How To Get Your First Job As A Dental Assistant
Since 2020, dental assistants have been in short supply. Initially, dentists hoped the staff shortages would resolve themselves once things started opening back up and returning to normal. But the shortage of dental assistants has gotten worse in 2023, not better.
As a job seeker, that’s good news for you. But here’s the thing. We get people reaching out to us regularly saying “if dentists are so desperate, why can’t I get a job? I’ve been applying and people aren’t even getting back to me.”
Just because dentists are desperately short-staffed, it doesn’t mean they’re willing to drag just anyone in off the street.
What new job seekers don’t seem to understand is the high cost to a dental practice in bringing a beginner into their practice.
One of the great things about dental assisting is that you can get started with zero qualifications and be trained on the job. But that on-the-job training is costly to a dental practice owner.
You’ll slow down their team, as they spend time teaching you what equipment is what, and how things work. You’ll make mistakes (which is okay, and to be expected), and every one of those mistakes will slow the team down. And you’ll slow the dentist down, because you won’t move as quickly and efficiently as more experienced dental assistants.
None of that should scare you off. It’s all part of becoming a dental assistant, and dental teams know what’s involved to help you learn.
The point is that if they hire the wrong person, and that person quits after one month or six months because they’re not cut out for the job, the practice owner loses thousands of dollars.
That’s why dentists won’t just call up anyone who bothers to apply, even though they’re desperately short-staffed right now.
So what follows are the things you need to know to successfully get your first job as a dental assistant, even if you have zero experience. We dive into what dentists are looking for, how you can stand out, and what to put in your resume and cover letter so you can stand out and show them you’re committed to becoming a dental assistant.
What Are Dentists Looking For When Hiring Dental Assistants?
Let’s start with the more obvious things that dentists are looking for when hiring dental assistants. But we’ll take it one step further. We’ll also share a red flag that might prevent a dentist from hiring you, that you can proactively address in your application.
Dentists are looking for people who are empathetic and enjoy helping others.
As an employee, your behaviour reflects either positively or negatively on the business. If you’re huffy and puffy when communicating with patients, that leads to a terrible patient experience and can have very real financial consequences for the dentist when patients choose to go to another practice. That’s why it’s so important to demonstrate that you care about others and enjoy helping people out.
When you’re building your resume, even if you don’t have work experience, you can collect examples of ways that you’ve helped others and how you contributed to different projects. The more that you can demonstrate a desire to help others, the better.
Dentists are looking for people who love learning new things every day.
Dental assisting requires a lot of multi-tasking. You’ll be constantly learning new things, because there are a lot of different technical skills to learn. If you don’t like learning and just want an easy way to pick up a paycheck, dental assisting won’t be for you.
But if you want to learn and get better every day, you’ll love dental assisting. Not only will you build technical skills, you’ll also learn so many communication and personal skills as well. Dental assisting gives you a very broad base of skills to carry through your working life, and you have to be willing to learn.
So when you’re building your resume, look for ways to demonstrate your desire to learn. Perhaps it’s new skills you picked up and taught yourself. Or additional study or projects you took on outside of what’s required by school.
Dentists are looking for team players who enjoy hands-on work.
While most patients just think about visiting the dentist, the fact is that dental health care is all about teamwork. From receptionists who arrange the appointments and manage patient communication and paperwork, to the chair side assistants helping the dentist, to the dental lab technicians creating the new teeth to go in people’s mouths… There's a huge amount of teamwork and communication required.
When you’re building your resume, think about any way you can demonstrate your ability to work in a team. This can be a successful school project that involved teamwork, or being involved in local sports teams. When you’ve got no relevant work experience, it’s okay to look more broadly at all the things you’re involved with and think about how those different experiences show the qualities an employer is looking for.
Dentists are looking for people with excellent attention to detail.
When I was hiring for an administrative role in 2019, I was clear in the job ad that I was looking for people with attention to detail. We were flooded with 1,000 applications, and I immediately eliminated 75% of applicants because their application was sloppy with spelling mistakes in either their resume or their cover letter.
That might sound harsh. But the way I thought about it was that if someone wasn’t going to take the time to have attention to detail in the application they’re sending me where they tell me they have attention to detail, then I’m going to focus on the people who took the time to make sure their application was error-free.
Now, most dental practices probably won’t apply this sort of filter to their hiring decisions right now because they are so desperate for staff. It’s a very different situation compared to sifting through 1,000 resumes.
However, the reason I tell this story is because it’s important to realise that right from the very first time you contact a potential employer, you need to put your best foot forward. Especially if you have no relevant work experience, you need to do every possible thing that you can to stand out and show that you’re going to be a great candidate.
Dentistry is very precise, and the processes dentists use to treat patients in a safe and sterile way need to be followed exactly. So make sure you’re putting your best foot forward and demonstrating attention to detail in your application.
A Red Flag That Prevents Dentists From Hiring You
We just covered the universal characteristics dentists tend to look for in dental assistants. They look for these attributes because when you hire someone who enjoys helping others, loves learning new things and working in a team, and has great attention to detail, then that person is more likely to stick around and be a long-term employee.
Before we get to one major red flag that prevents dentists from hiring certain people, we need to take a step back. As a job seeker, it’s easy to focus on what you want. You’re looking for certain things in the work that you do. Whether that’s making a certain amount of money, or working a certain number of hours a week, all job seekers have things that they’re looking for.
But if you want to be successful in your job hunt and find a great job, you need to put yourself in the shoes of the business owner and think about what they want. When it comes to dentistry, there are some very important things for you to know.
Even though dental assisting doesn’t require a degree, it’s a critical role in the practice. Without an assistant to help, the dentist slows down and can’t treat as many patients in a day. The amount of money that the practice makes is directly tied to how many patients a dentist is able to treat in a day (as well as other things, but this is one of the factors).
