... why would it be so wrong to cut all the blah, blah and just send the most important: the resume?
This is what applicants to a job might have figured out: If the employer is interested, a followup interview will be scheduled where ALL the other information can be asked.
After all, MTSOs are asking for a
"resume," not for a "curriculum vitae," big difference.
I would really appreciate an answer to my comment, I would like the opinion of employers regarding this.

my reply... - O.P.

[ In Reply To ..]
Maybe some employers will appreciate this. On the other hand, I don't. It takes more time to open an attachment and have it scanned than it would to simply read the email. I have a lot of email that is solicitation and if there is nothing in the subject line to identify that you are applying for a position and it is not from someone I know, I generally will not open the email, so you have wasted your time. If the resume can speak for itself, then an introduction might not be necessary; however, the subject line and the resume in the BODY of the email are musts.

I recieved over a thousand resumes and I am not about to schedule an interview with each and every applicant. If the first impression doesn't spark and interest, I will quickly move on to one that does. If it were as simple as you seem to believe it to be, I would have asked for nothing more than a name and telephone number.

By the way, my job posting was some time ago, but this has been on my mind since then. Again, this wasn't to point fingers, but in trying to be helpful. If it does not apply to you, then please do not take it as such.

I was only talking about having to give an extensive resume...sm - resume

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you for your prompt reply.
I completely agree with you that an application should mention the job one is applying to in the subject line, one's name and 1-2 introductory lines to the resume which should be in the body of the email.
It is definitely mandatory that all matter sent in should be error free, and no usage of slang!
Thank you for answering.

TO: Enlightened - MT way too long

[ In Reply To ..]
I wish you would have posted this a long time ago! I too have posted ads for job openings in the past and the resumes that I get are horrendous. Sometimes it makes for great comedy relief!

When I get the type resumes that you speak of, I throw them off to the side. If a person cannot even send in a professional resume, I figure they are not going to do "professional work." I made the mistake a couple times of trying to look past that and actually hired MTs who sent me resumes like that. What a disaster! They wound up to be very very bad MTs, couldn't take well-intended criticism, always an excuse for every mistake they made, can't accept responsibility, but yet they want TOP WAGES!

I probably will get flamed and I don't really care. It's the truth and one of the reasons the wages are getting so low. Why pay top dollar for substandard MTs? I got out of this several years back and went back to transcribing full-time myself. Too much hassle.

Merry Christmas to you!

Not an MTSO but just an MT (sm)) - yochana

[ In Reply To ..]
I totally agree with your rationale. If one cares enough to present themselves in a professional manner then they are more than likely going to be a very conscientious IC/employee. I would look for the professional resume/brief cover letter if I were an MTSO


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