Finding a job.

Life rarely goes according to plan, a notion to which anyone who has spent a day in a private dental office can attest. Patients cancel or show up late, lunches are skipped, but at the end of those long days these small changes are manageable.

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But change is rarely so easy, so neatly dealt with. Whether by choice or involuntarily, life can and often will derail you, leaving you to pick up the pieces as an already fast and ever changing world passes by. Unfortunately, there are too many dental hygienists who have seen how quickly things once considered normal can morph into something new, unrecognizable. The job market for dental hygienists is not the same market that many entered in the early 2000s jobs are scarce, and each year more students graduate from more dental programs, entering and creating a saturated job market characterized by uncertainty.

Coping with change can be tough. But there is hope.

Carol Dahlke, RDH, MDH, can recall the confusion and chaos of losing her job.

"I was in the middle of a challenging internship to complete my master's degree. My father had passed away three weeks prior to the director of dental hygiene giving me the news that my position was cut to half a day per week from a three-day-a-week appointment. I was shocked."

It may seem strange, but the most powerful emotion Dahlke felt in those days wasn't worry about paying the bills, or completing her degree--it was a loss of identity.

"My identity had always been as a clinical dental hygienist or a faculty member. Who would I be now?"

That loss of sense of purpose is most the crushing part of losing a job. And with a changing job market, many are feeling that sense of hopelessness.

In 2009, Kristie Hall, RDH, left her private practice job of three and half years to start a family. She remembered what the job market was like when she graduated, and was stunned to find how altered it had become in the years since.

"When I graduated in 2002, there were so many jobs available that it was kind of overwhelming," Hall said. "Now, just in our area, it's very hard to find something."

That same fate met Nancy Sajdak, RDH, who tried to return to the profession after the small independent business she started was sold in 2004. Sajdak had moved to Florida, keeping her license current during her time as a business owner, and immediately called a temp agency to find work. The response, or lack thereof, was frightening.

"It was frustrating because I wasn't getting any calls back," Sajdak said. "It was a little bit scary for me. It was something I hadn't encountered before. I wasn't quite sure what to do about it."

Sajdak moved back to upstate New York, where she had previously worked in private practice, to find the same thing. The outlook was bleak, and the little bit of temp work she could find left her questioning her next step.

"I was kind of hovering in this zone where I just really wasn't quite sure what to do."

That uncertainty, that the future you had planned for is now an unknown, can be debilitating. Lezlie Cantrell, RDH, MSDH, PhD Candidate, knows that feeling of hopelessness and the temptation to give up.

"It would have been easier just to pack up and move and never deal with it," Cantrell said. "But in my mind, that would have never made a difference."

Her situation, although similar to others' in some ways, is unique. She worked as a community college instructor for four years, using her experiences and knowledge to shape herself to be the hygienist she wanted to be - someone who could educate others and spread the word of dental hygiene. But that life was threatened when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She spent the next months planning the course ahead, determined not to let the diagnosis define her.

After undergoing a radical mastectomy and eight rounds of chemotherapy, she was told her teaching services were no longer needed.

Like many, Cantrell had to learn to cope with the sudden changes in her life, the questions about her identity and purpose, and it was in those moments, asking those questions, that she discovered there is still hope. She turned to networking and mentoring, or reaching out to those in similar situations. Communication became a necessity.

"We're all going through different things, and no one knows what another person is going through," she said. "Reaching out to people, talking with people and being an advocate for dental hygiene in the community, in the state, wherever you can, that will definitely help open doors that you didn't know about."

Networking has been an instrumental part of finding a new job for Cantrell. After reaching out to fellow hygienists and putting her name out into the community, she was able to find work at Elsevier Publishing, Co. as a freelance writer and Dental Textbook Content Manager.

Using networking to cope with the changes and to further her career was a tactic that Dahlke also chose, in hopes of achieving the career she once strived for.

"My friends, my colleagues, my fellow graduate students were very, very helpful," Dahlke recalled. "You create this bond with people when you go through the same thing. We were all struggling with a lot of the same concerns."

Dahlke admits that at times it was trying, but she was encouraged and encourages others to keep fighting. Having a clear, defined goal, she said, is necessary.

"Being able to forge through all the obstacles that were in the way, I knew that there was an endpoint. There were some times when it was really frustrating that I didn't know how I was going to get there, but I knew that, with the help of the people that I worked with, and my fellow graduate students, they would enable me to get there, because we kind of leaned on each other."

