Considered working as a law enforcement or emergency services worker? This interview will take you through the ups and downs you can expect as an emergency medical technician, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more. This is a true career story as told to JustJobs and is one of many interviews with emergency service professionals which among others include an emergency services coordinator, a forensic pathologist, and everything in between.
I am an emergency medical technician (EMT) working for the Fire Department of New York. I have been an EMT since 1997. The three adjectives I would pick to describe myself are "caring," "responsible," and "fun." I am a white female, which has not helped or hurt me in this position. I have experienced some discrimination from the people we help -- once a guy asked me if I could perform CPR on him because I looked so pretty -- but you just have to brush it off and move on.
As an EMT I work the 10 PM to 6 AM shift, riding around in an ambulance and responding to calls. Because it's the overnight shift we get a lot of gunshot and stabbing wounds, plus the occasional alcohol poisoning or drug overdose. We rush to the scene, evaluate the victim's medical situation, then decide whether we can treat the victim on-site, during the drive to a hospital, or wait until a doctor can see the patient. For a gunshot wound, we mostly try to stop the bleeding. We're not trained to perform surgery or take out the bullet – that sort of thing waits until we get to the hospital. There's a misunderstanding we do a lot of treatment in the ambulance while we're driving. For the most part it's too bumpy to do anything other than stabilize the patient.
I would rate my job satisfaction as a 7 or 8. I'm helping people who might otherwise die, which feels great, but the hours are not fun. I get home in time to wake up my kids, make them breakfast, and take them to school. Then I go home and fall asleep so I can be up in time to pick them up. I make dinner, help them with their homework, put them to bed, then head off to work. I don't know if this job is my calling -- I think right now I would rather spend more time with my kids, but the job pays decently.
I got a unique start in this job. My father had a heart attack when I was 23, at a time when I still didn't know what I wanted to do for a career. When the EMTs responded, I was so grateful and amazed at what they did for a living. I wanted an opportunity to help save other people's loved ones.
I had to learn a lot of things the hard way in this job. The hardest of all is probably dealing with death. Sometimes we respond to calls where the dispatcher tells us the person is already dead. We rush to the scene but often it's apparent there's nothing we can do. The worst are the gunshot wounds -- you know the person died instantly, but their families just want you to be able to do something. Usually the police are so involved in their investigation that they neglect the emotional needs of the families. I try to be reassuring when we take away someone that things are going to be okay, even if I know that it's not.
In the working world I learned a lot of things school never taught me, especially driving school! EMT drivers are just on another plane of existence. We get to do some crazy things to try to make it to the scene a little faster. My driving instructor would faint if he saw some of the things I've done to get through traffic.
The strangest thing that ever happened to me was when we got an emergency call that woman's husband had died. We rushed to the scene and found this little old woman in an apartment by herself. She kept saying her husband was dead, but the house was obviously empty. We did a little investigating and apparently the woman had dementia, her husband had died over twenty years ago of a heart attack. I felt really bad for her, but it was a very strange thing to have happen as an EMT.
I get up and go to work each day for my kids. I know the people we're helping are someone else's mother or father, and I think about how grateful I am my own father was saved by the EMTs who responded. The job is definitely challenging, and there have been times when I wanted to quit. The stress is worst when you arrive on the scene of a fatality, but significant parts of the day are spent waiting for something to happen, so it all balances out. My work-life balance isn't great as a single mother, but I have a job where I can see my kids in the morning and after school. I can't complain about that. I make about $50,000 per year, which isn't great for New York City but goes further on Long Island. I also get four weeks of vacation each year because of the high-stress nature of the job.
JustJobs.com is a job search engine that finds job listings from company career pages, other job boards, newspapers and associations. With one search, they help you find the job with your name on it.Read more » articles by this approved business partner | Click here » if you’re a businessNurse's aide image from Shutterstock
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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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