Finding jobs as a new graduate

[Beauty Guru]

I graduate in May and am wondering what areas of study I can focus on in these last few months to set myself apart?

I did not attend one of the more highly regarded schools in the area. I know I'm sorely lacking as far as palpation skills and locating individual muscles, which I'm assuming is a big one. I have Trail Guide to the Body and I know I should look over certain things in greater detail, like the rotator cuff. I'm panicking a bit because I really want to get into the job search in the very near future, but I'm pretty sure my choice of schools is an obstacle to overcome. If you were interviewing a new graduate and/or looking over their resume, what would make the difference between hiring them vs. not wanting to contact them?

Also wondering - what are the pros and cons of starting the job search without the license in hand? (Anyone in Ohio?)

 

[Pompal 09.]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

Practice, practice, practice! Do as many massages as you can for now (without overdoing) and don't worry about specializing. It sounds like to me you know what you need to focus on - better palpation skills and identifying muscles - so stick with that. become more confident with what you have just learned. that's my advice.

I went to a community college massage program and although it doesn't have the 'big name" of some of the others, it doesn't really matter. the only people who have asked me where I went to school were other MT's who were just curious. Even though it was a cc - the program was great, the instructors were great. It was a fantastic program and I share that. what matters if you are good at what you do and that you've learned what you need to learn to be a good therapist. I don't hire others, being a sole practitioner, however, you may be asked to give a massage during an interview and I think someone hiring will look for confidence in a basic massage. not necessarily what school you went to.

I can't answer about the license question.
Best of luck to you - and remember the good things about the school you chose to go to!

 

[PaoloPH]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

Step 1- STUDY. Study as much as you, and practice on as many people as you can.

Step 2- When handing out resumes, always call the salon first and ask who you should talk to about hiring. And don't worry if they don't have "help wanted" signs, most places aren't actively hiring, but if someone with a an interest and a passion comes in asking for a job and wanting to be there, they may decide to take you on~! Let potential employeers know that you are willing to work hard, that you want to learn more, and that you are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. Having a can do attitude goes a long way.

Step 3- Offer to start out as a spa receptionist or spa assistant while you are getting your licensure set up. This will teach you how a spa is run, how much work it takes to make clients happy, keeping the place running smoothly, making sure it is clean and up to standard and generally familiarizing yourself with their clients and staff and procedures.

I would recommend you not get a job at a franchise, it sounds like you would be better off with an established mentor who is willing to teach you more.

And last rule of them, do your homework. Look up every spa in the area you would want to work at, check out their website, visit them in person and talk to the staff briefly and ask for a tour. There are so many different environments and styles of workplaces, and finding one you are happy at will go a long ways in making you love your career even more.

Good luck, and let us know how the job hunt goes!

 

[WCCanuck]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

I graduate in May and am wondering what areas of study I can focus on in these last few months to set myself apart?

I did not attend one of the more highly regarded schools in the area. I know I'm sorely lacking as far as palpation skills and locating individual muscles, which I'm assuming is a big one. I have Trail Guide to the Body and I know I should look over certain things in greater detail, like the rotator cuff. I'm panicking a bit because I really want to get into the job search in the very near future, but I'm pretty sure my choice of schools is an obstacle to overcome. If you were interviewing a new graduate and/or looking over their resume, what would make the difference between hiring them vs. not wanting to contact them?

Also wondering - what are the pros and cons of starting the job search without the license in hand? (Anyone in Ohio?)

Start talking to working MTs and potential employers prior to graduation. If your school provides job placement assistance, make use of it. Learn as much as you can about different work environments and try to get a sense of which direction you are most interested in (for now). There are pros and cons to pretty much any place, so having an idea of what is most important to you will help you decide what tradeoffs you are willing to make later. This self-knowledge is invaluable at any seforum.xxxe in your career, no matter what career you are in.

You refer to your school as a second-rate program. Consider why this may be so. If the curriculum is considered weak in a critical area, such as anatomy, palpation skills, pathology, etc. - spend some extra time on those areas. Asking your instructor(s) or some professional MTs to tutor you can really help. One of our employees noticed that his school didn't really address anterior neck work, so he obtained extra training (outside of class) from one of the instructors. That initiative both improved his skills and impressed us with his desire to go above and beyond the basics. Something like that ("To become better at neck work, I went beyond the standard curriculum and obtained additional training in treating anterior neck tissues.") can be noted in your cover letter when submitting a resume.

Perhaps the biggest error I see in resumes from new grads is a desire to impress by listing "certification" in every modality their program so much as touched on. Instead, emphasize the skills you are best at and what you most love to do. This tells a potential employer what you can actually do and how you might best fit into a team of MTs. The other things you were exposed to should also be listed, but don't inflate them - that just brings your credibility into question. A canny employer may ask you to demonstrate some of those other things if you claim to be certified, so be able to back up your claims.

