My New Job

In a previous blog post I discussed getting my PTA license and preparing for job interviews with AskAManager.org. (Excellent site!)

 I talked about the "Magic Question" to always ask on an interview: "Thinking back to people who have been in this position previously, what differentiated the ones who were good from the ones who were really great?"

So here's my story about how I got a job.

The Application
I had set up Indeed.com to email me of any new relevant job postings local to me. I got an email on Friday about a SNF (skilled nursing facility) near me hiring. I applied Saturday night at 9:05pm. I included a resume and cover letter I was very proud of. At 9:27pm I had a reply from the COO of the company asking to schedule a phone interview. I couldn't believe the fast response but I set up the phone interview for the next day, Sunday afternoon. He called and described the job and told me the Rehab Director would text/call me to schedule an in-person interview. She texted shortly after and scheduled my interview for the next afternoon.

The Interview
I was very nervous because of how horrible my interview in January had gone. The night before I typed of 4 pages worth of answers to possible questions she might ask me. It was an unseasonably warm day (70 degrees) so I couldn't wear my awesome blazer. 
I walked in the building and noticed it didn't smell and was a very bright, pleasant place. The Rehab Director talked a little bit about the job and then asked me if I had any questions. I was a little taken aback because usually the interviewee's questions are for the end. I had written down 4 questions to ask her, so I decided to go ahead with them. My questions were to get a sense of the atmosphere of the facility, how they set me up to be successful, and the rehab director's management style. I was impressed with her answers and thought it would be a great place for my first job. When I asked her the magic question (see above), her response was "Questions. Someone who asks questions." Which was an answer I liked because I'm an inquisitive person. She told me I was the first person to come to an interview with a list of questions. She said most people were too nervous. But an interview should be a two-way street. You're judging their fit for you as much as they are judging your fit for them. I liked their plans to help me ease into the new job after graduation. I liked the PT I'd be working with at the beginning.
The Rehab Director asked me two questions, neither of which were on my typed up answers: Tell me about your contact with PTs at clinicals. How do you feel about going for you first job after graduation?
I asked when the rehab director would be making a decision about the job. She told me there were 2 interviews the next day and a decision would be made in 2 days.

The Aftermath
I ran a few errands after the interview and as I was pulling into my neighborhood about 45 minutes later I got a call. The COO had said he wanted to touch base with my after the interview and I recognized his number. He said he heard the interview went well and I told him I thought it did, too. He said the rehab director had just called him, told him how impressed she was with me and they wanted to offer me the position. I couldn't believe it. I accepted, negotiated pay (you should always negotiate! The worst they can say is no.) and celebrated that evening with dinner with my parents!

The Conclusion
Always ask questions in an interview. I asked some challenging questions that required thought and gave me an idea of who the Rehab Director was. I liked what she had to say, so when I accepted the job, I knew I'd be working with/for good people.

Now actually starting the job is the really hard part. I'm very nervous, but that's another blog post!
 

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Sign Language (ASL)

I've got my PTA license but no job, so I'm staying busy by learning American Sign Language. I've always been fascinated by it, it's one of my New Years Resolutions, and I thought it would be beneficial to my career if I could treat deaf patients.

How to Get Started
The first thing I did was study how to learn a second language. I spent a lot of time on www.fluentin3months.com The guy on there learns new languages in 3 months by completely immersing himself. He actually lived in different countries, but for those of us who don't have that option it means finding yourself classes and a language partner or private tutor. (More about that later)

How Much Do I Have To Know
Considering you probably know about 20,000 words in your native language, it can feel overwhelming trying to learn a new language. From what I've found,3000 words account for about 95% of the words used in everyday conversations and writing. That's not quite so bad.

Where to Start
Start with 100 of the most common words in the language and try to have a conversation with them. FluentIn3Months would say have a conversation the first day you start learning a new language, but I'm not in a race to learn and I don't have those resources.

Where to Learn
I found a site that has 300 common ASL signs with animations. I decided to focus on learning these first as they'd allow me to have a small talk conversation about family, work, and school. (I learned a few other words like speak and dog that weren't on that list.)
Go to your local library to check out all their DVD& book resources on the language to compare.
There is an ASL personal enrichment class (not for credit) at my local community college, but it doesn't start until March. 
There are free sign language classes at a church with a deaf ministry near me. I am waiting for them to post their spring dates and I'll be joining that.
There are classes at the deaf resources center near me as well.
YouTube is a great resources as well.
In summary check out your: libraries, community colleges, churches, internet, and resource centers for the community that speaks your chosen language. If there are no options, then I would purchase DVDs, books and for spoken languages: CDs and podcasts.

