Career Tips

Why Soft Skills Are Important to Your Career

When you’re searching for a job or have a one, you need to have the hard skills known as technical skills that determine specific knowledge and skills, skills that can be measured and taught through programs, courses or schooling. But in addition to needing hard skills, you need soft skills to succeed in a job.

What Are Soft Skills?

They’re intangible skills that determine your interpersonal skills. Mostly, they are the attributions, personality traits, social cues, and communication skills we need to succeed in a job. Soft skills are harder to define and evaluate since they’re skills that can’t be taught in a course because they take time to develop over time and have to do the person’s character.

Why Are They Important to Acquire?

Unlike hard skills, soft skills promote human connection. Skills needed to build and maintain human relationships and career advancements. In any job profession, you will be interacting with people whether it is a co-worker, manager, boss, client, or customer. The way you communicate with others is crucial to how your relationships build over time, how others interact with you and how you approach life. Not everyone has a set of soft skills and some need to improve on them.

Today, companies and businesses are becoming more dynamic and in need to interconnect and be flexible which is why soft skills are critical to have. Having soft skills are what ensures having a productive, collaborative, and healthy work environment. There are skills hiring managers, companies, and businesses look for to improve leadership, build a work culture that’s meaningful and encourage employee retention.

When you work in the medical field, this includes the dental field, having soft skills is crucial. You work with the patients, dentists, and other clinical staff. The way you communicate and your attitude is everything! To having patients come back, share concerns and questions, to trusting you, and having dentists and clinical staff work alongside you to collaborative teamwork to efficiently understanding the medical diagnosis, treatment plans, and medical records.

Various soft skills contribute to advancing your career and maintaining human connections. Skills such as

  • Oral and written communication
  • Leadership
  • Collaborative teamwork
  • Problem-solving
  • Critical thinking
  • Adaptability
  • Critical observer   
  • Dependable
  • Independent
  • Compassionate

These are just some of the skills you can learn or improve on since they are skills which are easily transferable to any job. We are always interacting with people and the further we develop on our ability to communicate, work together, and be personable, the better chances we have to advance in our careers and be a great asset. Not only will help us in our professional lives but personal because they are skills we continuously use. If you want a review on how soft skills are impacting your career and the dental field here is an article to read.      

5 Things to Know Before Changing Careers

Have you been thinking of a new career? There is a lot to consider when making a big decision such as changing careers because more than one area of your life will be affected. Changing profession can be daunting and sometimes we don’t always get the support we need from those in our profession.  

A career change can be great move to take since it can lead to finding or working in the profession of your choice or in a business that aligns more with your core values and what you seek in a job. But what do you need to know before changing your careers?

Here are five things you should know before making a career change. We’ve come up with five things, or tips, you should know before making a move to a new profession. Research is critical in making this big step.

  1. Invest time. Investing time on yourself and research is crucial to the process of making the change. What do we mean? Take the time to know what you want professionally, what your core values are, what kind of environment you would like to work in, your strengths, and skills you have. This is the first initial step you want to take to in gathering as much information as you can on yourself and understanding the assets you can bring to your new career and industry.
  2. You don’t have to know so much yet. Going into a new profession means, you may not know everything right away, and that’s okay. However, you do have to have some knowledge of the industry such as the obstacles the industry faces and the company, how you can offer solutions from previous experience, skills, and knowledge you may have. There will be moments when you may not know something, however, having an eagerness to learn and having a humble attitude is important in transitioning careers.
  3. There will be disappointments. You’re everyday tasks, and responsibilities will change and with them, the application of skills and knowledge you have. There will be challenges and obstacles you’ll need to navigate and ask yourself how you will overcome them and be willing to learn. Keeping realistic expectations of the job is important to have when entering a new profession.
  4. Create an action plan. A plan that is detailed and clear for you to outline into achievable steps and what has to be done first. An action plan you will be able to execute and carry out over the time you are transitioning to a new career.
  5. Overhaul your resume. This is a given, but we don’t mean tweaking your resume just on a few sections. You’ll have to rebuild your resume to fit into the industry you want to work in, and that demonstrates your skills and knowledge are transferable. Take the time to know what the industry is looking for in a candidate and how you better display your skills and experience in that new industry.

Changing careers is a more common now than it was before years ago. There are more opportunities in the workforce that allows us to grow professionally and transition into a career we can see ourselves working in for years. Before making a change, we have to ensure it is the right move and what it is needed to make that move possible.

Research is a critical component of understanding and gaining more knowledge of what the new industry is about and what you as an individual need to make a career change. What steps are you taking to make the transition to a new career?

