saleembkarim Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 I've had an EMT license for about 20 months and have only been able to get 2 job interviews after applying to over a dozen ambulance companies. I'm currently working on getting my paramedic license, but something tells me it'd be tough to be hired as a paramedic with no EMT experience. Is there anything else I could do to make me more hirable? 1
TacMedic13 Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 Yes, there is something you can do... though many people would disagree... you should find a volunteer agency. Though you're not being paid, you're getting field experience... getting real-world experience with actual EMS Situations. As an employer, they aren't looking for "are you certified"... they're looking for proof on how you handle yourself in certain situations. Get a few months of volunteer experience, then go reapply at the same places... guarantee that you'll find a job.
island emt Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 Depends on your location. Some places EMT's are a dime a dozen as the mills turn out dozens every semester. Many places have limited use for Basic EMT's as they are limited in their scope of practice and beyond transport services most want advanced level providers.
Just Plain Ruff Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 I've had an EMT license for about 20 months and have only been able to get 2 job interviews after applying to over a dozen ambulance companies. I'm currently working on getting my paramedic license, but something tells me it'd be tough to be hired as a paramedic with no EMT experience. Is there anything else I could do to make me more hirable? 2 interviews after applying to a dozen ambulance companies - Would be interested in seeing your resume. Could it use some tweaking, is the resume in a format that is acceptable to most HR departments or is your Resume making a quick diversion to the proverbial circular file. Do not take offense at this but is your resume professionally written or is it in the jargon of a high schooler? Again don't take offense but HR departments look at resume's every single day and they quickly throw away resumes that are poorly written or look like "sh(*(&&T" if you forgive my french. Are you under or over the age of 21? That might affect your eligibility for insurance as well for their insurance carrier. If you are willing, send me your resume, ruffems@gmail.com and I'll take a look at it. There is a reason why you have only gotten 2 interviews after applying to 12 or more companies. One other thing, just a question to ponder, do you have anything in your past that could have a direct bearing on why you are not getting calls for interviews. Take this case for example A very good friend of mine applied to the KC MO police department, he got through the first several steps in the process. He was told by a Captain that he was a shoe in for the academy and then came the polygraph. He told the truth on the polygraph that he had taken money from a previous employer. He got the denial letter in the mail 10 days later. He attempted to get on with about 10 other police departments but on the applications they ask have you applied at other departments and he wrote down which ones. Apparantly, those departments talk amongst each other and he was told by a honest police department HR person that there was something in his KC MO PD hiring process that will keep him from getting on at any police department in a 100 mile radius. He said that he knew what that "something" was. So I would look inward (again don't take this the wrong way) and see if there is something that you can do to improve your chances at getting even an interview other than the tried and true response of "Volunteer work" because you may not have that option in your area. And again, don't take this as a personal insult but how did you apply to those companies? did you take the application in person or via the internet? If you took it in, in person, how were you dressed? Were you dressed shabbily and looking like a beatnik(again not personal), or did you go there with at least a shirt and tie on with nice slacks?, was your hair combed and did you not smell? If you sent it in via the internet, are you sure that you attached all documentation correctly, they may not have gotten all your paperwork. NOW, for your future job hunt. 1. When you drop off a resume/application/data packet - do it in at least a shirt and tie and slacks and dress shoes. Dress to look the part. 2. Call each of those agencies that you did not get an interview with but you filled an application out at, and ask to talk to the hiring person, HR or whoever. Tell them who you are and talk to them about any future positions or current positions. Let them know you filled an application out and you were wondering the status. (if you've done this, they may have already told you why you weren't hireable). 3. Keep good records of calls and who you talk to, never hurts to name drop when you are talking to someone who can make or break your future. If you talk to Jim Jones at the HR department and you have also talked to Janet Jones at the same HR department make sure you tell them that, they will then be able to talk to one another about you. 4. When you send your resume/application in to the next agency, follow up with a phone call to HR in 5-7 days just to make sure that your packet made it to them. Just because you send the package to them or dropped it off to them, DOES NOT mean that they got it. And last but not least, for the ambulance service that you REALLY REALLY want to work with, why not call their HR department and see if you can come in and sit down and talk to the HR person about the jobs open and what you can do to stand out. That's a first step of standing out and showing that you have the initiative in wanting the job. If you just say "oh hell, I'll just send this package in and wait,and wait and wait, and when I don't get a call, I'll just wonder what happened to it" You don't want to be that guy do you???? Of course not. Take care and send me your resume - Ruff 2
ERDoc Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 Yes, there is something you can do... though many people would disagree... you should find a volunteer agency. Though you're not being paid, you're getting field experience... getting real-world experience with actual EMS Situations. As an employer, they aren't looking for "are you certified"... they're looking for proof on how you handle yourself in certain situations. Get a few months of volunteer experience, then go reapply at the same places... guarantee that you'll find a job. This depends a lot on where you live. Volunteering is great and gives you experience, but where I was it didn't do anything to help you get a job other than help you know the person who might be hiring you. To get a job as an EMT all you needed was a pulse and a card (it could still be wet). EMTs were a dime a dozen but turnover was so high that you could probably land multiple jobs.