How Can I Practice
iTalki is a great resource. You set up a profile and indicate your native language and what language you want to learn. Then you can connect with professional instructors, informal tutors or language exchange partners (they want to learn your native language and you want to learn theirs, so you learn from each other). Language exchange partners are free; it's just a matter of finding someone willing. Professional instructors and informal tutoring cost money, but the most I've seen is $13/hr. I've seen as low as $5/hr for a native speaker of Tamil.

iTalki Experience
I had my first ASL private lesson today. For ASL, we have to use Skype but spoken languages can get away without the video part. I was a little nervous because webcams make me uncomfortable and I'd never really used one before. But my teacher was a professional interpreter and answered all my questions about grammar and proper signs. She taught me new words and I tried very hard to keep up with her signing and understand her. I think I'm decent with signing the words I know, but I need a LOT of practice with the other side of the conversation, figuring out what the other person is signing.

Overall it was a good experience and I will be using that teacher again. She was very patient with me. Right now I think once a week private Skype sessions is affordable and reasonable. Hopefully those church classes will be available soon, too, so I can have extra practice. Tomorrow I'll be near the central library, so I'm stopping in to get some books and DVDs.

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Licenses & Job Search Tips

I took my boards to get licensed by the state to practice physical therapy on January 13. It was the hardest test ever (NCPTE). There are 4 hours, 200 questions and 4 sections (50 questions each section). You may review any question in your current section, but once you submit and move on to the next section of 50 questions, you can not go back to a previous section. 50 questions total are un-scored practice questions to determine whether they should be included in future tests. You don't know which 50, though, and on the really hard ones I kept thinking "I hope this one doesn't count!".

I felt like the dumbest person ever after I left that test. I immediately went to school to pick up my diploma and stopped by my department to tell my professors how dumb I am. Every graduate of the program for 10 years has passed the boards on the first try and I said "Not this year! I failed." But they told me what I was feeling is normal and that they were confident I passed. I was not.

I'd also like to mention the PEAT (Practice Examination Assessment Tool) offered by the FSBPT (The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy) for $100. It comes with a practice test and a retired exam (the questions were onced used on the real exam). 99% of PTs who pass the retired exam pass their actual boards. 96% of PTAs who pass the retired exam pass their actual boards. There were 4 questions on my actual boards that I recognized from the retired PEAT I took, but overall I felt the PEAT was way too easy compared to the real thing. (You can read the entire article about how well the PEAT predicts success here.

I used the PTA Exam Study Book by Scott Giles because our professor required we buy it. Comes with 3 online practice exams that give you score reports to break down your strengths and weaknesses. This book is not as comprehensive as I would like. There were things asked on the PEAT and the real Boards that were not covered in this book. 

I lived in agony from Jan 13 until January 21 when we got our results. I watched countless movies to distract me. I would get so anxious at night when I was trying to sleep my heart would race and my chest hurt from feeling like my heart was going to burst. I'd get so nervous I felt weak in the knees and like I was going to pass out. I think I cried once. I went over in my head how I would react when I saw that "Fail" on my scores and how ashamed I would be.

I woke up on January 21 to 8 text messages telling me scores were up. So the first place I went was to Verify a Therapist at the ncptboard website and my name wasn't up there. Can't even describe what I felt when I thought I had failed. Luckily I went to the fsbpt website and saw I passed. Took a while for me to stop shaking from thinking I failed but I soon moved on to jumping up and down and screaming with joy when my name finally showed up on the ncptboard site and I knew it was official.

Passed!

 I am now a Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant in the state of North Carolina! 

I also spent that agonizing week pouring over www.AskAManager.org and highly recommend it to anyone searching for a job or dealing with work-related issues. I completely rewrote my cover letter based on that blog's advice and am very proud of it.

Amazing Site!

There are two rules from this site I'm definitely going to implement:

1. The Magic Question to blow away an interviewer: "Thinking back to people who have been in this position previously, what differentiated the ones who were good from the ones who were really great?"
2. Your cover letter should address what you can offer the company. Why should they want you? At this point, they don't care about what YOU want. It also should not repeat what's in your resume. It should provide information about the applicant that will never be available from a resume — personal traits and work habits. How to write a cover letter
   

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First Impressions

I had my first interview for a physical therapist assistant job. I had no idea what to expect but it turned out to be the most challenging interview I'd ever been on. The questions really caught me off guard and I had no time to consider how I might be coming off personality/body language wise. I did dress for success, though. 

Got a great outfit at Maurices.

This jacket in black

These pants are very flattering

The questions he asked were so hard. I hadn't prepared anything because I had no idea what to expect:
Tell me about a good idea you had that you saw through from start to finish.
Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a coworker that ended badly.
How do you keep up with the latest developments in physical therapy?
Tell me about a time you had to learn something quickly.