 

Positive Words to Use in Your Dental Resume

Writing resumes can be daunting when you’re competing with a pool full of job applicants. We’re left thinking about what to write on on our resume. What will make us stand out from the rest besides work experience and skill set? These are questions that run through our heads as we prepare or refresh our resumes for job searches.

We get it; we’ve been there before and now, we want to offer you tips on how to better distinguish yourself from the rest of the applicants. Words are your best key to help differentiate who you are, what you know, and what you are skilled at.

The words we pick to describe ourselves and to express what we know makes all the difference. The way we word sentences, phrases and the words we choose are some of the ways you can better highlight yourself and skills you have that can add value and contribution to the company and your employer you want to work for.

So, what words do dental offices look for in the resumes of dental hygienist, assistant, or dentist? Words that demonstrate your soft skills letting dental offices know you’re capable of providing patients with understanding, comfort and most all safety. These could be words such as being compassionate, sympathetic, empathetic, or solicitous. Soft skills that are simple but direct demonstrate how you work with patients and the values you have within your profession, but gives a glimpse at who you are.  

When it comes to the hard skills, employers look for keywords that display the specific knowledge and abilities that are required to succeed on the job. Keywords describing skill sets you need to for the job occupation such as relevant credentials, software, or quantifiable skills. These are the skills which are learned, redefined, evaluated and measured. In the dental field these skills include, Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Dental Radiographs, or Operatory Preparation, just to name a few. These keywords or phrases display the knowledge you acquired and know which adds value and contribution to a dental company or clinic.

Highlighting your abilities and knowledge of your profession while giving a glimpse of who you are, as a person and co-worker, can make the difference in distinguishing you from the rest of the applicants. Word choice can either help bring the message directly and with value for a dental company or clinic.  

How to Know Which Career is Right for You?

Have you found yourself questioning yourself which career is for you? It’s normal if you’ve pondered it. After all, if you’re choosing a career, you want to assure yourself that you’re choosing what is right for you and one you will enjoy. So, how can you determine which job is right for you? Before deciding you are going to have to do some introspection to know more about yourself and what better way of understanding than by asking yourself some questions.

Introspection:

Ask yourself what you see yourself doing? What do you enjoy the most? Get to know yourself more to get the job you want but remember to set reasonable expectations. Once again, when setting expectations within reasonable measures, you need to ask yourself what matters. Is love for a job all that matters or feeling a steady calm for the next 5 to 7 years? Try aiming for loving your career about 90 percent of the time. Chances are you aren’t going to love your job the whole 100 percent; it’s unrealistic because you’ll probably have your ups and down with your job.

Motivation:   

Determine what motivates you! It’s important you remain honest here especially when you’re figuring out what’s driving you to make your career decision. If your motivation is closer to your actual job, the more engaging it can be for you. Three motivators are at play:

  • The work is rewarding because we gain enjoyment from merely doing the work.
  • The purpose which is the outcome of the work we do. We usually feel purpose when our values align with our work.
  • Potential can lead to something important like a long-term career goal. We can find potential in the work we do.

These are three motivators which can lead us to choose a career, and it’s something to consider and take into account.

Revisit Topics, Subjects, Skillsets, and Experiences:

When searching for the right career, sometimes we have to revisit the things we love and bring interest to us. Coming back to individual subjects can help us figure out which career we would want to pursue and go into for a profession. The more experience we gain in an area, the better off we are in being able to make the switch to a career we enjoy being part of. At times it’s about reflecting on ourselves and seeing where we thrive more and where we feel the most enjoyment.

Build a Network:

Talking with others and getting a career mentor is a good idea to hear what others like about their career. A career mentor can even help you figure out what is right for you. Sometimes getting a third perspective can help us assess things more clearly. Not to mention a strong network is key to finding the right opportunity. Networking with others gives you an inside look into what are the job functions and learning more of about the industry. Dig in to discover more! Figuring out whose career you want to emulate is one way of understanding the process of what it took them to get where they are and how they got where they are now.

Compromise:

Know what you are willing to compromise and what you’re not. Don’t go for the first offer if it’s not what you’re interested in and what motivates you. Don’t compromise that if you’ve been working to get the career right for you.

Follow these tips to find the right career for you! Life is short, I know it’s clichè but life is short not to choose a job you right for and where you can start thriving in. Don’t compromise for a career you will later resent or regret. Get to know more about yourself and discover where you want to see yourself working in the next couple years. Find the career for you so you can start achieving and succeeding in what you want to do. We wish you the best of luck in your journey.