EHI’s careers fair enjoyed by hundreds

E-Health Insider readers gathered in the Hotel Russell, London last Friday for our second Healthcare IT Careers Forum, to find out more about new jobs and other career opportunities in the health IT sector.

The event provided attendees with the chance to speak to some of the leading recruitment specialists in the field, as well as attend seminars and hear careers advice on how to get ahead in the industry.

Initial feedback from the event has shown that two-thirds of our visitors marked the event in the ‘excellent/good’ category. Around 200 visitors attended the event, and the 10 exhibitors were delighted with the calibre of attendees on the day.

Six speakers spoke to visitors throughout event, giving valuable advice on how to stand out as a candidate, tips for reaching interview shortlists and how to present the best personal image possible to give yourself the best chance of success.

E-Health Insider editor, Jon Hoeksma, chaired a series of seminars in the morning, focusing on how candidates can personalise their CVs, interviewing skills and eventual negotiations to get the job they really want. An outlook on careers available in IT consultancy, and guidance on how to make yourself appealing to interviewers, was also on offer.

In the afternoon, E-Health Insider’s director, Linda Davidson, chaired seminars looking at how to tweak CVs and application forms to suit different jobs, how to find the right careers in healthcare informatics and advice on how to make a change when you feel your career is stuck.

In both sessions, visitors were impressed with the presentations given, and used the opportunities to ask questions to find out further ways to boost their careers and get the job they want. Some of the advice offered included:

“Be selective. Do not come across as desperate applying for every job advertised, read the advertisements very carefully, follow the instructions and if the opportunity is available to find out further information, then take this up. With a clear idea of what is being looked for by the recruiter, you can adapt your CV to meet the job description and stand out from the crowd,” HR practitioner Jane Pepe told visitors.

Mik Horswell, director of the UK Council for Health Informatics Professionals (UKCHIP), added: “You have got to be able to go out and sell yourself. Think why are you applying for this job? What can you bring to it, what can you already do? Personally, I think you should always go somewhere where you can do part of the job and stretch your skills, at least 30% different. The most important thing is to be in a job where you can enjoy yourself and be lively, not second rate or unhappy.”

Horswell also gave the audience an overview of the different pathways available in health informatics, and split them into four groupings – managerial, technical/ICT, informatics/information and specialised.

He called for the health informatics workforce to have a professional body responsible for them, ensuring all colleagues work to a code of conduct and are regulated in their jobs. This, he argued, could help prevent data loss problems like those experienced by HM Revenue and Customs last month.

For further information on the presentations at the seminar, look out for our special report on the event, later this month.

Information on the exhibitors and speakers who attended the Forum can be found on the official website: http://www.healthcareersforum.com/exhibitors.

Joe Fernandez