Readers and candidates often ask: "Why is education important?" So, as students around the country crack open the books and get back to school, let us count the ways education matters! Not only does your education impact your career, it impacts your overall quality of life. From your job options, networking contacts, to your general knowledge of basic and advanced subjects, education is a key ingredient which significantly impacts the long-term success of your career in any industry. Education is particularly important in the dynamic, fast-paced, and high-tech field of healthcare.

Additionally, have you ever noticed that the word LEARN contains the word EARN? Perhaps that is because the more you learn, the more you earn! Consider these health careers, and their respective educational requirements and salaries, for example:

• Medical Jobs with No College Degree: Pay $25,000-40,000 on average
• Allied Careers (most require 2-year Associates' Degree): Pay $40,000-65,000+
• Advanced Nursing Careers (Master's Degree): $60,000-90,000 annual pay
• Pharmacist Careers (PharmD): $80,000-115,000 annual salary
• Physician Careers (Doctorate Degree): $150,000-500,000+ annual earnings

True story: a very qualified, well-trained physician recently submitted a CV to me for a practice opportunity, and the hiring hospital executive cringes and balks. What happened? Believe it or not, the candidate's choice of email address was the cause for pause! I can't share the address, due to confidentiality, but let's just say it didn't conjure up a positive image for any future employee, much less a physician!

Keep in mind, your email address is often situated on your CV directly underneath, or very near your name. Do you really want someone to see "Susan Smith, RN" and then underneath your name, it says "hot-mama[at]aol.com"? That's not an ideal image for a job seeker! Hiring managers do notice, and they do get turned off by silly, unprofessional, or inappropriate email addresses.

Try to avoid any of the following potential issues when creating your email address: anything sensual or sexual in nature, anything that could be construed as politically incorrect, or insensitive to any religion, race, gender, or age. As a healthcare professional, it’s also a good idea to avoid anything about bodily harm, death, or anything that can make you sound particularly mean or evil. (I've seen all of these mistakes in various email addresses, and employers notice.) The wrong email address may not make or break your candidacy, but it could definitely create a negative first impression or image in those first few crucial seconds when the recruiter or hiring manager initially scans over your résumé.

It's so easy to get a new email address, if your current address is not as professional as you'd like, or if it doesn't send the right message to a potential employer. There are numerous free email accounts available online through Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and more. Therefore, you can easily set up a new, basic email account with a more “normal” email address. It's a great idea to have a separate email address for your job search anyway, so not only will you be professional, you'll be organized too!

The VP of HR at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Pamela Paulk, gave me a few great tips on getting the job you want at the hospital where you want to work. And, if some of her pointers sound familiar, it’s because they are! Ms. Paulk shared these tips with me, regarding applying for hospital jobs:

• Know what you want: Know which type of environment, or hospital, you will work best in, and focus on that. Do you prefer larger hospitals or small? Or maybe a hospital environment isn’t even for you at all, but medical office jobs are the way to go? Either way, think about it before you begin your medical job search.
• Be on time: Yes it sounds so simple, but being late is a surefire way to make a bad impression, or, worse yet, miss your job interview slot altogether! Paulk states that she personally doesn’t scrap a candidate for tardiness alone, but some hiring managers do, and either way it certainly counts against you. Furthermore, due to her busy schedule, she may not ever have another opportunity to interview the candidate if they miss their allotted interview time.
• Make your CV (or résumé) stand out, but not with typos! Johns Hopkins hospital, for example, hires about 1,500 to 1,800 people annually, but they receive about 10,000 applications monthly! Therefore, “getting your résumé to the top of the stack” is key, says Paulk. Actually, just keeping it in the stack is important too. Proofread, and accentuate your strengths on your CV. Don’t give the screeners any reason to rule you out.
• Apply for multiple jobs: If you are very focused on a particular employer, apply for multiple positions, in a variety of departments, to increase your chances of getting your foot in the door. Even if the job you get is not your top choice, you can transfer later when something else opens up. Once you’re employed, other positions may become available to better fit your career goals for the long-term.
• Work your connections. In other words, network! Paulk, for example, worked as a hospital consultant for years before she took the job at Hopkins. Her connections at a variety of hospitals helped her to decide where she wanted to work, and introduced her to executives nationwide, so she had many options when she decided to look for permanent employment.

According to ExecuNet, a business, career, and executive recruiting network, career opportunities at executive levels are expected to grow by about 10%, based on a recent survey of over 140 executive recruiters. Of the industries expected to see the most growth in executive-level hiring, healthcare topped the list. Healthcare was followed by the Energy/Utilities sector, with Life Sciences in third place. For more information on the survey, or about available positions, visit ExecuNet online. For career planning tips and possible career paths for healthcare executive jobs, visit the new Healthcare Executive Career Profile!