Hi Everyone,
I graduated from an MA program last summer and still cannot find work. 2 things happened that made the head of my schools program and my advisor hate me. It hasn't gotten any better since then. I've had a couple interviews in the past year. One wanted me to give up my religious meetings and the one I went to today doesn't really seem like it will pan out. I would love it, but I don't know. I just feel like I am getting further behind every day that goes by without me having an MA job. No one will want to hold a new hires hand and refresh everything they learned in school.

How many others out there are having trouble finding work? Or if you had trouble how long did it take? Were people still interested in you even though it had been a while since you had been in school?
Thanks

Your Professional Title/Credentials: CMA

Are You Still In School? No

Are You Working? No

Believe me,I know how you feel. But I am not going to give you that "Don't give up" pep talk but ask a few questions-you wrote about some incidents at school but didn't elaborate on them-are you saying that they may be affecting you in finding a job, as in getting a bad reference, or the fact that because of whatever happened, you can't go to the school for help? If you are certified, then that is all that should matter, I don't think prospective job sites will want to know how you did in school or what they think of you there.
As for the religious meetings, nobody has the right to ask you to give them up as long as they don't interfere with the hours of any job.
Have you done any of the following-mail or fax your resume (which may need polishing-do you know anybody who can fix it up?)to every doctor's office in the phone book, tried PortaMedic(look at their website),contact any classmates, the ones who found jobs, to see if they know of anyplace hiring (a LOT of MA jobs are through word of mouth) or tried temporary services? When it gets this bad, you need help in getting something. Unless you committed a criminal offense, that school has a duty in helping you with job placement.

Your Professional Title/Credentials: MA

Are you Registered or Certified? It can make a difference..
Secondly, maybe you could look for related jobs--not MA jobs specifically. Look at your local hospital websites: you might qualify for EKG tech, phlebotomist, Lab Assistant, etc. You have to think outside of the traditional Medical Assistant office jobs, when struggling to find employment...
Having expereince in one of the above stated positions would look really good on your resume, if you later decide to try to get back into the MA field.
Don't give up...if you are truely passionate about helping people in a medical setting, you CAN make your dreams come true. It just takes some creative thinking, diligence, and time.

Are You Still In School? RMA, BMO

I feel like Jenny. I am going through the same thing, feeling more and more down as each day passes without getting a job, completely aware that I am forgetting a lot that I was taught since I am not encountering it everyday as was planned and hoped for, feeling an anguish over the knowledge that classmates are surpassing me with getting experience in the jobs that they managed to obtain. I think that for some of us that it's imperative that we find a job(or to be more honest,are given one,with help) very quickly after we are done with the training, or maybe, just maybe, we lose our chance. I think what happens is that it is so easy,after a period of maybe 3 months, to fall into a state of being unemployable BECAUSE of the despair, that it hangs over us like a cloud. We feel bad because we had all that training and it didn't get us a job and yet maybe we are not getting a job because we feel bad, and it emits from us in so many ways. In other words, the positive, cheerful,upbeat ones who keep busy with other things like with taking other jobs in the medical field (volunteer work, home health care) have the chance of finding what they want after more than 6 months. The ones who allow negativity to overcome them (so easy to do) are putting up a roadblock for success without even realizing it. They are the ones that either go back to their old jobs or find something different. In other words,give up.
So the question as to whether it looks bad to an employer who sees that the job seeker has been out of school for a long while,without finding anything in the MA field, is one I would like answered also.

Your Professional Title/Credentials: MA

Are You Working? Uh,no.........

To be honest with you, I had trouble finding an MA position after graduation. My extern site was sold during my externship, and the new owner/MD made it clear that there was no room for a rookie.

Being a male (in a field dominated by females) and living in a semi-rural area (where most doctors don't even know what a medical assistant is), made the chances of me finding a MA job VERY slim. I must have sent resumes to over 100 offices, some that were out of town, even. I never found an MA position.

So, like I stated in my above post, I started thinking creatively. I applied for an assistant position at a University hospital lab ran by LabCorp, and was hired pretty much on the spot. I gained VERY valuable technical and scientific skills working there. After a while, I decided that it was time to give the MA positions a try again.

I sent several resumes--again not much luck. The offices that did interview me asked why I hadn't worked in a traditional MA position, as they were seeking someone with experience in a doctor’s office setting.
I gave it to them straight: I told them that the field is very competitive, and that being a male rookie was probably the reason I wasn't getting job offers. I pointed out, however, that I had experience that other MAs didn't--clinical laboratory. And this became my selling point.

Employers in the office setting are often impressed by MAs who can make it in a specialized setting, especially hospitals.

From my point of view: when I am looking to hire someone, and notice that they've been out of school for a while with no clinical employment, I completely understand. Any hiring manager, who's also an MA, would understand. But, not all hiring managers are MAs. So, you're gonna have to find your selling point.

I know that I look highly upon MAs who have worked as phlebotomists, and an MA who has the State X-ray License is ALWAYS a plus.

I can't tell you not to get discouraged about not being able to find a traditional MA job--I certainly did. I remember crying once, because I couldn't understand how I could have sent so many resumes without ever ONE reply (and I’m not a crier, really). I remember going to interviews, when I rarely actually got one, with the most depressed look. I knew that the individual interviewing me had to feel my sorrow, imminating from me. That certainly doesn't help you get a job, though.

At some point, you have to sit down, clear your mind (meditation, prayer, or by whatever other means), make a plan, and follow thru with more joy and confidence than you've ever exhibited in your life.

Once you've made your plan, and start feeling the confidence, you'll notice that things start changing...you'll probably want to edit your resume, new ideas for employment will start popping up, and you'll start to get opportunities.

Think Creatively...Make a Plan...Proceed with Joy and Confidence...

Are You Still In School? RMA, BMO