Readers:
If you have any questions or comments that Dr. Hansen could provide valuable assistance with, please feel free to email mailto:careerdr@careershop.com

Previous Columns: Get more advice from our archive of previous Career Dr. columns.

New!: QuintZine: A free career and job-hunting newsletter filled with timely and topical tips for springboarding careers, will arrive in your e-mailbox every other week. CLICK HERE!

Christina  writes:  
I had an interview in the middle of June and it went very well. I left the interview with the employer telling me that he and the company would miss a great opportunity if they don't hire me.

I had contact with the employer at the end of June and was told that my background check is clear, references checked out fine, and my application is waiting for a stamp of approval.

So, Christina, if I were you, I would immediately jump on the telephone and call the hiring manager and simply state that you wanted to call and check in and see if there was anything else he – or the company – needed from you. I personally would be a bit more aggressive and add, anything they needed from me in order to finalize the job offer, but that’s just me.

Follow-up after job interviews is essential, and it always starts with a thank-you note or letter. You also have to make periodic contact with the hiring manager. Now, don’t start calling everyday or once an hour, as happened to me when I was a hiring manager years ago, because then you’ll be flagged as someone desperate or psychotic… but once a week is certainly reasonable.

But do not panic because you have not heard back yet… many employers have really stretched the hiring process over the last few years – partly to be sure they have found the best candidate and not overlooked anyone and partly due to budgetary issues.

Perhaps the section with the most tools for job-seekers, if you need help with any aspect of interviewing – before, during, or after, is this section of Quintessential Careers: Guide to Job Interviewing Resources.

According to an October 2001 article in the Archives of Dermatology, the current supply of dermatologists only slightly exceeds the current published demand. The annual salary for dermatologists ranges from $126,000 to $259,000

Because a dermatologist is a physician, becoming a dermatologist requires many years of education. You should major in science in college – biology, chemistry, biochemistry, etc. – ideally your school has a pre-med major. To make yourself more attractive to medical schools, consider adding an additional major or taking additional courses in other areas.

Medical school will generally take about four more years. Graduation from an approved medical school will result in the title Medical Doctor (MD). After medical school, you’ll need to complete another five years in the dermatology division of a university, including three years of residency. Completion of the qualifying licensing examinations is required to practice medicine. Licensure by a regional licensing authority is required.

I don’t exactly know where you are now – in high school or college. If you are still in high school, you should consider soaking up as much math and science as possible. If you’re in college, meet with the director of the pre-med program.

Finally, to further your knowledge and understanding of the profession, I would suggest conducting a few informational interviews, as well as shadowing one or more dermatologists. Start with your family’s dermatologist – and then ask him or her for the names of a few other colleagues. You might also consider volunteering at local hospital or assisted living facility.

Resources that can help you in your quest:

• American Board of Dermatology
• American Academy of Dermatology
• American Society of Dermatology

Job interviewing success is strongly determined by pre-interview preparation. So before you go on any more job interviews, please sit down and make an inventory of all your analytical skills and experiences. You’ll need to not only say you have the skills, but also demonstrate you have them. Once you have this general set down, your next step will be to match your skills and experiences to the qualifications an employer seeks in the job description. Nothing works better in job interviews than using the employer’s own words to describe your experience – it makes you seem like the perfect fit.

To be certain my hunch is correct, you could also contact one or more of the people you interviewed with and ask them if they would be willing to give you some honest feedback on your interviewing performance. Not only will this exercise be helpful for future interviews, you may impress one or more of them enough that they will consider you again for future openings.

Finally, as I repeat this advice yet again, you CANNOT just sit and wait by the phone expecting employers to call you. You must first send thank you notes after each interview, and then you must follow-up with phone calls to the employer to show your continuing interest and enthusiasm for the job and the employer.

As for content. First, remember that it’s perfectly fine to develop a generalized resume, but once you identify prospective jobs and employers, you’ll want to customize your resume using the employer’s words and highlighting the experience they seek.

In terms of describing your experience with your first employer, you have two choices. In the first approach, you list all three positions within the same company, using the company as an umbrella. In the second approach, which is favored by my partner Katharine Hansen, you list each job separately, which gives more weight to each position. I also tend to favor the second approach. And if you are unsure of your dates or exactly how to list them, contact the human resources department of the company, thus the dates on your resume will match their records in case a prospective employer calls to check.

Finally, some general resume rules to remember:
• Customize your resume to each position and employer.
• Focus on accomplishments, not duties.
• Design an attractive resume using normal fonts, sizes, and page margins.
• Provide as much contact information (phone, cell, e-mail) as possible.
• Avoid all errors, especially misspellings and typos.
• Keep your resume factual.
• Never include salary information, supervisor’s names, or references on your resume.

For more tips on resume-writing, including samples, go to this section of Quintessential Careers: Resume and CV Resources for Job-Seekers.

Dr. Randall S. Hansen is currently Webmaster of Quintessential Careers.

Dr. Hansen is an associate professor of marketing at the School of Business Administration, Stetson University. He has been a published career expert for the last 10 years and an employer and consultant with hiring/firing decisions for the past 15 years.

Through his experience as a professor of marketing, Dr. Hansen uses proven marketing techniques and applies them to job-hunting. He is currently working on such a book. Some of his work can be seen at his personal Web site.

He and Katharine Hansen co-wrote the very successful job-hunting book, Dynamic Cover Letters, published by Ten Speed Press. You can order copies from Barnes and Noble of this cover letter bible. He is also author of several career-related magazine and journal articles.

Finally, Dr. Hansen has been an employer and has firsthand experience in the hiring process. He also stays active in the field by reading magazine and journal articles and by talking with employers on a regular basis.