I don't think anyone actually expects a new grad to be expert on treating complex shoulder problems, so don't stress too much about mastering rotator cuff issues. However, you should know your rotator cuff muscles and where to find more information on treating common problem areas. This is where it's helpful to have some good professional references in your personal library, and some idea of what CE classes you'd like to pursue. There is a TON of good info available free online, but that's not practical when you need to check something quick between doing a client intake and starting the work. This type of awareness and foresight can also impress a potential employer. If they provide a professional reference library for their MTs (as we do), it might help to be somewhat familiar with those texts/publications should they come up during the interview process.

Good comment about working with an established mentor, though you might also find one at a franchised business. Kelly and I run a franchise but also provide mentoring for some working MTs and prospective MTs, even if they don't work with us. Other MTs may do the same. If you find a good mentor, you may obtain guidance even if you don't work for/with them. (I have several role models who exemplify traits and expertise that I wish to develop, and work with them whenever the opportunity arises.) Don't just look for "brand name" role models, but find people who are successful in ways that you are attracted to emulate. Many "unknown" MTs are capable of providing incredible guidance rivaling anything you'd learn at a seminar.

In a state that requires licensure, some employers may not look at you seriously until you have completed that process. However, you will probably find plenty that are willing to accept a resume at any time, even if they aren't hiring. Some will even interview and make job offers contingent on licensure. Beware those who offer to let you start working prior to having all your requisite professional paperwork in order. When they are willing to cut legal corners on that, they are probably cutting corners on other things too. That's probably not the kind of place for an ethical MT to be...

Oh, some simple nuts and bolts of job hunting:
1. Include a cover letter with your resume. This is an opportunity to impress, to give a sense of your personality, and to spark interest in interviewing you.
2. Always submit/bring a resume, even if not required. It shows initiative and professionalism.
3. Make sure your cover letter and resume use good spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Poorly done resumes are distracting and may reflect negatively on your professionalism. Use spellcheck and grammar functions, and have knowledgeable third parties (not just your friends) look it over in advance.
4. Always dress for the position you are seeking. If it's an upscale massage center, don't show up in jeans and a hoodie, or in anything revealing. That error can end an interview before it starts. Call ahead and ask about the dress code so you can look the part when you meet the hiring manager(s).
5. Be a few minutes early (but not 30+ minutes) for your meeting/interview. If you are cutting it close, call ahead to verify directions and let them know you are on the way. Don't be late and expect everything to be totally cool... employers know that late for an interview now is an indication that you will be late for work later.

Hope that helps!

 

[Pompal 09.]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

Also wondering - what are the pros and cons of starting the job search without the license in hand? (Anyone in Ohio?)

Maitri, having been there and done that my advice is wait until you have the license firmly in hand. The Ohio State board is much more difficult that the national licensure. The reason I say to wait is this...the test is very difficult and should you not pass, and to be honest it can happen to ANYONE as they board never gives the same test twice and they are constantly revamping it, you do not want to be faced with a phone call asking if you are ready to start work and having to tell a potential employer that you have to resit for a portion of the test.

Since you are sitting in June 1, that means you will have your results on July 15 (if the board doesn't screw up, which they sometimes do).

Here is what I did. I had the envelopes all addressed to local places I wanted to apply, return addressed, stamped, etc.. As soon as I found out I passed I put my license number on the resume, went online and applied for my NPI number, and put my NPI number on the resume, printed it out, stuffed the envelopes and stuck them in the mail.

I will tell you I am so thankful I did it this way as when I sat the board had some tremendous error and we never got our results until the end of August! I am not kidding you. It was the most awful wait of my life.

Just study as much as you can possibly stand. I was the person that was SO confident in the anatomy portion and lacked confidence on the limited branch portion. I came out of the anatomy portion shell shocked, and the limited branch seemed like a walk in the park to me.

My greatest fear was that I would fail it that first time and have to wait 6 months to sit again...I wanted no part of that! I sure hope the SMB gets the LMT testing into this century. I have to wonder how many other states are given a licensure exam that is paper and pencil and only given twice a year.

 

[Jena]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

Jason, I can't believe people would claim to be "certified" in all these different things when they just graduated! Thanks for all the detailed information.

One thing I had not thought of or been taught to do is to find a mentor. How on earth do you go about approaching someone in that way?

I am surprised at the advice re: licensure. In our school we are told that employers may or may not care if you are licensed, and if you can find someone who will hire you while still in school, so much the better. But I would prefer to work in a more healthcare oriented environment rather than a spa, and I am sure that employers are much more concerned with licensure in that kind of environment.

