Hi KJ, Thanks for writing to us. It’s great that you are interested in working with children with cancer and thinking about furthering your education. A little more detail would allow us to provide you with the most useful thoughts and guidance. Would you be able to answer some of the following questions? 1) Are you currently in treatment, or pre/post treatment? (This is valuable information since it could help determine how you approach your job search and the interview process) 2) Do you know what certificate/degree you would like to obtain from school? Or the field of study you’re most interested in? 3) Do you have past experience working with families and/or children, or is this a new area of work that you’re pursuing? 4) What kind of job did you have prior to your current job search? In the meantime, I would recommend reviewing the following resources: • Job Search Toolkit (2nd Edition): http://www.cancerandcareers.org/publication_orders/new (features advice on improving resumes, cover letters; interview and networking tips and other useful tools to help you during a job search) • Job Search webinar recording: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/job-search • Resume Review Service: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/resume_reviews/new We look forward to hearing back from you! Kind Regards, Nicole Franklin, MPH Manager of Programs Cancer and Careers

My name is Taposhi Sarker. I was daignosed as ovarian cancer. Given 6 rounds of chemo.Had total histectomy and then informed that I never had Cancer!
At present I am having right leg pain and brain seemed to slow down. As a result difficult to do standing jobs and fast spaced jobs.
Can you pls help me?

Hello, I am a 34 yr. survivor of Hodgkin's Disease. I recently left a career where I was employed for 38 years. I know I remained employed because of the medical benefits provided by the employer. I have a Bachelors of Science Degree in Community and Human Services. I would love to work with Cancer survivors regarding survivorship issues after active treatment ends. I currently volunteer with two cancer organizations, however, this type of work is not available with either. Would you have any suggestions about what path to follow? I've thought about returning to school to obtain a Masters Degree, but right now this is financially unfeasible. Thank you for any help you can provide.

Hi Deb,

Thanks for writing to us!  I totally understand how working with an organization to address survivorship issues seems like a wonderful opportunity to match your degree and skillset with a cause that is close to your heart.  Many hospitals and cancer centers have dedicated survivorship programs, so it may be worthwhile to do a search for ones in your area.  If you haven’t already, you might also want to consider speaking with employees at the cancer organizations where you volunteer.  They might be able to offer some leads at other organizations and/or possibly introduce you to others that can help you find something that would be a good professional fit. 

The following resources might be helpful:

• Resume and Cover Letter Resources: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/looking-for-work/resume-cover-letter (be sure to include your volunteer work on your resume, and to add in any accomplishments related to the tasks you performed)


• Career Change Webinar: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/career-change
  

• Job Search Toolkit (2^nd Edition): http://www.cancerandcareers.org/publication_orders/new (features advice on improving resumes, cover letters; interview and networking tips and other useful tools to help you during a job search) 


• Job Search webinar recording: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/job-search
  


• Blog post on Volunteering: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/blog/how-to-go-from-volunteer-to-ca
  

Also, have you checked out idealist.org? It is a website dedicated to the social sector with a very robust job board that may give you insight into opportunities that are currently available and/or organizations that could be of interest to you even if the role itself isn’t right.

Another, critical thing to do is make use of LinkedIn. Immediate steps include:

• Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and includes the work you’ve been doing in the cancer community


• Make sure you are part of groups (both national and local) related to cancer on the platform so you can follow discussions


• Use it to see who your network knows, and then asking for intros if you know someone who knows people in an organization you are interested in. You can always ask for an informational meeting (https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/looking-for-work/interviewing/informational-interviews)

We have also have a webinar on building an effective LinkedIn profile (https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/linkedin) and we will be doing a new one on June 6, 2018.

Finally, through all of this you want to think about disclosure and how much information about your cancer history is publicly available and how much you want to be known (https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/2017-webinar-online).  

I hope this helps!

Kind regards,

Nicole Franklin

Manager of Programs

Cancer and Careers