paramedicmike Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 Yes, there is something you can do... though many people would disagree... you should find a volunteer agency. Though you're not being paid, you're getting field experience... getting real-world experience with actual EMS Situations. As an employer, they aren't looking for "are you certified"... they're looking for proof on how you handle yourself in certain situations. Get a few months of volunteer experience, then go reapply at the same places... guarantee that you'll find a job. Add me to the list of people who disagrees. Most employers I've encountered in the several states in which I've either been involved in, or had contact with, local EMS have shared the practice ERDoc outlines. Specifically, if you have a card and a pulse you're hired. At the same time, because there's 40 people lined up waiting for that job one can be fired on a whim. But there's always another transport company willing to hire you. Even larger services running 911 don't always care if you have no experience. Municipal services run you through their academy. At the very least they have their own field training program for new hires regardless of their experience levels. Leaving the paid/volly argument aside for just a moment, volly services can be exceptionally variable. I would be really hard pressed to call 911 for an ambulance in the area I'm living now because all the responses are a volly BLS response. All the departments are fire departments and a condition of membership is you have to run on the ambulance. This creates a situation where there are a bunch of EMTs who don't want to be EMTs... they have to be to run on the engine. I see these guys every day when they drop people off in the ER. Their care reflects their apathy for being on the ambulance. Even volly experience isn't what it's cracked up to be. I'm inclined to agree with Ruff on this one. Depending on the location of the OP there must be something going on with either the résumé or application process. Or there's a whole lot more going on that the OP is choosing not to share.
Just Plain Ruff Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 I was trying to be nice and diplomatic on my original post on this but my concern is that there is a lot more going on with the OP than what has been shared. I have found that in my many years of counselling and assisting other EMT/medics in trying to help them procure a job, in trying to review their resume which I'm pretty good at reviewing (my tweaks just got a colleague a 110K job in my industry and they said some of it was based on his resume standing out in the crowd) that I suspect that there are dynamics we are not privy to. The resume advice and help offline offer is open to anyone who wants a critical eye to review their resume. Remember, the resume is often the first thing(apart from the application) that a employer's HR department sees. If you fail the 30 second resume test, you fail the chance of getting into the mix of being in the 2nd round. I read a statistic that a HR person will see over 500 - 5000 resumes for a single position in this job market. That is why your resume has to stand out in the crowd. If it sucks, you don't get a second chance.
J306 Posted October 29, 2013 Posted October 29, 2013 I might take you up on that offer Captain. I'll be applying for ACP jobs myself in the next month or so, and I feel as though my resume could use atleast a look from an experienced eye.
Just Plain Ruff Posted October 29, 2013 Posted October 29, 2013 I might take you up on that offer Captain. I'll be applying for ACP jobs myself in the next month or so, and I feel as though my resume could use atleast a look from an experienced eye. The offer is open to anyone. I've helped a fair share from the city as well to tweak their resume. But you are right, it doesn't hurt to have another eye look at your resume 1
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