4 Ways To Improve Your Dental Resume

Are you looking for ways to improve your dental resume, impress hiring managers and get the job? Why not add some new keywords to your resume, take a course, or shadow a dental staff?

Working in the dental field requires you to possess specific skills, experience, and of course, education, but that’s not all. Hiring managers are looking for someone who can bring new ideas to the practice or institution and work well with them and potential patients. It’s crucial, especially when you’re new to the dental field or transferring to another dental position, that you tailor your resume and prepare to impress hiring managers even before your interview. 

Here are 4 Ways to Improve Your Dental Resume and impress hiring managers:

1. Add these Dental words and power phrases to your resume

Writing a dental resume can be difficult, especially if you don’t know what words or phrases to catch the hiring manager’s or screen systems’ attention. Using action phrases allows hiring managers to see that you’re proactive and know what you’re doing. Here are some keywords to add to your resume.

• Instead of Input new or accurate Dental Verification Information, you can say that you effectively resolved dental insurance claims [you can expand on this in your cover letter or interview]
• Instead of talking with the staff, you corresponded with staff members on [input a patient care issue you’ve resolved]
• If you’re in billing and coding, you can say you translated or transcribed services and proper codes
• Instead of planning treatments, you developed and implemented treatment plans
• Instead of giving tips, you educated patients on oral health OR created after-visit routine care plans

Check this 4 Tips To Negotiate Your Next Dental Salary

2. Use a resume template as a guide

Using a resume template can guide you as you write your resume. Resume templates include sections like qualification or experience and skills section. Here’s a sample guide you can use.

Contact Information:

1. Full name 
2. Email address | Phone Number| Email

Optional: Summary or Objective Statement: Be concise and mention the position you’re applying for and the experience and dental-related skills. Keep it short, two sentences max.  you have 

Work Experience or Qualification: This section should be concise and should include 3 to 4 bulleted statements about your proactive experiences and achievement in past position responsibilities. For example, explaining how you developed a pediatric dental community toolkit for elementary-age students (4-10-year-olds) and their parents or schools. 

Education: In reverse chronological order required information includes:

1. Degree(s) and major
2. Date of graduation (month and year)
3. Universities you attended
4. Location of universities (city and state)
5. Any certifications or licenses related to your degree

Technical Skills: computer programming or experience with work-related software, i.e., CareSimple (teledental tool), and Access.

Dental Skills: Impress the hiring manager by listing your dental-related skills

Note: You can combine your skills section

Tip: Always tailor their resumes to the position. It’s a good idea to create a Master Resume that includes all your work experience and skills. By looking through your master list, you’re able to see which experiences best fit the positions. 

Read also: The job interview | What to choose: experience or potential?

3. Take A Course, Join A Training, Or Attend A Webinar

Why? Well, it’s essential to keep your skills up to date and learn new things? 

It’s a good idea to refresh your mind by taking a course or training, especially if you haven’t used your technical skills in a while. The description or position might require you to use X, Y, Z system, which you’ve used in the past, but just to make sure, it’s best to take a refresher course or training. 

Another reason to take a course or training” Suppose you’re a new hire (dental receptionist) with development skills, i.e., advertising or creating catchy dental aftercare brochures for patients; you can share that with hiring managers. Make sure that your skills are up to date. By taking a course, joining a dental training, or webinar, you can improve your skills and show managers you’re eager to learn and contribute during the interview. 

4. Proofread Your Resume

Your resume is the first thing hiring managers see before the interview. It needs to stand out and not for multiple typos. If your resume is full of typos grammatical mistakes and spelling errors, then that’s all the hiring manager will see. It shows that you lack attention to detail and are not serious about the position. It helps to have someone else proofread it. Remember to read, review, and proofread your resume before you submit it.

Note: Check out How to improve your professional etiquette while job searching