Job analysis
The position I picked is Junior Health Physics Technician for Consolidated Safety Services. The responsibilities would include monitoring in the field with radiation instruments, keeping an inventory on radioactive material with organized log books, process and packing materials for proper shipment, and training other individuals in the proper handling and logging of these tasks and materials.
I chose this position because I hope to one day have a career in a health physics role, either as a health physics lead or manager in a plant. This position allows me to learn the duties of a health physicist while not overwhelming me with managerial duties. It is hard to find a starting job as just a health physicist, but this will allow me to gain the experience needed to obtain a higher position with more responsibilities. This would also allow me to work closely with health physicists in higher positions and see what they get to do on a daily basis and what tasks they are directly responsible for.
I believe I am qualified for this position because I am one year away from graduating with my BS in Health Physics and am only lacking years of experience for most of the jobs my degree qualifies me for. I have had training with many of the instruments I will be required to use, and have taken courses that taught me log sheets for radioactive materials. In addition I am currently in a radiation protection internship where I am learning many of the skills needed for a full time position in health physics. I am learning the technical information as well as the logging and processing information needed for a career in the field.
http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?dv=dv&APath=...
Comments
RE: Job analysis
This is a good job ad because it asks for a pretty specific skill set. Your last paragraph seems to be where you're getting toward resume material. You might want to use your resume and/or your cover letter to state explicitly what instruments you know how to use and in what situations you have used them (in a professional context, in school, as part of a nonprofit research project, etc.). You might also want to highlight the courses that have trained you in proper log sheet procedures. As our readings indicate, specifics really add weight to a resume—particularly if you able to match the specific skill set in the application. It is more effective to say that you spent 3 years in New Mexico through a government grant using irradiators to test 400 gallons of ground water per day for radioactive contamination than to say that you have experience with irradiators. (Or whatever. Obviously I don't know what I'm talking about with regard to this field, but the point is that specific evidence for your claims of proficiency are always more effective than simple statements of it.)
RE: Job Analysis
Thanks for the advice, my experience with both the things you mentioned is minimal which is why I did not go into specifics in my post. It is also why I was hesitant to use this job ad because I know how important it is that we are qualified for the ads we selected. However, I read the ad over again more carefully and noted those items were listed as "desired" rather than required so while there are probably individuals with more experience doing some of those things than me, I have been introduced to them. I also know that in my upcoming semester I will be trained more indepthly on these items so I figured the ad was still a safe bet to use. It is hard to find jobs I am qualified for that are still within my field of interest because it is such a narrow field and internships are even difficult to find (I was recruited for mine, last minute before the semester ended). So I hope this still meets all the criteria for the assignment, as this will be the types of positions I will be looking at upon graduation and gaining experience now will be fantastic.