General Admissions & OTCAS Work experience

[thebiggestsky]

My original plan was to basically include my entire resume (I'm a career-changer, non-traditional student) under the work experience section on OTCAS. But am I missing the point? Should this section be exclusively for activities that might relate to OT? Or do they expect to see everything you've done since you've been in school?

Is that a dumb question? Are there no rules? Am I thinking too much?

Halp.

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[kgprospot]

Hi! I am in the same boat. I am putting any experience I feel they should be aware of. I think a lot of applicants will have non-traditional backgrounds. For example, I was a chem major in college. I realized that a career in chem is not for me. I also didn't want to be a nurse or doctor. I graduated and started working as an executive assistant. I graduated at a time when it was hard to get a job. I knew my employer since early in my college career, and was essentially handed a stable job with a good salary, benefits, and flexibility. So, I took it, even it's far from my dream job. Even though my current job is not in healthcare, it shows that I can commit, work closely with ppl to meet their needs, handle stressful situations, manage a lot at once, and the list goes on. I think you should put what you feel they should know about you and what promotes your abilities.

 

[thebiggestsky]

Okay! Yeah, I just didn't want there to be a glaring hole in my timeline if I decided not to include a particular job. Although I'm sure they wouldn't pay attention to that?

 

[kgprospot]

I am not sure about how gaps in your timeline would be regarded. I know that gaps look bad when seeking employment. Maybe someone else knows? I have been in the same job since graduation and I plan on listing it, so I won't have any gaps in my timeline. My gut tells me gaps could look bad, so maybe you should list everything, but it's hard to know without knowing your background. If you want, pm me with what you plan on listing and what you think you should exclude.

 

[OT_2015]

I was a non-traditional career changer as well. My background was in business and management. I did include all of my work experience in OTCAS. I think what's important to do in addition to that is utilize your personal statement to tie in how all your experiences will add to your career as an OT or advance the profession itself. That will hopefully make the difference and allow you to stand out from the rest. It worked for me.

 

[Bokonomy]

So I'm going to start 2 work study jobs that are semi relevant (in preschool/tutoring elementary level). Should I include them even though it will only be a few hours?

 

[thebiggestsky]

If you want, pm me with what you plan on listing and what you think you should exclude.

I sent you a PM (I think). Thanks!

 

[TexasMOT]

Sorry, still a little confused. So the experience section and observation hours section should be completely separate or can they overlap? I don't have much work experience related to OT so I'm not sure what to include in that section.

 

[thebiggestsky]

Sorry, still a little confused. So the experience section and observation hours section should be completely separate or can they overlap? I don't have much work experience related to OT so I'm not sure what to include in that section.

I would imagine that work and observation would be separate experiences listed separately. My background is not in OT, so I don't have any work experience in OT either, but I also wanted to show that I have been doing other things, developing skills and qualities that could potentially translate to OT. I would hope that they appreciate people from all backgrounds, non-traditional and students. My resume and essay will (hopefully) further clarify why I'm hoping to get into a program.

And someone mentioned in another thread that we could include observations under "healthcare experience" something or other.