6 Must-Haves for Your Next Interview

by Dean Tracy of theladders.com

After many years in the recruiting business, I’ve learned that candidates often lack preparation when facing a career transition or job change.

Here are six simple steps to take before an interview to help you land the job.

1. Prepare Your Story
Throughout your career, you may pursue different directions. Be prepared to discuss the reasons you’re taking your career in a certain direction.

Organize talking points that help you tell your story. It’s important to touch on reasons you may have left a company without bashing your former co–workers or supervisors. Explain with confidence the reason that you are making (or have made) a career change.

Remember that a lack of conversation reflects lack of interest. Be prepared to incorporate the story line of your background into their organizational challenges.

2. Calculate Your Compensation
Know the difference between your needs, your value to the company and market trends. Your financial needs are of no importance to the hiring manager or the hiring company. They care about your success, but they are not accountable for your financial responsibilities.

Investigate the market trends for the position for which you’re interviewing. The dollar amount is usually defined by what the market will bear for your position. This information can be collected from a variety of Web sites and market research. Keep in mind that this will also depend on the company’s size, revenues, head count, geographic location, etc.

The value that you bring to the company is one that only you can define and present to your prospective employer. This will be based upon your demonstrated experience as determined by contributions you’ve made in previous roles. Capture and reflect on revenues that you generated, incorporate costs and expenses that you managed and/or numbers of people or clients that you have supported.

Understand initialisms such as OTE and MBO.

• OTE = On Target Earnings. This is what your total compensation package is, including annual base salary, bonuses, etc.
• MBO = Management by Objective. This is typically used to identify a percentage of your annual base and may be paid quarterly or once a year.

3. Articulate Your Value
You need to be able to address the value that you bring to the company. Be prepared to share your skills and accomplishments and discuss how they benefit the company. Articulate these accomplishments in a problem–action–results sequence.

• Problem – This will reflect the specific problem, challenge or situation that you are faced with. The way you would describe this is in the form of an overview or summary.
• Action – This represents the steps that you took to address the problem, challenge or situation. Describe the methodology that you followed to drive results and deliverables.
• Results – This is where you define the success or accomplishment of your actions. Use this as an opportunity to share how you evaluate the end result. 

4. Determine Your Commuting Threshold

Estimate how far are you willing to commute to get to work every day. Some candidates will use this threshold to represent miles and some will use it to measure total road time.

5. Determine Your Willingness to Travel
This will usually depend on the position for which you’re applying. Your previous experiences with work travel will be a true indicator to consider. You should also carefully consider the impact that this will have on your family and personal lifestyle.

6. Articulate Your Management Style
Be prepared to share and discuss the environment or culture where you can be the most productive. Are you most effective in a chaotic, fast-paced, high-stress environment? Do you bring a calming influence in a chaotic setting? Are you detail-oriented, driven by reports in a micromanaged structure? Be prepared to describe your typical activity in a normal workday.

If you do your homework well, you will be extraordinarily successful in your interview. It will become easy for you to open new doors of opportunity toward landing the job of your dreams! Go get ‘em!

Weekly Wisdom-A Reminder from Marc Cenedella

www.theladders.com

Yeah, I know what you're thinking.

That job you applied for in September... there's no chance anything's going to happen there. When you talked to the nice woman in Human Resources a couple months ago, it seemed like the SVP wasn't sure whether she wanted somebody with more experience or not. It's probably not the most likely gig for you.

So even though it's still on your Excel spreadsheet of opportunities that you're reviewing, you're feeling pretty "iffy" as to whether there's a real chance at that firm. So perhaps you won't call today, you know? Maybe just wait and see what happens?

Now, look, this is a pretty common way of thinking... and it's dead wrong.

Of course you're going to come up with all sorts of excuses to justify why you're not going to pick up the phone and reach out to her.

That's the natural state of the job-seeker, the professional, the average human being... you.

Really, who wants to put themselves out there and risk rejection? It's unpleasant. It's unnatural. It's unenjoyable.

But, like it or not, when you're in a job search for your next $100K+ gig, you've got to do it. You've got to pick up the phone and reach out to all your contacts and job opportunities.

Because even if she doesn't have something for you right now, perhaps her old friend at another firm was asking her just last night if she knew of anybody like you. Or maybe a recruiter she was speaking with last week was asking for referrals for another job. Or perhaps somebody just left to take a job somewhere else and she is, in fact, desperately in need of somebody like you. Right now.

While the likelihood of any of these circumstances is small, you have to take a lot of small chances to get one big job.

