The Call

In his own distinctive style, country-western singer, Charlie Rich used to croon: "Don't sit by the telephone - waiting for a call . . . " .

In today's tight job market more and more people may think that employers have adopted that song as their theme.

When I have the opportunity to participate in a local career fair, invariably someone will walk up and ask what they have to do to get a job at Tanner. That inquiry is often followed by an account of how many years they have been applying for positions with us or just how many applications they have submitted.

Having spent some time on the "silent" end of those telephone lines myself, I can understand the frustration. I can also say that most compassionate recruiters are also frustrated by the fact that there are not a great deal of hard and fast answers to those questions. For many of the open positions in the healthcare field, there is a huge volume of applications and the recruiter's aim is to be able to hire the person that is the "best fit". So some very qualified candidates find themselves applying over and over again.

I thought that I would spend this posting on some ideas that may be helpful to those who have dutifully applied for every possible position and are now playing the tortuous "waiting game".

• "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" - Remember that old adage? Well it certainly has a useful application when it comes to applications. While Tanner Health System is a GREAT place to work - it is not the only place to work. We often recommend that while individuals apply for open positions with us, they should also continue to search other organizations as well.


• Treat your job search like a job - There is something fulfilling about rising from sleep each morning with a set of objectives for the day. It energizes. Make deliberate plans and set specific goals for enhancing your job search every day. Set aside time for networking, researching, and improvement. The state of being without employment is often very deflating - setting and accomplishing daily goals can give your confidence level a boost.


• Edit, edit, edit - Your resume or application is a "snapshot" of you - it should provide the reader with a good idea of your knowledge, skills and abilities. It should also say something about your character: your sense of commitment, your work ethic, your leadership style, how you work with supervision, your consistency and more. Be sure your application/resume says what you want it to say about you. Does it show how your skills are a match for the requirements of the position? Are there time periods that are unaccounted for? Are there any negative statements about former employers?


• Seek Counsel - It is not a bad idea to have someone else review your resume/application from time to time. Choose someone with a feel for what employers are looking for and choose someone that will be brutally honest. Ask them to look over your information with a critical eye.


• Get moving... - Someone once pointed out that it is much easier to get an automobile turned in a different direction, if it is moving rather than sitting still. If you are trying to get your career turned around and back on the right path, activity can be helpful. Volunteer, further your education, accept a less desirable position - even if you are over-qualified - there is value in getting active and getting out into the public sector.

We encourage you to visit the Career Center at http://www.tanner.org/ to view positions we currently have available. While you're there, log in and sign up for features like Job Agent to receive email alerts when specific positions are posted.

The Call

National Hospital Week at Tanner!

To the untrained observer, the hour just prior to a Tanner Health System National Hospital Week event may resemble mayhem.

The more experienced eye might even refer to it as "chaotic" , but no one would ever say it wasn't an adventure!

And most would call it "fun".

Many healthcare organizations commemorate National Hospital Week in some form or fashion but at Tanner Health System, new heights of creativity are achieved each year.

These events have included Atlanta Braves games, cookie deliveries, softball games, pop corn, fake talent shows, real talent shows, barbecue, and once our Administrative Council dressed up like the "Village People" - oops - I mentioned that once before....

Since Human Resources usually has the opportunity to play a major role in the development and coordination of these events, we see it all first hand. Usually these events are taking place at all four of our hospital locations and they ordinarily take place at the same time!

Many individuals and departments contribute in great part to these events! Managers and Directors volunteer to serve the employees, some will even make themselves available at ridiculous hours of the day or night. Our Marketing department steps in to aid in communicating the news about our events. The Print Shop produces wonderful fliers, banners, posters and the like. Information Systems, Housekeeping and Engineering are invaluable as relates to set up clean up and entertainment . And since many of our events include food - the Food and Nutrition Department is heavily involved in most every activity.

This year we tried to pull off what they call a "hat- trick" in the game of Hockey - that's three events in a row. Routinely we space things apart a little more.

This year all of these back-to-back-to-back events involved food.

On Tuesday, we celebrated with an ice cream social; Wednesday it was "A Taste of Tanner" featuring exotic cuisine from 6 regions around the world; and on Thursday it was an employee cookout with grilled chicken, corn-on-the-cob and many other delightful delicacies.

The chaos that ensues during the pre-event preparation stems from the fact that many enthusiastic people are all coming to one location, each with specific expectations in mind as to what the event will look like. At the same time there are new ideas being bandied about and orders being shouted, people darting about here and there, moving furniture and bringing out food and always ... ALWAYS a constant chatter from everyone involved.

It could be compared to a large family get-together.
Onlookers may be tempted to misjudge the intensity. But for the most part, every person there is just very passionate about pulling off a memorable event and one that is true to our culture of excellence.

Once the event begins, all that energy is then focused on one point - celebrating the Tanner Team!

And it is quite a team.

National Hospital Week at Tanner!