Capture Your Personal Brand in One Sentence

By Abby Locke of The Ladders

Describe your value, then convince others.

Your personal brand is the keystone to communicating your value during a job-search campaign. Once you have a clear statement to describe your value to an employer, you can start convincing others to believe it.

Gain a competitive advantage by honing a personal brand statement. Include it in your resume; revise it to create an attention-getting, 30-second elevator pitch; expand upon it through career success stories in an interview and communicate it frequently to others at networking events.

The following examples use the same personal branding statement, which was developed for a manufacturing executive.

I employ cutting-edge technologies to speed manufacturing so companies can grow revenues, cut costs and increase profits.

How best can you use this simple statement of value? While you don't want to repeat it word for word, you can improve your perceived market value by weaving this message into every phase of the job search.

1. Incorporate it into your executive summary

With only 20 to 60 seconds to catch a recruiter’s or hiring manager’s attention, you can draw them into your resume and set the tone in your header and executive summary:

Example:

SENIOR MANUFACTURING EXECUTIVE
Senior executive with broad-based expertise steering multimillion-dollar, global manufacturing companies. Strategic thinker able to identify new technologies that make manufacturing more efficient and revenues stronger, improving profit margins. Creative leader with proven strengths in P&L management, product innovation and turnaround operations.

2. Add power to your elevator pitch

As you network, you'll need a brief, memorable elevator pitch that sells your value, not just your experience.

Before:

“Hi, my name is Carl Brown, and I am an executive with 15-plus years’ experience with global manufacturing companies.”

After:

“Hi, my name is Carl Brown. I'm an experienced manufacturing executive who deploys new technologies for global companies seeking efficiency and revenue growth. Some of the top companies I have worked with include ABC Plastics, Newform Manufacturing and TechNec Corporation.”

3. Make an impresion in interviews

Understanding the core of your personal brand will help you answer critical interview questions with authority.

Question: “So Carl, tell me about yourself.”
Possible answer: “OK. As you've seen from my resume, I've got more than 15 years’ experience in P&L management, product innovation and turnaround management for global manufacturing companies in the plastics industry. Throughout my career, I have employed innovative technologies to manufacture products more efficiently. That's helped my employers achieve aggressive business goals.”

Once you can articulate your unique value to your next employer, you can leverage that personal-branding message in creative new ways.

MRI First Friday Preview: May 2011

Marc Cenedella's Best Career Advice Ever

borrowed from Marc Cenedella's most recent newsletter:

You know that part of the interview where they ask "well, do you have any questions for me?"...

Say yes and ask: "How do I help you get a gold star on your review next year?"

This bit of advice has helped more people in more interviews than any other bit of advice I've shared over the years. Why?

Well, the interview process lends itself to our becoming self-absorbed and talking only about ourselves.

Or conversely, we become "job analysis engineers" and ask all sorts of questions about the job and reporting structure and how it fits in with the company's five year plan and so on. I love getting questions from candidates in interviews, but I do have to admit I feel that they're not quite getting the point of an interview if they pull out six pages of typed, single-spaced questions.

We get so obsessed with the details of the job that we forget about the work.

Working together and being a good addition to the team mean being concerned with how you are making the team successful. And that means being concerned with how much you are helping to make your boss successful.

Asking this question shows that you have empathy. It shows that you have an interest in your boss' career and future success. It shows that you are not just a self-absorbed "what's in it for me" kind of person. And it shows that you know you are there to "give" as much as you are there to "get".

iPad's ease of use may drive EHR adoption

Patty Enradon, blogger at EHRWatch.com


The iPad is a hit with consumers. It's also a hit with physicians, and that may prove to be a boon for the adoption of EHRs.


An estimated 22 percent of U.S. physicians were using iPads by the end of 2010, according to Chilmark Research analysts. In a February 2011 survey by health marketing firm Aptilon, four out of five physicians said they plan to buy an iPad this year.


Physicians at various Memphis hospitals and health systems are extolling the virtues of iPads. One of the criticisms of EHRs is that physicians and nurses turn their backs on patients while entering data in a computer in the waiting room. With the iPad, the physician doesn't have to deal with unwieldy hardware. The inobtrusiveness (size, weight and look) of the iPad is winning over clinicians. It's truly mobile, allowing clinicians to move easily from examining room to examining room to office. So no need to push those computers on wheels, or COWs, either.


Also, imagine the joy patients who own iPads experience when they see their physicians and nurses using iPads. They know the benefits and convenience of these mobile devices.
When the iPad is connected to the healthcare provider's EHR and clinicians can seamlessly enter data that will be input into the EHR and pull up patient information from the EHR system while in the waiting room, both patient and physician understand the power and convenience of both mobile device and EHR system. And once developers create clinical apps for the iPad, expect an even greater adoption and adoration.