You have to play the ricochet, work the rebound, pounce on the bounce. You need to create your own luck, and the easiest way to do it is to keep following up, urgently, relentlessly, religiously, with the recruiters and HR departments who have, or have had, opportunities that are right for you.

Because you never know where your resume might end up after those calls, those networking lunches, those follow up meetings.

Keep things moving this cold December morning, Readers!

Black Book Rankings-Top EMR Vendors for 2011

November 29, 2010 | Molly Merrill, Associate Editor

 

 NEW YORK – A survey by Black Book Rankings, a division of the market research firm Brown-Wilson Group, ranks the top EMR vendors for 2011 based on key performance indicators including meaningful use.
The rankings include the top 20 vendors in 10 categories including acute care/hospital, emergency and physician groups, which are broken down by size.
The rankings are a result of a four month poll, conducted by Black Book, that surveyed more than 30,000 healthcare records professionals, physician practice administrators and hospital leaders in the information technology arenas.
Black Book Rankings employs 18 key performance indicators, including ARRA stimulus support, implementation, cost and meaningful use.
"Each physician practice and hospital has unique needs to consider when selecting the right electronic medical record software company," said Kevin Parker, MD, Black Book's EMR research director. "There's a big field of competitors and a short window of opportunity to maximize stimulus funding. Objective, independent data for EMR decision makers has been difficult to find. Black Book's 2011 survey results are a statement of proficiency that these top EMR vendors have the documented user satisfaction outcomes to demonstrate exceptional implementations, compliance and service levels."

TOP RANKED AMBULATORY EMR SOFTWARE VENDORS – SINGLE PHYSICIAN PRACTICE:
    * Abraxas Medical Solutions
    * AmazingCharts.com
    * Aprima Medical Software
    * Business Computer Applications
    * Connexin Software
    * eClinicalWorks
    * Eclipsys
    * Greenway Medical Technologies
    * Health IT Services Group
    * Henry Schein Medical Systems
    * MDTablet
    * Medical Software Technology
    * MedNet System
    * NextGen Healthcare
    * Nuesoft
    * Point and Click Solutions
    * Pulse Systems
    * Sage
    * SOAPware
    * StreamlineMD


TOP RANKED AMBULATORY EMR SOFTWARE VENDORS – TWO-FIVE PHYSICIAN PRACTICE:
    * ABEL Medical Software
    * Abraxas Medical Solutions
    * Acrendo
    * Advanced Data Systems
    * Allscripts
    * AmazingCharts.com Inc
    * Aprima Medical Software
    * eClinicalWorks
    * e-MDs
    * GE
    * Greenway Medical Technologies
    * Healthland
    * HealthPort
    * Intivia
    * McKesson
    * Medflow
    * NextGen Healthcare
    * Praxis
    * Secure Infosys
    * SOAPware




TOP RANKED AMBULATORY EMR SOFTWARE VENDORS – SIX-25 PHYSICIAN PRACTICE:
    * Allscripts
    * Aprima Medical Software
    * Cerner
    * ChartLogic
    * CureMed MD
    * eClinicalWorks
    * e-MDs
    * GE Healthcare
    * gloStream
    * Greenway Medical Technologies
    * McKesson
    * Medappz
    * Medflow
    * Meditab
    * meridian EMR
    * NexTech
    * NextGen Healthcare
    * OmniMD
    * Sequel Systems
    * SOAPware

 
TOP RANKED AMBULATORY EMR SOFTWARE VENDORS – 26-99 PHYSICIAN PRACTICE:
    * Abraxas Medical Solutions
    * Aprima Medical Software
    * athenahealth
    * BizMatics
    * eClinicalWorks
    * Epic Systems Corporation
    * Greenway Medical Technologies
    * iSALUS
    * LSS Data Systems
    * Management Plus
    * McKesson
    * MedConnect
    * Meridian
    * NextGen Healthcare
    * Nightingale
    * Pulse Systems
    * Sage
    * Sequel Systems
    * SSIMED
    * SuiteMed


TOP RANKED AMBULATORY EMR SOFTWARE VENDORS – 100-249 PHYSICIAN PRACTICE:
    * Abraxas Medical Solutions
    * AllMeds
    * athenahealth
    * BizMatics
    * Cerner
    * Eclipsys
    * Epic Systems Corporation
    * GE Healthcare
    * Ingenix
    * iSALUS
    * LSS Data Systems
    * McKesson
    * MedInformatix
    * Nightingale Informatix Corporation
    * Noteworthy Medical Systems
    * Prime Clinical Systems
    * Sage
    * Sequel Systems
    * SuccessEHS
    * SuiteMed