The point is, if you call in sick or fail to show up for a shift, you throw the whole team into chaos. Other team members will be picking up the slack. The other dental assistants on the team will be working overtime and carrying a heavier load because you bailed. Or if they simply don’t have enough dental assistants to help with the scheduled patients, they may end up calling up some patients and rescheduling them for another day because they simply can’t treat everyone that was booked in.
Does this mean you can never have a sick day? Of course not. Dental teams know that sickness happens and sometimes all this chaos of rescheduling and working overtime is just part of the job.
But…
The red flag that might prevent dentists from hiring you is being a student with a demanding workload. Why? Because there’s a very real risk that you fail to communicate when you’ve got exams on and when you need extra time off. Or that you’ll fake a sickie because you didn’t get your assignment done and have a deadline looming.
The good news is that lots of dental assistants are also students. However, if you want to be successful in your application to get a job as a dental assistant, you need to be aware of this concern and address this issue in your cover letter. You want to show them that you understand how important the dental assisting role is and that you’re a team player who isn’t going to let the team down. Be clear around what your study commitments are, and that you’ll communicate proactively about any time off that you’ll need due to study.
How to Write Your Dental Assistant Resume When You’ve Got No Experience
If you don’t have any relevant work experience, you can still create a resume that shows your character and suitability for dental assisting. The thing to realise is that your resume is a sales tool. You are trying to ‘sell’ someone on the idea of hiring you. This is not something you just whip together and write down a list of stuff that you’ve done. You want to specifically show how the experiences that you share in your resume relate to the job that you’re applying for.
In this case, since you know you’re looking for a dental assisting role, you’ll want to put the effort in to create a custom resume for dental assisting roles. You’ll want to include as many examples as you can that show your character is a good fit for dental assisting.
First, start with a brainstorm of all the skills and characteristics you have. What have you achieved in school? Have you won awards for character, or won competitions, or worked on projects that took a lot of commitment and attention to detail? Have you volunteered? How do you spend your time outside of school, are there sports teams or community groups that you’re involved with? Gather all the possible examples that you can and write them down.
Second, ask yourself “so what? How is this relevant to dental assisting?” Remember the specific types of character that dentists are generally looking for are people who:
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Are empathetic and enjoy helping others
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Love learning new things every day
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Are a team player
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Enjoy hands-on work
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Have great attention to detail
Look at all the different things on your list and think about how they demonstrate any of those characteristics. Then write it down.
Finally, you’ll want to take that brainstorm and actually turn it into a resume.
The best resource I’ve seen on writing a stellar resume is from Leila Hormozi. Leila is the CEO of a company that generates over $100,000,000 in annual revenue. She reviews thousands of resumes, and her advice is excellent. If you’re serious about getting a dental assisting job with no experience, take the 7 minutes needed to watch this video.
Obviously, Leila is talking to people who already have experience. Don’t let that discourage you. Pay attention and to the overall strategies she is teaching, they’re still relevant to beginners.
How To Write A Dental Assistant Cover Letter
One of the things that surprised me most when I started hiring staff in my own business is how few people put the basic effort in! I see plenty of people complaining online about how they can’t find a job and no one gets back to them. But I’ve also been on the receiving end of the applications and seen so few people actually send a cover letter and a resume that are relevant to the business and role that’s being hired for.
Job seekers complain that it takes time to customise it and that they never hear back, so it’s not worth the effort. If that’s your mindset, you’ll demolish your chances of getting the job before you even hit send on your application.
There are ways to make this easier. You can write a templated resume and cover letter that cover your core characteristics, education and skills, and link that back to dental assisting. But when it comes to writing your cover letter, spending a little extra time researching the dental practice that you’re applying to and customising the opening sentence of your cover letter will help to capture their attention.
Read their reviews, have a look at their website. If they have wonderful reviews, you can comment on the fact that you’d love to work for a team that provides such a great service to their patients. Or if they won an award recently, congratulate them on it. A small bit of customisation can go a long way because when you’re hiring for a role, you want people that actually want to work for you. You want people who are committed. You want people who are excited.
Dental assisting is not easy. It’s challenging, it’s physically demanding, and yet it’s very rewarding seeing the positive impact you have in the lives of patients. If your cover letter and resume are dry and dull and lacking enthusiasm, don’t expect people to be enthusiastic about hiring you! You want to show them that you are genuinely excited about the opportunity to join their team.
When you’ve got no relevant work experience on your resume, your cover letter does a lot of the work. So be excited. And be clear. Tell them why you want to be a dental assistant. Tell them why you believe you have the right type of character and personality to be successful as a dental assistant. Don’t leave it up to chance and hope that they see your potential, be clear and tell them why you’re a good fit. And back it all up with examples.
Conclusion
Dental assistants are desperately needed right now, even if you have zero experience. But that doesn’t mean they’ll hire just anyone. Put in the time and effort to write a resume and cover letter that shows that you’re genuinely interested in becoming a dental assistant. Show them how your character, education, skills and experiences are examples of you being a good fit for dental assisting.
And also… follow up. If you don’t hear back about your resume, follow up. Call the practice and reiterate how interested you are in the role. If you show that you are proactive and genuinely interested, you may find yourself getting employed even if they didn’t respond to your application initially.
If you have further questions about this or would like some help, send us an email admin@dentalassistantnetwork.com and we’ll do our best to help you out. We are not recruiters and do not apply to jobs on your behalf. However, we are happy to help.
And make sure you sign up to The Dental Assistant Network (it’s free) to be notified when new dental assisting jobs become available in your area. Plus, you can also head on over to our dental assistant job board and search your area to see what’s already available.
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