Before I go on my next interview, I'll prepare some better answers. 

Update: I did not get the job.

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New Years Resolutions 2016

1. Get a job! I've just graduated from PTA school and REALLY need to get a job. I've applied to 5 jobs and no word so far.
   
2. Buster becomes Therapy Dog Certified: It's kind of a main theme of my blog here. We're working on it! Right now the earliest Therapy Dog Training class is in April '16, but hopefully we can find something in Feb or March so we can get the ball rolling.
   
3. 30 Days of Yoga: This was a previous unmet new years resolution. Yoga classes are up to $20 each so this will be done with videos/books at home.
4. Move: I want to move back to my childhood city and rent a home there during my first year of work. My must-have is a fenced-in backyard for Buster.
5. Zumba Once a Week for 2 months: There's so many cheap Zumba classes (as low as $4) so there's really no excuse.
6. ASL Class: I'd like to become fluent in American Sign Language. I've always been fascinated by the language. I still remember (and have) my Sesame Street Sign Language book.
   
   I also read a great non-fiction book in 2013 about sign language called "Talking Hands" by Margalit Fox. I will most likely never become fluent in a second (speaking) language, but I think I would enjoy becoming fluent in ASL and it would be a valuable skill to add to my resume. Not many PTAs could treat a deaf patient. I'm considering taking classes through a local community college in Winston Salem, a church I don't belong to whose classes are free, or through the Communication Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Greensboro. Will blog about my choice later.


7. Bustle Reads Challenge: I found a website that posted a reading challenge to encourage readers to read out of their comfort zone in 2016, but also to explore more women and non-white writers. The book world is still dominated by white, male writers. And there are some excellent books by them. But I find that I rarely read books written by non-white people or from a non-western country. I read books about other countries, but they're usually by Americans. There are 20 challenges and I've done many of these, but not in one year. So here it goes:
1. Read a book by a woman under 25
2. Read a book on non-western history
3. Read a book of essays
4. Read a book about an indigenous culture
5. Read a book before you see the movie
6. Read a young adult book by an author of color
7. Read a book set in the middle east
8. Read a book about women in war
9. Read a graphic novel by a woman
10. Read a book about an immigrant or refugee to the US
11. Read a children's book aloud
12. Reread your favorite book from childhood
13. Read a memoir by someone that identifies at LGBTQIA
14. Read a work of post-apocalyptic fiction by a woman
15. Read a feminist sci-fi novel
16. Read the first book in a series you've never read
17. Read a book set in Africa by an author from Africa
18. Read a book in translation 
19. Read a contemporary collection of poetry
20.  Read a book by a modernist woman writer

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New Year

So 2013 is almost over and I always get excited about a near year. It feels like when you open an exciting new book and turn to that crisp, white first page.

 My new years resolution for this year (I think) was to floss...or was that 2012's resolution? Whatever my resolution was I didn't complete it. But I'm at least writing down 2014's resolutions so next December I'll know if I've failed (am I being pessimistic?): 

1. Do a split

I'm naturally very flexible and with yoga I can gain flexibility fairly quickly but I've never been able to do a split. My hamstrings are very tight, so those are first on the list to stretch. 

2. 30-Day Yoga Challenge

This complements #1 in that I would like to do some form of yoga for 30 days straight. I have several DVDs to vary the routine. (I highly recommend Shiva Rea, especially her revolutionary Yoga Shakti DVD)

3. Read 30 books

I love GoodReads. Before it I bought small journals made for keeping track of books read. So I actually have a record of all the books I've read since 2005. I got bored one day and uploaded all those dates to the site. The most I've read in a year was 39 books in 2007. This year I reached my goal of 25.

I was busy in 2011, ok?!

4. Agility Training

Not for me, though, for my amazing dog, Buster. So far he has completed his Beginners obedience class. His Intermediate class starts Jan. 22, then he'll take the Advanced class and *fingers crossed* will pass his Canine Good Citizen test. After that he'll be able to do pre-agility courses. Then after mastering all that he can start taking Agility classes. We have a long road ahead of us but eventually I'd like to do some competitions with Buster, if he enjoys it.

5. Get into PTA School

This really should be #1. I have been working towards Physical Therapy Assisting school since Fall 2011. (I've been in college since 2005. I already have a B.A.) This past fall I finally got an A in Anatomy & Physiology 1 at Randolph Community College. I take A&P2 this spring, as well as the TEAS test. Then I will apply having done everything I possibly can to get in. I'm still in shock over my A in A&P1....I can't even imagine what I'll feel when (not if!) I get my acceptance letter. 

Update: I got into PTA school (and graduated), read over 30 books, and did agility training with Buster. I did not do a split or 30 days of yoga.

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