TOP RANKED AMBULATORY EMR SOFTWARE VENDORS – 250+ PHYSICIAN PRACTICE:
    * Abraxas Medical Solutions
    * Allscripts Professional
    * Allscripts
    * BizMatics
    * Cerner
    * CureMD
    * Eclipsys
    * Epic Systems Corporation
    * GE Healthcare
    * Ingenix
    * Integritas
    * iSALUS
    * KeyMedical
    * LSS Data Systems
    * MED 3000
    * NextGen Healthcare
    * Practice Partner/Practice Complete
    * Sage
    * SuiteMed
    * Universal EMR




TOP RANKED EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT EMR SOFTWARE VENDORS:
    * Allscripts
    * Cerner
    * CMR
    * Emergisoft
    * Epic
    * Forerun
    * LOGICARE
    * Pro-Med
    * Wellsoft
    * Allscripts
    * Eclipsys
    * EDIMS
    * EmpowER Systems
    * McKesson
    * MEDHOST
    * MEDITECH MAGIC
    * MEDITECH
    * Picis/Ingenix
    * Poseidon Group
    * T-System


TOP RANKED ACUTE CARE EMR SOFTWARE VENDORS – SMALL HOSPITALS (FEWER THAN 100 BEDS):
    * Allscripts
    * Cerner
    * CMR
    * Emergisoft
    * Epic
    * Forerun
    * LOGICARE
    * Pro-Med
    * Wellsoft
    * Allscripts
    * Eclipsys
    * EDIMS
    * EmpowER Systems
    * McKesson
    * MEDHOST
    * MEDITECH
    * MEDITECH MAGIC
    * Picis/Ingenix
    * Poseidon Group
    * T-System

TOP RANKED ACUTE CARE EMR SOFTWARE VENDORS – COMMUNITY HOSPITALS (101-250 BEDS):
    * Cerner
    * CPSI
    * Dell
    * Eclipsys
    * Epic
    * Epic
    * GE
    * GE
    * Keane
    * McKesson
    * Medsphere
    * MEDITECH
    * MEDITECH
    * Microsoft
    * Next Gen
    * Prognosis HIS
    * QuadraMed
    * Siemens
    * Siemens
    * SOWSIA

TOP RANKED ACUTE CARE EMR SOFTWARE VENDORS – LARGE MEDICAL CENTERS/HOSPITALS (MORE THAN 250 BEDS):
    * Cerner
    * CPSI
    * Dell
    * Eclipsys
    * Epic
    * GE
    * Keane
    * McKesson
    * Medsphere
    * MEDITECH
    * Microsoft
    * Next Gen
    * Prognosis HIS
    * QuadraMed
    * Siemens
    * SOWSIA

Click here for more information.

First Friday Preview

Synching Your Talk and Your Walk

by Steven Diebold (www.theladders.com)

Mixed messages can kill a campaign. And yet, people send disconnected messages all the time. This is part of the reason we learn not to trust them and even question their actions. Marketing messages or corporate communications are no different. What we say and do must match.

Let’s visit the definitions of congruence and continuity so we can see how these apply to marketing.

Congruence

As an abstract term, congruence means similarity between objects. It is a relation that implies a type of equivalence, but not complete equality. It can also be the quality or state of agreeing or coinciding. In psychology, congruence is a rapport within oneself, or internal and external consistency, perceived by others as sincerity or certainty.

With these definitions we can see how important the application of congruence is to an effective value proposition within a campaign. If you want to appear sincere and certain (and who doesn’t?), your value proposition and what you actually deliver must be consistent.

Make Your Case and Support It

For example, if you are creating a direct-mail campaign that has clearly identified an effective value proposition, use support statements that align with that original proposition. Though it seems obvious, sending any mixed messages can and will dilute the communication’s power. Each supporting message must synch up with the main idea. If your headline starts with one idea and your supporting statements veer off-track, you make your case weaker. The best way to think of this is to consider an attorney proving a case in a courtroom. The lawyer must explain the case with congruent emotional and logical arguments. If he brings in bad or irrelevant evidence, he's likely to lose the case. If anything is out of place in an argument, people lose trust in the presenter and start to question the case he is making.

Another example would be this article you are reading now. Every statement I make in this article needs to line up with what is promised in the headline or I start to lose focus and veer off-track from what made you read it in the first place. If I don’t deliver on it, then you just stop reading. Still with me? Good.

