Q: I want to stop doing clinical work in health care. I have some experience in management and healthcare business functions. How can I transfer my skills within the industry or outside? Just Don't Know

A: Dear Don't Know, You will as soon as you begin to take steps. Analyze the job you've been doing. What parts of it have you enjoyed most? Working with patients? Radiology? Vendors? Co-workers? What department(s) do the most of that kind of work?

Still stuck? Reverse engines. Look at each department of a health care organization, from dministration to finance to community relations. Identify two people you could speak with about their work. Tell them that you've felt isolated from other departments and want to be more aware of what they do. By this time, you should be able to determine what kind of work you'd like to do.

The third step: see whether any of your customers -- patients, vendors, whoever -- work in organizations that interest you. Talk to them. Who are their competitors? Read, read, read. Use the Internet and Public Library as research tools. Pay attention to your gut. When you become excited, take the hint! mlc

NO RESPONSE

Q: I have been sending out countless resumes and cover letters over the Internet. I'm not getting any bites. Could it actually be because of something that I'm not doing, saying or getting across in my materials? I try to incorporate why I'm qualified while referring to their requirements and give a brief description of who I am by where I've been and where I want to go. MISSING

A: Dear Missing, Indeed you are. Imagine yourself at the North Pole. Think of your resume and cover letter as a snowflake. You send them aloft and don't hear them land. If you're lucky, a dogsled will come by and catch your snowflake as it falls. The driver may even look you up, depending upon how many other snowflakes are falling. Get the drift???

Instead of sending your resume where it will be one of hundreds or thousands, find ways to speak with people directly. Get referrals to employers. Call them up. Deliver a 30-second speel, such as, "A number of companies benefit from (what I do best). I'd like to talk to you about how I could help XYZ achieve the same objective."

A beautiful resume and cover letter + no strategy = a frustrating job hunt. mlc

**blogTip**

MINING

If you're working and job hunting on the QT, you're in a minefield with bosses, co-workers and customers, according to career expert Dan Strakal of Successs Positioning Systems in Albuquerque. How do you keep from tripping a landmine?

Spot 'em, Strakal says: