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Advice Background Information Dental Assistant Tips Website

Get your LinkedIn Accounts!

Traditionally, when someone wanted to learn more about a potential new employee or an applicant, they would need a copy of a resume given by the individual in question.  Now, in the age of information based services, it is important for basic information about yourself to be easily accessible online. The information expected is roughly equivalent to what one would see in a resume.

Since 2003, LinkedIn has been providing this sort of service for free. The idea of LinkedIn is to be a business oriented social network that is designed for professional networking. LinkedIn originated in the internet revolution referred to as the Web 2.0 era along with many of the most famous social networking websites that we use today. The idea of Web 2.0 was that the users of websites would create the content and that content could be shared with their friends or the whole world. In 2003-2005, the evolution of the internet from “Web 1.0” to Web 2.0 resulted in the creation of many of the most famous websites used today like FacebookMyspace, Flickr, YelpWordPressYouTube, and Blogger.

A LinkedIn profile is important for anybody who is looking to be professionally recognized. I do not know a single professional that does not have one. From doctors to lawyers, researchers to photographers, EVERYBODY has a LinkedIn account. Some companies even require employees to have accounts. For this reason, I believe it is important for pre-dental students to also have LinkedIn accounts that are properly filled. It is possible that future employers, dental colleagues, or even admissions officers could look at your profile to get quick access to a summary of you.

To get started visit their website at www.linkedin.com. Fill out the basic information on the front page to create your account. Once your account is created, reference your resume and add as much information as you can into the designated fields.  Give this time, treat it as if you are rewriting your resume. Upload a profile picture that represents you as a professional. Remember, everything about your LinkedIn page should scream “Professional” when somebody views it. I would recommend looking through LinkedIn’s new user resources to get more detail on what one should add to their profile.

Like many other Web 2.0 websites, LinkedIn allows us to add “friends” better known as Connections. This appears on your profile and is a great way for individuals looking into you to learn more about the kind of people you are networking with. I would advise to be very picky as to who you add as a connection. Only add people you believe are valuable and reputable connections; after all, who you add is a representation of yourself and your professionalism.

If you want some ideas of the kind of things one should add, check out my profile (Elias Almaz). Also check your privacy settings to make sure your profile is completely public. The main reason we made this is so potential employers and admissions officers will be able to view the content without difficulty. The easier it is for them to find the information they want, the better their impression of you will be.

Hope you enjoyed the quick introduction to LinkedIn, if you haven’t already….go on and make that LinkedIn account now!

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Advice Background Information Paul Binon Tips Website

Reputation Management on the Internet

Technology has changed the way we do everything. Now when applying for jobs, employees do a simple Google search in order to learn more about a potential new employee,  their habits, and interests. This is not limited to jobs, it is possible that when applying to dental school, admissions officers could Google search potential students’ names to see what kind of results appear.

Coming from a technological background detailed in a previous post, I have had lots of experience Search Engine Optimizing (SEO) websites so they can appear first when specific keywords are searched in Google. For example, when searching for Dr. Paul Binon’s website for his dental practice, I have optimized the results in Roseville, CA (where his practice is located) to make his website appear first for key terms that patients may search. Searches like “dental implants in Roseville”  return with Dr. Binon’s website as the first result. Very vague searches, like “dental implants,” in the Roseville area return with Dr. Binon’s website in the fourth position, behind Wikipedia, WebMD, and Perio.org (all three are educational resources to learn more about dental implant, not dentists).

With the social network boom, searching for our names on Google populates a list of almost everything we do on the internet. As a result, I urge every one of you to be cautious of what actions you perform on the internet and what you post. Most of it will end up in the search engines’ hands, and if it ranks high enough it could damage your image. A whole new business has opened in which people Search Engine Optimize (SEO) their names. This has recently been classified as its own category of optimization  known as “Reputation Management”. Reputation Management is the act of search engine optimizing your name to appear with quality results when searched by others.

I have been working on optimizing my name for a few months. If you search “Elias Almaz” in Google, it will populate a list of results. For many people, facebook will usually be their top result. This is almost unavoidable if you use facebook. It is not bad if you have a Facebook; Almost everybody has one, including my parents and their friends. Those who use Facebook should follow the following guidelines to prevent Facebook from damaging your image:

  • Visit the Facebook page Google links to (make sure you are not to be logged into Facebook) and look through the information that is displayed publicly to all.  Edit your privacy settings based on what content you want only visible by friends or content okay for public viewing.
  • Always have display pictures that appropriate for the public to see. Nothing provocative, nothing questionable.
  • Ultimately, if you do not want facebook to ever show up in searches you can disable “public search” under your privacy settings.

Other social networking sites like twitter will also be on the first page of results. If you no longer use these social network accounts delete or deactivate them.

Join LinkedIn, the social network for professionals. LinkedIn is great to publicly display personal information that is resume-like that can be easily found. Joining the social network will likely add a new, quality, result to your first page on Google. I plan on writing a blog post in the near future about the importance of a LinkedIn account as well as some tips.

Many other good results can show up. I have my blog, www.predents.com,  as well as my current treasurer position in ASDA @ UCI. However, I also have unwanted results like mylife.com, genealogy.com, and reunion.com that I am currently attempting to remove from my Google results.

Visiting the websites on your first page of results can help gauge their quality. If you have any questionable results, you can ask me in the comments section below or email me. I will give you my personal advice on what to do. Last but not least, I want to clarify a common misconception about Reputation Management; SEO take TIME. Deleting something may not change your searches rankings or results for WEEKS or MONTHS. Please be patient, Google has billions of webpages to sift through and rerank every day. Reputation management is a very slow process, but over time, the effort you put in will build a strong digital reputation ready for searches from employers and admissions officers!