EHR vendors should be thanking Apple for creating a device that makes the adoption of EHRs a desirable endeavor.

AMA Launches AMAGINE Physician Portal

from HealthcareITNews.com

Amagine, Inc., a subsidiary of the American Medical Association (AMA), announced Tuesday that its health information technology solutions platform, AMAGINE, is available to physicians nationwide.


The unique platform provides physicians with a single point of access to more than 20 health information technology (health IT) solutions, knowledge and communication tools and consulting resources to help improve practice efficiency and patient care.
Subscriptions to the AMAGINE platform vary in price and can start from $20 per month per physician for electronic prescribing solutions to $300 per physician per month for electronic medical records systems.


"Navigating the murky water of the health IT marketplace can be daunting and we are thrilled to be able to help physicians with the AMAGINE physician platform," said Robert Musacchio, Ph.D, senior vice president, Business Product Solutions of Amagine, Inc. "The AMAGINE platform delivers tailored health IT solutions to medical practices to help physicians determine their practice needs, select the right system and qualify for federal health IT incentives."


The AMAGINE physician platform brings a plethora of health IT solutions to physicians, including three electronic medical record products, electronic prescribing software, claims management solutions, and clinical decision support and reference tools. Dr. First, Allscripts, DocSite, WellCentive, CareTracker, Quest Care360 and NextGen are just some of the top solutions providers available through the AMAGINE platform.


The AMAGINE team continually reviews new services and solutions to ensure its products fit physicians’ needs. AMAGINE consultants provide physicians with a free practice assessment to determine their readiness to adopt health IT and then make tailored recommendations for the individual practice.


“The free AMAGINE practice assessment is an invaluable resource for physician practices,” said Musacchio. “By having physicians answer a few simple questions, AMAGINE consultants are able to help them identify their unique needs and make specific recommendations on how they can best incorporate health IT into their practice.”
 

In collaboration with the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS), the AMAGINE platform has been pilot tested by Michigan physicians since 2009.


"My experience with health IT solutions has been limited, but I knew that it was important for my practice to enter the electronic age," said James A. Taylor, D.O., a family physician from Jackson, Mich. "AMAGINE made it easy to step into the electronic world. Through a single-sign on I can access many types of useful health IT solutions that enable me to collect data and demonstrate quality care."

Top 10 apps for HIT students and professionals

Hertencia Bowe, the national health information management program coordinator for Rasmussen College, spoke to Healthcare IT News about some smartphone apps that can help students and professionals be "more knowledgeable, prepared and organized when they're on the job."

Bowe oversees the development and expansion or the college's Health Information Technology and Health Information Management degree programs and curriculum.

Bowe says students and professionals that are pursuing a HIT degree can expect "a career of analyzing medical data, medical billing and coding and health information management," which she says means they must "be able to juggle numerous responsibilities."

Below is a list of the top 10 apps that she recommends HIT students and professionals use:

Drug Flashcards
This high-rated flashcard app has more than 200 flashcards covering the most popular prescription drugs on the market. The application allows users to edit, add and tag the drugs of your liking – making it the perfect application for medical professionals who need to brush up on their knowledge of prescription drugs.

New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)

Download this app to receive up-to-the-minute scholarship, or more specifically the last seven days worth of published articles from the New England Journal of Medicine. Along with these articles, it allows users to download images, video and more. This application is perfect for students when they are researching articles for class assignments.

Awesome Note
Balancing a busy scheduler requires a powerful organizer. Try using the Awesome Note, a note-taking, calendar-viewing, to-do list-making, map-checking, Google Docs-syncing app. This will help keep students organized and ready for any challenge.

ToodleDo
If an old-school datebook or Microsoft meeting planner isn't cutting it anymore, look to ToodleDo. This app allows users to track project priority, start dates, due dates, and statuses. Even better, it can flag tasks, hide tasks, and create sub-tasks. This organizing tool can help students to never miss an assignment due date or forget to study for a big exam.
Living Medical Textbooks
This application by Projects in Knowledge offers actual medical textbooks on topics ranging from heart disease and diabetes to multiple sclerosis. One of the best capabilities of the app is that the books' chapters are updated every time a new medical discovery is made, making the textbook "living," and easily navigable.

Dragon Medical Search
Too busy to type? Dragon Medical Search allows a user to say a drug or disease's name into their phone's speaker to search for information. Sources like Medscape, Medline and more aggregate data on a chosen topic and offer a wealth of information and resources. This tool will particularly come in handy when students are learning how to code.
mSecure Password Manager
An HIT student or professional will be interfacing with many different online applications and a lot of different software.  The mSecure Password Manager app allows users to store all email and computer-related passwords, plus credit card numbers and more, helping users to access data safely and effectively, anywhere.

