Today’s episode is all about getting the job! FREE RESOURCES: pastartup.co/resume Subscribe on iTunes; leave us a rating and review! The whole purpose of going to PA school is to get a job as a practicing PA. But before you can start treating patients, you have to actually be offered a job. This process starts very early and for most people, requires putting yourself out there and chasing jobs you want. (On occasion, people know someone who is hiring which is really neat for them, but this is for the rest of us) Your job search starts well before graduation, and in all honesty you should look at your rotations as a long job interview everywhere you go. The medical community is small, so it pays to make a good impression with your preceptors. The first thing you need is a strong resume; one that is easy to look at, easy to understand, and right to the point. Studies show you have about six seconds to make an impression with your resume, so it needs to be well thought out. Your resume provides your educational and work history that makes you a qualified candidate. (For our purposes, resumes and CVs are interchangeable--see pastartup.co/resume for more info on this...!) While a resume shows your qualifications, your cover letter introduces your potential employer to who you are as a person. A well-crafted cover letter can make for an easy decision to interview you; it provides personality, motivation, and hopefully a warm introduction to separate you from the other applicants. Sit back and take some notes (unless you're driving--don't do that...) then get started on that resume. It's never too early! Practice writing cover letters too! (Save the good ones...!) Show notes for today show are at PAstartup.co/episode3. I also put up a page with free downloadable resources for both resumes and a sample cover letter. Check out PAstartup.co/resume