As far as the school I chose - there are several big names in the area, and when I see MT biographies listed on websites, they are pretty universally from one of those schools. At my school there is very poor integration between A&P and massage, and the massage "instruction" (at least in my particular class) has been laughable from day one. Most of the useful things I learned were from youtube videos or different books. I fear that employers might have worked with graduates of this school and found them lacking critical knowledge, which is very easy to do if you don't find resources outside of class and textbooks. Of course, hopefully I am wrong about this.

nmcintosh, thanks for your input. After reading about your experience I think I will cough up the $200 and take the review course offered by a local school.

 

[Your Southern Can Is Mine]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

Maitri, do not, I repeat DO NOT listen to your school about working prior to being licensed. If you check all the paperwork you have signed, and your application to sit for the state board, you will find areas stating that prior to licensure you must not accept money for massage. I will also say I know of 2 people, both students at the same time as me, who practiced without a license and neither person hid it, both people were turned in to the SMB and both people will never be able to sit. The SMB has the power to "black ball" students that go outside of the law and guidelines. I think, I will have to find mine, but when you apply for massage school in Ohio we all had to get that "provisional" approval, the yellow certificate that showed the state was allowing us to study massage, and I am positive that the paperwork that came with that certificate stated that during the time of your education, through passing of the state exam, we were not permitted to accept money/gifts/trades for massage.

My school preached to us ENDLESSLY that we were NOT to ever accept anything for massage while a student prior to licensure. They harped on it, I bet during my 2 years of the associate degree I heard it at least weekly at massage department meetings.

 

[maikabarrett]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

Thanks for the info. I was always under the impression that it was a legal gray area. There is a girl in our class who is already employed as a massage practitioner and she is planning on taking the state boards. So I guess I'm still confused, but I will take your advice...no harm in waiting a few more months.

 

[asian babe]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

I'm from Ohio t006

I decided not to send out any resumes until I had my license in hand. Mainly I didn't want to jinx myself, and from a logical standpoint our state board exam has a horrible pass rate (it was 58% when I took it) and I figured any place that was up on the massage industry in the state would be leery of hiring someone knowing they have a good chance of not passing. As it turned out it was a good thing, because even though I passed our results were delayed an entire month. So I would have had to tell a potential employer 'Sorry, the results have been delayed another month...'

Now though is your perfect time to do the research. Find the places that have or potientally could hire an LMT and make a list. Get your resumes and business cards made up and ready to go. Find the places in your area where you can post fliers and business cards for free, these are harder to find than you would think. Even if there are only a few places you would like to work, make a huge list. The LMT market is over saturated and alot of places are looking for therapists with their own clientelle rather than fresh grads, but this doesn't mean you wont get a job. I got lucky landing one of my contracting jobs, she wasn't really sure if she wanted to hire someone but I kept showing up and now I'm one of her primary therapists.

LMTs are not like regular job postings where there is a set position and you fill it. Spa's, salons, and wellness centers are used to the therapists seeking them out so your not going to be seeing 'LMT WANTED' signs all over the place.

The first year is the roughest, you have to work very hard to drum up your business, and you may find youself going an entire week w/o a client. So don't quit your day job until its interfering with scheduling your clients. Its stressfull, but I've learned so much and I can tell I'm getting better with every client and business is picking up which is great. One crappy thing about taking the June boards is that the winter months is the slow season for massage therapy so your going to hit a point where its like 'Where are all the clients? Do I suck?' Then it warms up and boom!

 

[Pompal 09.]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

Hi! Please forgive me as I'm writing this on the fly and haven't read all the replies completely.

The bad news is that it's tough out there. The good news is that it's possible. Here are some nuggets I've picked up from both massage therapy school and then chiropractic school.

First, you might want to consider creating a CV (i.e. Curriculum Vitae), which is like a resume of even higher caliber for professionals. This sets you apart at least a little bit from the typical resume crowd (not that there's anything against resumes, but you're trying to distinguish yourself).

Second, do keep in mind that the best jobs are typically found by networking - who do you know? Even if your network is extremely limited (since you're just starting out) you can sort of "fake" a network by joining LinkedIn and creating a profile. Flesh it out as much as you can, and make contacts! It's like a Facebook but for professionals. You can join groups, private message someone email-style, put up all your contact info, link to your website, whatever. LinkedIn is free to join, although by upgrading your account (i.e. becoming a paying member) you will enjoy certain perks. (I only use the free account and I've gotten LOTS Of use from it, so don't feel you HAVE to upgrade and pay.) Sometimes you'll even see job postings on there (although you won't see many lately because LinkedIn charges people to list job openings and with so many applicants for each opening, there's currently no reason for employers to pay to post ads).