Google Fusion Tables and health data
For the HIT student or professional who wants to reach out to a larger community, this is an online database, accessible via smartphone, which allows users to share, combine and examine healthcare data. Offering maps, data sets and more, one of its coolest functionalities is its search tool where users can access everything from "best place to live" to "most common place to have pneumonia."

ICD 9
This highest-rated ICD-9 app features 2011 codes and healthcare data for physicians, hospitals and clinics looking for a handy medical diagnosis coding resource. The app allows users to view codes and symptoms and search through the database to find the exact medical code they are looking for.

Skyscape Medical Resources                                                                                                             Skyscape Medical Resources, compatible with the iPhone/iPod touch/iPad features a collection of free Medical Information and Decision Support resources for healthcare professionals. The free app features current medical guidelines, drug guides, interactive algorithms, calculators and more.

This Week in Healthcare IT

M&A, Financial Reports and Funding

SXC Health Solutions -- a provider of health benefit IT services -- will acquire pharmacy benefits manager MedMetrics Health Partners for an undisclosed amount...Z Microsystems -- a computing systems company for medical imaging -- has purchased the intellectual property and product development team of Enhanced Video Devices, a video-enhancing technology company, for an undisclosed amount…GE Healthcare has acquired the assets of Steady State Imaging, a provider of MRI technology, for an undisclosed sum.

Streamline Health Solutions -- a workflow and document management services company -- has reported a Q4 2010 net loss of $1.8 million on $4.9 million in revenue, compared with a Q4 2009 net income of $1.6 million on $6.3 million in revenue.

Contracts

The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded contracts to six companies to deploy telehealth and workflow management systems: American Telecare, Authentidate Holding, Cardiocom, HealthHero Network, Visual Telecommunication Network/ViTelCare and Viterion TeleHealthcare...Oakwood Healthcare in Michigan has selected EHR and financial information systems from Epic Systems...HealthInfoNet -- which operates a health information exchange and the Maine Regional Extension Center -- has named e-MDs and Ingenix -- which will change its name to OptumInsight in June -- as preferred EHR vendors and endorsed Concordant's planning and implementation services.

Ponce School of Medicine Regional Extension Center in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands has selected ABEL Medical Software, Cure MD and McKesson as preferred EHR vendors...California's El Centro Regional Medical Center has contracted cloud-based imaging technology from DR Systems...Montgomery AIDS Outreach in Alabama will implement EHR and practice management systems from SuccessEHS...the Hawaii Department of Public Safety will deploy an EHR system from eClinicalWorks...Methodist Dallas Medical Center has picked disease registry software from RemedyMD...Seymour Hospital in Texas has selected an EHR system from Prognosis Health Information Systems.

Regional Medical Imaging in Michigan has chosen imaging interoperability tools from Merge Healthcare...Loreley Clinics in Germany is deploying wireless networks from Aruba Networks...California's Palomar Pomerado Health has selected health information exchange software from GSI Health...health IT companies Soren Technology, Level 3 MPS and Visions Home Health have opted for medical claims and payment processing tools from i-Plexus Solutions…the Department of Defense has selected a blood transfusion management software system from Mediware.

Product Development and Marketing

The American College of Surgeons and Within3 -- an online health care community networking platform provider -- are launching an online community to offer a range of collaboration tools for surgeons practicing in sparsely populated areas...predictive modeling software provider BioSignia and patient-centered technology provider PatientCentral Technologies are creating a personal health information management system...Dell Services has launched a mobile clinical computing system for hospitals and health care organizations that use MEDITECH's information system...Allscripts Healthcare Solutions has entered into a 10-year agreement with Affiliated Computer Services to manage clinical, EHR and other network support services for Allscripts clients who use remote hosting applications.

M*Modal has integrated its speech-recognition technology with WebChartMD's Web-based clinical documentation platform...ClearPractice -- a physician and medical group software provider -- and health IT company Prognosis Health Information Systems are developing an integrated software-as-a-service-based EHR software for rural and community hospitals and their affiliated physicians...CommerceTel, a provider of mobile marketing tools, and medical care services company Magellan Global Health are developing mobile telehealth tools.

Personnel
Kent McAllister -- former vice president of client solutions at Sage Healthcare -- has been named CIO at Medical Electronic Attachment/National Electronic Attachment, a provider of insurance processing systems...James Hill -- founder and former CEO of Achievant, a human capital management service -- has been named vice president of sales for the Indiana Health Information Exchange.

Priti Sahai -- former vice president of health informatics at clinical research company Abraxis Health -- has been named chief strategy officer for the California Health Information Partnership and Services Organization…Alisoun Moore -- director of health systems management of Northrop Grumman's health IT programs -- has been named vice president and general manager of health IT company CSC's North American Public Sector Health Services Division.

Read more: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2011/4/15/health-it-business-news-roundup-for-the-week-of-april-15-2011.aspx#ixzz1Ju1WIWMg