The American Academy of Audiology offers many professional development resources to those seeking job opportunities including job search tips, resume resources, and advice for applying to employment opportunities.
Resume Resources
Get started with creating the professional documents you need to apply to jobs and externships.
Complete the Resume Review Request Form and submit with materials to resumereview@audiology.org.
Students Do
- List your education first when you are just graduating from school. That is the most important asset that you can sell.
- Record and describe all practicum assignments. This will show your varied experiences in the field. It will help the interviewer understand your background. At the same time, you should indicate patient populations you have worked with, special tools you have used and out-of-the-ordinary meetings that you regularly attended.
- Write your accomplishments in terms of career development. If you have taken extra courses and wish to list them, make sure they are appropriate for the job you seek. An hour-long course at a convention or a local study group does not qualify for listing unless you presented the seminar itself. In that case, it is considered an accomplishment that you definitely would want to list. Attendance at a full-day or longer seminar is important to mention only if relevant to the job you are seeking.
Students Don't
- Don't confuse "Practicum Experience" with "Professional Experience." No one expects you to have had "Professional Experience" while in school.
- Don't exaggerate duties and accomplishments. The person reading your resume is experienced and will easily pick up on exaggerations.
- Don't use undefined abbreviations. You should never assume someone will understand abbreviations you have commonly used. Understand too that sometimes an administrator with a different background/education from yours will be reading your resume and may not know that ABR, BAER, BSER, ERA and AER are all the same test.
- Don't balloon-up the resume. It is the quality and not the quantity of your resume that will cause someone to call you in for an interview.
- Never offer age, marital status, religious affiliation or sexual orientation. This can set you up for discrimination.
- Make sure you don't visually clutter the resume. Difficult reading makes the reader tired.
Submitting Your Resume
You think your resume is ready to submit, but is it really?
Find out by asking for constructive and qualified feedback. To assist those in the job market, the Academy offers members a FREE resume review service by professional audiologists working in a variety of settings. Job seekers may also submit related items such as cover letters, curriculum vitae, and thank-you notes for review.
Complete the Resume Review Request Form and submit with materials in .doc or .docx file format to resumereview@audiology.org. Allow up to 14 days for the review.
Disclaimer: Resume review services provided by the American Academy of Audiology do not guarantee that suggestions regarding your resume will result in job interviews or job offers. The final decision of what information to include or not to include is the responsibility of the individual job seeker.
Internet Job Search Tips
The Internet is a great source for employment information. The job postings are current, and you can respond to them instantly. Plus, you can explore a company's Web site to learn more about them before you answer their ad. Keep these hints in mind when seeking jobs advertised on Web sites:
- Your resume and cover letter should be in a ready-to-go format for electronic transmission.
- There is no guarantee that your electronically delivered resume and cover letter will be opened and read. It's smart to follow any e-mail contact with a postal or telephone follow-up.
- Web pages (URLs) do not belong on your resume unless your site is 100 percent dedicated to your profession.
- Make sure your correct and current email address is on your resume.
- List your computer skills on your resume; it makes you more marketable.
- Don't rely on the Internet to get you a job; it is just another way of landing an interview.
Applying for a Job or Externship
HEARCareers is the American Academy of Audiology's year-round resource for jobs and externships in audiology. It also allows job seekers to view externship and job opportunities that cater specifically to their profession.