Continuity

In fiction, film and other media, continuity is understood to be the consistency of persons, plots, objects, places and events as seen by the reader or viewer. But how does it relate to marketing? Let’s use film and television production as an instructive example. Most productions have a script supervisor on hand who is paid solely to maintain continuity across the chaotic and typically nonlinear shoot. In a sense, this person is like the brand manager of the project. Their job takes the form of stacks of paperwork, photographs and an extremely detail-oriented memory. Their memory is often assembled into a ‘story bible,’ which usually includes scene notes and technical details, such as camera positioning and equipment settings. They also catalog images, using Polaroids or, more often today, digital cameras. All of this is done so that, despite perhaps being shot thousands of miles and several months apart, all parts of the story are told in a logical flow. If this job is done perfectly, the script supervisor, or brand manager, can often pass without notice.

Make Sure Your Details Match Up

Continuity can be a bit more challenging. Every customer touch point should be evaluated to ensure that each message and experience is aligned. If there is any breakdown in this process, you will have opened up a weakness for a competitor to use against you. Let’s go back to the example of the attorney. Without doing her homework, from timelines to evidence to what was said and when, she will be unable to prove her case. Customers are just as, if not more, skeptical as a jury — and very discerning with their dollars. If your argument is weak and poorly developed, you risk losing your case, and thereby your market share. The best way to protect against this happening is to apply continuity and congruence to your value proposition.

Build your case well and you will be rewarded.

Weekly Wisdom: November 29, 2010

7 Steps to Sustain Energy and Enthusiasm During Your Job Search

Selena Dehne, JIST Publishing

Ideally, everyone would view the job search as an exciting and invigorating opportunity. In reality, the process can be stressful, exhausting and emotionally draining, particularly when coping with rejection, financial hardships or uncertainty about the future.

It's important to realize that job searching doesn't have to be a negative experience. Richard Deems and Terri Deems, co-authors of "Make Job Loss Work for You," say people can take several small steps toward a faster, more rewarding job search.   

"Candidates who are out on the streets talking and meeting with people are those who maintain their energy and confidence," they explain. "On the other hand, those who sit back at home and merely mail out their résumés are often those who get discouraged. The feedback they get during the job search comes from receiving either no response or some form of a rejection letter. With each rejection letter, the body cringes and shrivels a little bit more."

In their book, the Deems father-and-daughter duo offers some additional tips to help job seekers boost their drive during the job search:*

Set up some kind of "office" where you can direct your job search

Make this a place where you can take calls, handle correspondence and keep track of your research and other information. A separate room (such as a spare bedroom) works best, but even a corner in the basement can help.

You will need a desk, chair, phone, computer, Internet access, space to file materials and information, and space to work. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it does need to be comfortable and provide you with the privacy needed to direct your plan for action. When you are in this space, you are "at work."

• Maintain your normal schedule. Don't sleep late. Get dressed each morning just as if you were going to be out talking to people -- because you probably will. One successful person with whom we worked sat down at his "office" every morning at 7:30, coffee in hand, and read the local and national newspapers, just as he had for 10 years prior. His reaction: "It really helped!" 
• Participate in some kind of physical fitness program. Some people jog, walk, play golf, lift weights, dance or do other forms of exercise. The important thing is that you're doing something. Remember, exercise helps relieve stress and anxiety and enables you to think more clearly. Exercise also releases body chemicals that help keep depression away. If you're a bit overweight, the extra exercise can help reduce the pounds and simply help you feel better about yourself. 
• Watch your diet and eat right. Eat balanced, reasonably sized meals. Excessive coffee can increase tension and appetite. Excessive alcohol can dull your thinking ability (plus add weight). Excessive sweets and sugars can increase tension and irritability. 
• View your activity as fulfilling your "job requirements." Except now your job is to find a new position in another company as quickly as possible. 
• Set weekly and daily goals in terms of contacts to make and research to conduct. Keep a record of your activity. People who devote four to eight hours to their job search per day get new jobs faster than those who devote only a few hours each week. Take time on Mondays to set up these goals, and time on Friday to review your progress.
• Maintain your physical appearance. First impressions are important, and you will want to look good. For some, this may mean buying a new interviewing wardrobe. An investment in an interviewing wardrobe can often have a tremendous payback in terms of higher salary in the next position. If finances are a major concern, look for the recycled-clothing shops or job search "closets" that exist in many cities.

This Week in Healthcare IT

M&A, Financial Reports and Funding

Health & Safety Institute, an emergency response training company, has purchased smart phone application developer GoToAID for an undisclosed amount…Interactive Technology Solutions, a health care consulting firm, has acquired Peace Technology, a developer of website applications, for an undisclosed amount...Epocrates, a developer of clinical information and decision support tools, has acquired Modality, a smart phone medical reference applications publisher, for $13.8 million...German health IT company CompuGroup Medical will acquire the revenue cycle management, physician practice management and ambulatory EHR business lines of HealthPort for $18 million.