Third, figure out who you really want to work for/with. Maybe you haven't decided on specialization, but I'm sure you DO know what attracted you to this field in the first place. When you first thought of going to MT school, what made you decide to go? What made you consider going? Then, what CONVINCED you to go? What was that last straw, that deciding factor? You probably had a vision of some kind that overrode any fear/uncertainty/financial expense. What was that? Use that as your starting point, both in deciding which direction to take your MT practice (i.e. specialization, or focus) AND who to work for/with (the type of facility or field - sports? Pregnancy? Detox? Chakras? Reiki? Chiropractic? Spa? etc)

Another suggestion made to us in chiro med school (although this is relevant to anyone) is that we, too, had to decide whether we wanted to work for someone else or start our own practice. We were encouraged to have things set up by the time we graduated so that once we got our license, everything else was turn-key and ready to go. As we headed into our last semester, those of us who wanted to get a job with someone else first, were advised to do the following:
1) figure out what city/area/small town/etc we wanted to get a job in
2) research (usually Google or Yellow Pages) and identify EVERY office we wanted to work in (making sure it was compatible for us - if we specialized in nutrition or chiro energy work, we probably wouldn't want to work in a high-volume personal injury clinic, for example).
3) make an organized list of every compatible office we turned up in #2, complete with a contact person's NAME for every office,
4) type up a well-written, proofread letter that described who we were, what our focus and philosophy were, etc - basically a few succinct paragraphs selling ourselves without being cheesy. Since we hadn't graduated yet, we simply included the expected date of graduation and a ballpark estimation of when we would be licensed.
5) and send the letters out SNAIL MAIL, addressing each individually by name to make it more personal and to make sure the right person sees the letter. And every clinic you're interested in definitely gets a letter, even if there is NO indication that they are hiring. Even if an employer is fully staffed, they ALL still want the best person for the job and if you approach them the right way, you might pique their interest.

An important thing to remember is, the best employers look at the person, not the pedigree (how impressive your school was). I'd rather look at the PERSON. Are they friendly? Accommodating? Reliable? (That's a big one, as many MTs aren't.) Mature? Willing to learn? (That's another big one.) Motivated (in terms of advancing/improving their skills AND in terms of showing initiative to obtain clients - those 2 are probably the biggest from a good employer's prospective)?

Footnote: In fact, I might be LESS likely to hire someone from a prestigious school because a lot of them have a slight attitude in that they're entitled to something special just because they graduated from a certain school. There are many people with an exquisite natural ability to give the perfect massage who have never set foot in a classroom. Hence, I wouldn't worry so much about the school you graduated from. Experience and personality are the Great Equalizers

The main thing to remember when going for a job is to see things from the employer's prospective, too. You already know your own perspective and goals as an employee, and those must be respected, too (i.e. don't sell yourself short!) It's important to remember that in strict business terms, in order to get hired, you have to be able to bring the employer more revenue than you cost them; otherwise they see no point in hiring an additional person. So the trick is to figure out how you meet that need. Times are tough for employers, also, and they want to get the most bang for their buck when it comes to hiring help. In fact, their survival depends on it. So try to imagine hiring someone yourself. What qualities would YOU want to see in that person?

And the most common #1 deciding factor in whether or not you get hired, especially in a small, tight-knit office/facility? WHETHER OR NOT YOU FIT IN, in terms of personality alone. This is very subjective. The head honcho HAS to think that you're going to be a good fit in the "culture" of the place - if they're all slick high-gloss high-rolling personalities and you're common-sense, earthy, grass-roots kind of person, it probably won't be a match. Not that that's a bad thing - you wouldn't be happy there anyway - find that compatible place.

Best of luck! Please keep us posted
Hugs,
~Jyoti

PS: Everybody, we MAY have a job opening for an MT within the next few weeks. We ARE the open-minded person-considering type, and we ARE the mentor-type Jenn@Attuned mentioned We're in South Texas - keep checking the Employment Opportunities section within the next few weeks.

 

[soccer <3]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

Well, it is always hard to find a job as a new graduate because companies always want someone with experience, but I think if you really want it, you can always find a job, you just have to keep looking.

 

[Flicka]

Finding jobs as a new graduate

Well, you've gotten excellent advice from the above posters - people who really know what they're talking about - not much I can add to it. Don't be intimidated. I too attended a school that was so-so, although I didn't know it at the time (there are no other massage programs around here). But as soon as I had my license #, I delivered resumes to every single place in the Yellow Pages that offered massage. I got 3 call backs, gave 3 massages to owners, and was offered all 3 jobs on the spot. I was fortunate in that I found the 'place I belong' so fast, been there going on 5 years and I love every minute of it. It's just a matter of doing a lot of footwork until you find the right spot. And even if you take a position at a place that you don't plan on staying long, it is still experience.