Susana Moraga ⋅ Hayward, CA California State University East Bay ⋅ 20 years experience

Sanaka,
Congratulations and Jodie mentioned through the resources he provided you need to be more than that piece of paper; your resume, you are sending companies.
As well as networking through professional associations, there are ACP advisors that would be happy to do an informational interview with you to assist you in focusing your job search.
Don't forget Linkedin Groups as well.
Take advantage of the resources and make some contacts to grow your understanding of the field you want to pursue.
Good luck,

Jodie Prieto-Rodriguez ⋅ Pittsburgh, PA Allegheny Health Network- Highmark Health ⋅ 21 years experience

Good Morning Sanaka:

Congratulations on completing your degree! The healthcare industry can be challenging to get into if you did not grow up in the system. I would recommend the following ways to get into the system:

1. Internships; many hospitals run Health Administration (paid) internships,e.g.

https://www.indeed.com/q-Paid-Internships-Healthcare-Management-jobs.html?vjk=7d3084cad897ad0a

I am sure that you may have heard of health admin intern and externships. The programs are competitive, yet offer one of the best networking opportunities to get your foot in the door.

2. Finance/ logistics manager positions; The business of health care contains positions that are underrated, underappreciated, and under-applied for; billing, budget analyst, receiving, distribution are all management positions that are crucial to health care operations and provide a solid senior health admin foundation for managing "bullets and beans" in real time.

3. Fellowship programs; once you do get hired, major medical systems tend to have internal health admin fellowship programs. My facility runs a quality management health admin fellowship. These positions are competitive; however, your education, background, and experience would make you ideal candidate after working for a year or two for any major organization.

4. Volunteer/humanitarian Aid/ emergency management positions; Hospitals are key team players in disaster management, outbreak control, and domestic and foreign aid... what they lack though are people who have experience in those positions. Very few of the main population of healthcare workers have actual experience in these positions. I am unfortunately fortunate to have managed my DOD hospitals emergency operations department in actual and training disasters...not many people place themselves in those positions. The benefit of being in those positions is that organizations are willing to hire grads into those positions with the expectation that you will be learning on the fly. Your education and experience are seen as modifiers that enable you to learn and adapt faster than others.

5. Government Hospitals; BLUF, you are a veteran, who has a graduate degree, competitive unique undergrad, and a basic knowledge of what the customer population needs. apply for manager postions on USA JOBs, state job boards, and department websites.

Networking for new grads in the medical field can be challenging. The healthcare population likes to grow their own and most positions place you in front of highly sensitive personal information. I would recommend groups such as:
https://www.njmgma.com/

When I recruited Health Administrators for the military I often went to professional organization meetings for the state and national agencies. The organizations provide access to the network of professionals in your state, provide information sessions and training on key subject matters relevant to the profession (ebola management, cardiac care certifications, new market development etc...)

I noted that you have applied for jobs and heard no response. I would ask to see your cover letter, resume, and posting of a position you have applied for.

I hope my answers have helped in some fashion. I offer to look at your qualifications and provide feedback.

Jerry Welsh ⋅ Middleville, MI Master Military Transition Advisor/HPS GPO ⋅ 30 years experience

Sanaka,
I peaked at your LinkedIn profile and it could use some work. I just published two articles on the profiles and how to best use them for career searching. The first article is on the TAG/Headline and the second is on your experience. Your's need a more powerful TAG, people do not search for MPA, they search for healthcare operations managers, or healthcare financial managers etc. Do some research into what career you want and then market your self for that. You need to give some examples of accomplishments, with #$% and those could be from your EPR's.
The second article is on the summary and the experience. See if you can find an internship at a hospital, there a lot through the DOD Skillbridge offers a great number of internships. If you update your profile and you want me to take a look, just message me and I do it gratis. Thanks for your service and sacrifices made, God Bless.

Sanaka Agassi ⋅ Perth Amboy, NJ U.S. Air Force, Senior Airman ⋅ 4 years served

Hi Susana,

Thank you for your response it is greatly appreciated.

Sanaka Agassi

Sanaka Agassi ⋅ Perth Amboy, NJ U.S. Air Force, Senior Airman ⋅ 4 years served

Hi Jodie,

Thank you for your response an advice, I would send you a copy for my resume.

Sanaka Agassi