The mHealthAlliance recently received a $1 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to use mobile technology to improve health in developing countries...Prognosis Health Information Systems, a community and rural hospital software vendor, has received an unknown minority investment led by equity firm OpenViewPartners.

Contracts

JPS Health Network in Texas has selected TriZetto Group's automated administrative program…CDC selected CIBER, a global IT consulting and outsourcing company, to provide services under the CDC Information Management Services program…CMS has given an estimated $230 million contract to CSC to migrate key IT systems to a new service-oriented architecture...Highmark Medicare Services, an administrative services provider to Medicare, has selected Companion Data Services to provide IT support for a national health care reimbursement system…the Military Health System has selected Vangent, an IT consultant and systems integrator, to enhance an EHR system tool; Vangent also will help deploy health information systems for the Indian Health Service.

Texas Professional Healthcare Alliance has selected an Allscripts' EHR system, offered by Veridian Strategies; SA Health, the public health system of South Australia, selected Allscripts as a preferred vendor…Pennsylvania's two regional extension centers, PA REACH East and PA REACH West, have selected eClinicalWorks, Greenway Medical Technologies and Sage Healthcare as preferred vendors; the Ohio Health Information Partnership, a regional extension center, has selected Allscripts, eClinicalWorks, e-MDs, NextGen Healthcare Information Systems and Sage Healthcare as preferred EHR vendors; Florida-based Baptist Health Care also has selected ambulatory EHR and practice management systems from NextGen.

San Juan Regional Medical Center in New Mexico, Southern New Hampshire Medical Center and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare in Wisconsin have selected a content management system from CareTech Solutions…HHS has selected federal technology contractor Aquilent to provide services for the agency's Web communications and new-media division…Ulrich Medical Concepts has chosen patient portal software from Intuit Health…North York General Hospital in Canada has chosen clinical decision support software from Zynx Health...West Penn Allegheny Health System in Pennsylvania has selected athenahealth's Web-based revenue cycle management service.

Product Development and Marketing

Ceridian Exchange Systems and eHealth will participate in a winning bid to implement the Florida Health Choices online health insurance exchange...BridgeFront, an online education firm, will partner with Oregon's regional extension center OCHIN/O-HITEC to develop online courses about "meaningful use" standards…the Emergency Nurses Association and McKesson have formed the ED Benchmarks Collaborative, a database allowing hospitals to identify ED trends and compare performance.

IBM and ActiveHealth Management, a subsidiary of Aetna, will partner to provide cloud-based care management services to health care providers in Puerto Rico...TriZetto Group has entered into a strategic partnership with clinical analytics developer MEDai to enhance its care management and value-based applications for members...3M Health Information Systems, a health care software and consulting company, is partnering with IQMax, a health care mobile technology services provider, to develop mobile applications for physician use.

Personnel

Anil Jain -- senior IT executive and managing director of e-Research at the Cleveland Clinic -- has been named CMO of Explorys, a cloud computing software provider…Michael Kamerick -- director of academic research and IT systems at the University of California-San Francisco -- has been named senior director of health systems solutions of Recombinant Data, a health care data warehousing and clinical intelligence services provider…Rick Dean -- former director of North American sales for Microsoft's Health Solutions Group -- has been named vice president of provider sales of Humedica, a clinical informatics company...Karl Wolcott, a sales and marketing executive, has been named vice president of sales and marketing for health IT company iTech Medical.

Brenda Jenkins -- a senior program administrator at Quality Partners of Rhode Island, a health care quality improvement company -- has been selected as a member of the Health IT Competency Task Force under the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT...The Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of the CIO has named Stan Lowe as IT ombudsman at the Veterans Benefits Administration, Chuck Hume as IT ombudsman at the Veterans Health Administration and Jackie Patillo as IT ombudsman at VA headquarters.
Kevin Hutchinson, president and CEO of e-prescribing and care communication services provider Prematics, has been named to the board of directors at health care interoperability services provider dbMotion...Physicians Interactive Holdings, a provider of clinical decision support tools, has named Brett Miller, former chief marketing officer of online trading network FX Solutions, as president of PIH's mobile division, Skyscape; Sandeep Shah, chief innovation officer, as chief content officer; and Marlene Galante, a marketing professional, as general manager of academic centers, associations and centers of professional excellence.


Read more: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2010/11/19/health-it-business-news-roundup-for-the-week-of-november-19-2010.aspx#ixzz16DTVmuzQ