Dahlke continued to network, and continued to volunteer as often as she could. At the time, she was working just one day per week in a private office and finishing her work at school. She credits networking with helping to get her name out to prospective employers. And she thanks her volunteer work for getting her where she is today working as a business and clinical consultant with a dental practice management firm.

"Volunteering has gotten me to where I am today," she said. "The company that I am working for didn't check my references. They knew who I was because I was out there, and it was one of those things when, you're visible in your community in whatever aspect it is, people get to know who you are, and they start looking to you."

For Cantrell and Dahlke, networking and volunteering have led to steady employment. Unfortunately, there are still many hygienists, like Hall, who have networked with their local and state components, and volunteered their time, and have still yet to find a permanent position.

Does this lessen the importance of networking? Not at all, says Hall.

"[Volunteering] was another way for me to feel like I do have a purpose, and that something will come along," she said.

And something has come along, in the form of fill in work. Hall admitted that, at one point, she never considered working on a fill in basis. But that changed when she met a local dentist through her volunteering efforts.

"He said, 'I think you should do some fill in work. There's always a need for that somewhere. It may not be a constant job, you may not go to work every day, but at least it will get your foot in the door somewhere."

Within two weeks, Hall had found herself back in practice, filling in for a dental hygienist unable to make it to the office. Since then, she has picked up all the fill in work that she can, allowing her to become part of the community again.

"He really put things into perspective for me," she said. "I was trying to get my resume out there and tell them that I just need a job, and it wasn't 'I'll take what I can get.' That really changed my view on how I was doing things, and that's when I started to reroute [my strategy]."

Through all of this, Hall has kept an upbeat look at her situation. Without it, she might not be in the position she is in today, even if that position doesn't offer the steady work she had hoped for.

"I really don't know what's in store for me, but I'm not upset about how things have turned out. I've accepted it, and I'm very happy with where I am right now."

Acceptance and moving on--these are the ways in which we cope with change. After selling her business in 2004 and trying to find a job in dental hygiene, Sajdak realized that she would have to accept that the job market has changed, and it is better to roll with the changes than to fight them.

"I realized I needed to be flexible and open to some of these opportunities that are out there," Sajdak said. "Previously, I hadn't seen myself as an instructor in an academic setting, and now I'm starting to think that, with my skills and what I know and the knowledge I have gained over the years, I can be useful in a different role, and I can adjust to it. I have also taken into consideration my strong business background that may help me in a career involved in a corporate, sales or other business model."

And there is something to take away from this experience, of having your life shaken up and being forced to put it back together. For Dahlke, it has given her the confidence needed to succeed in transitioning to the business side of dental hygiene. For Sajdak, it has made her more determined than ever to find the job that is right for her. For Hall, it means being able to efficiently deliver the best quality care, regardless of where she is practicing. And for Cantrell, the process of finding a new job has done just as much for her as it has for her career.

"I have grown as a person; I have grown as a leader," she said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Building a Resume

With more and more students graduating from dental hygiene programs and entering the workforce, dental hygienists need every advantage at their disposal to help ensure that they stand out to prospective employers. Mary Kelly, RDH, BS, says that the resume is a great way to get noticed, and has offered the following tips to help your resume stand out.

(1.) Keywords Are Key

Use keywords from the employer's job description to show how you fit right into that position. Use action words to describe your experience instead of just listing previous employment. "Worked for the past eight years on a state committee addressing early childhood caries" is a statement that demonstrates you have been involved in activities of current caries prevention.

(2.) Include All of Your Qualifications

Don't exclude qualifications and experience outside the dental office; for example, experience gained from activities in your dental hygiene organization or your school PTA or other interest. If you have done oral health presentations as a volunteer at your child's school, list this: the potential employer may want you to go to other schools as a marketing effort.

(3.) Make Sure Your Resume Says Exactly What You Want It to Say

Typos and [unintended meanings], especially with online submissions, [are common mistakes]. Some misspelled words-- and many names--will be overlooked by your word processing program. Print out your resume, read it out loud to make sure it is what you intended to write, and have someone else look it over, too.

(4.) Your Cover Letter Is Your First Impression Make It Count

A friend who happens to do hiring had insisted that I [use a] chart instead of a cover letter to emphasize how clearly my skills match the needs of the position. I think that this can be the magic secret in getting the job you want and deserve. This format stands out and directly shows your skills directly matching what the position requires.

(5.) Don't Feel Confined to Old Resume Templates

There is a lot more flexibility in resume writing now. Just listing previous employment is not going to make you stand out. Taking your skills and making them into assets for your future employer will get noticed.

Josh Snyder is staff editor, Journal of Dental Hygiene.