 

Good luck and happy optimizing!

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Advice Tips Website

New Logo, New Feature!

Good morning!

I am excited to announce two new additions to the website!

I spent a few hours this week working on designing this website’s logo. My goal was to create a logo that expressed characteristics that symbolized the website and its dental related content. I was striving for something simple, professional, and also had some attribute of dentistry that could easily be recognizable. After selecting the colors and coming up with the design, I am excited to introduce the new logo for Almaz Dentistry! It is designed as a vector drawing which allows me to grow and shrink it to any size without distortion! I hope you guys like it!

 

 

 

 

I’d also like to introduce the feature Ask Elias. This is a Question & Answer system which allows you, the readers, to submit questions and get responses. Readers can ask anything they would like, dentistry related or not. Furthermore, I plan to compile the questions submitted (with the asker’s permission) into a FAQ section in order to help others find answers to the same questions later on. If it is personal,  I will privately respond to it, so don’t hesitate to ask ANYTHING!

The form has its own own page titled “Ask Elias”. It can be found next to the home button at the top. The form is also posted here as an introduction!

[contact-form-7 id=”241″ title=”Ask Elias”]

 

Have a good week!

 

P.S. If you go to UC Irvine, please come out to our ASDA general meeting today at 5PM in SH 174!

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Background Information Website

How Do I Know How to Make Websites? – My Technological Background

Good afternoon pre-dental colleagues!

This weeks blog post is not answering the “Why Dentistry?” question I previously promised.  I will be writing that one as soon as I get the chance to. It is MUCH more difficult to write than a regular post like this.

Since this blog is new, I ran into a few kinks along the way and have been working to get everything running smoothly.  With the time I have been putting into building the back-end of this website, I figured it would be a good time to write a little background on how I acquired my website experience.  I have been building websites since the beginning of high school, when I enrolled in a program called GBiT. At the time, GBiT was a revolutionary program that allowed me to do what ever I wanted by providing me with a blank slate and all the resources I needed. During the three years I spent in the program, I learned how to build and repair computers, solder hardware, write websites, code, etc. As a hobby of mine, I dove into as many technology fields as possible. I found the application of the skills I acquired to be challenging, fun, and ultimately useful in the near future. With the original program director and many highly skilled students, the program was nationally recognized and sponsored by Intel.

All throughout high school and college I have been given opportunities to work on numerous websites, mainly for small businesses in Sacramento. I have worked on several versions of websites for my high school (Granite Bay High), security companies, dentists, and a plumbing company.  I also had the honor to design websites for NFL Madden 2010 and NCAA Football while working with Electronic Arts through the process. I have had my fair share of experience with websites and I am excited to finally be able to apply this experience to a project of my own in order to help others.

My technology hobby is part of my past and will always be part of my future!

I have spent this past week working on tuning the website so that it will run as smooth as possible and allow for much growth in the near future!

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ASDA Background Information Dental Assistant Paul Binon Website

Welcome to Almaz Dentistry! Short Introduction

Elias Almaz
Pre-Dental Student Elias Almaz

Good day!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Elias Almaz. I am a second year biological sciences student at University of California, Irvine. Home of the anteaters, ZOT ZOT! I wanted to start a blog to help pre-health students decide if dentistry is the right career for them. This is an important objective of mine since going into a profession as specific as dentistry means one is investing into a lifelong commitment. Such a commitment should have a driving force backed by passion. It’s important to remember that if this career is pursued, you will be working in the profession for two or three decades. As a member of the UC Irvine Dental Club ASDA, American Student Dental Association,  as well as it’s treasurer, I have had the opportunity to mentor several pre-dental students here at UC Irvine to help them shape their reasoning for pursuing a career in dentistry. For those who are positive in their decision to become a dentist and are currently pre-dental students, this blog will provide much advice for ways to prepare for dental school and a future as a dentist.

As a second year in college, I have had the amazing privilege of working with Paul Binon, DDS, MSD, a prosthodontist and implant dentist in Northern California, who has been in the dental field for over thirty years. Dr. Binon has been my mentor for several years and has contributed a significant amount to my knowledge of dentistry . He is a member of several high caliber dental organizations like the American College of Prosthodontists, Academy of Osseointegration, and the Pacific Coast Society for Prosthodontics. Dr. Binon has taught and lectured throughout the world and has published over 50 scientific research and clinical articles relating to dental implants. I am truly thankful I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to know, work, and learn from Dr. Binon. His website has been one of my ongoing projects, and is an excellent resource for information about dental implants, dentures, crowns, and bridges. Please check it out if you are interested!

As for myself, I have worked as a Dental Assistant since 2009 and I have nearly 1,200 hours assisting chair side. In that time, I have had many eye opening experiences and have gained insight on what to expect when I take the role of a dentist in the near future. These experiences are what helped me come to the conclusion that dentistry is truly a passion of mine.  The soul purpose of this website, Almaz Dentistry, is to share these experiences and documenting my journey to becoming a dentist.

I’d like to start the blog with a little background information about myself and how dentistry became my profession of choice. I would like to officially welcome you to Almaz Dentistry, a resource for all pre-dental students to explore their near futures. If there is anything in particular you would like me to talk about, please leave comments below and I would love to respond and help in any way I can.

Keep an eye out for a future post which will answer the most difficult question for a pre-dental student , “Why Dentistry?”

 

-Eli