How to properly handle job interviews to find that perfect team member
When you enter the hiring arena, you may feel like you’ve swung open the doors into a Wild West saloon where everyone is armed, suspicious, and ready for a showdown.
You’ll be challenged with résumés riddled with spelling errors, candidates who schedule interviews and then don’t show up, candidates who want high salaries plus sign-on bonuses, requests for hours that are so flexible a person would barely work, and candidates who impress at the interview but then morph into entirely different people once hired.
It’s understandable if you become so defeated you hire any sentient being with two hands. But hiring the wrong person can create significantly more problems than being short-staffed. Here are practical suggestions to ensure you hire the right person.
Phone interview
The interview process begins with a phone screening that has two objectives: to determine if the applicant is a good fit for your practice, and to sell the candidate on the opportunity to work with you.
Consider a video interview so that you can see how the candidate presents themselves and vice versa. Recognize that in today’s job market, candidates approach interviews with one question: “What can you do for me?” Therefore, if you like someone, it’s crucial to spend time highlighting the advantages of your practice, focusing specifically on how your practice will be a step up from their current situation. You want them to feel excited about the potential to work with you.
Example screening interview questions
1. Our practice is located in ______, and your résumé shows you're in _____. Will that commute work for you?
2. Our hours are Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. How does that fit with what you’re looking for?
3. Why are you looking for a new opportunity?
4. What are you looking for in a new practice/job?
5. What pay rate are you seeking?
After the screening interview, send a text with the date, time, and address of the next interview, along with a contact number for questions or conflicts. Let them know you’re excited to meet them in person. Have them complete questionnaires, tests, or applications during or after the formal interview. This helps keep candidates engaged with your office and more likely to follow through with your tasks instead of moving on to the next opportunity.
Behavior-based questions
The goal of the in-person interview is to gain insight about the applicant's experience, expectations, and personality. The best way to do this is to ask behavior-based questions. These require a candidate to describe their past actions in order to predict how they will likely perform in your practice. These should be harder to answer than the traditional, “What are your strengths and weakness?” questions because they reveal more about the candidate’s values, preferences, attitudes, and problem-solving skills.
Note how these behavioral-based questions target a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and level of enthusiasm.
- Dental assistants: What’s your favorite dental procedure, and what steps do you take to complete it?
- Front office: What’s your favorite type of appointment on the schedule and why?
- Hygienists: What treatment or conversation do you enjoy most when working with new patients?
Evaluating candidate responses
Some candidates have mastered interviewing but are less successful on the job. That’s why your evaluation of candidate responses should lean toward discerning whether the candidate has the interest, capacity, and skill to grow and if they will be a collaborative team member.
Ultimately, you want to determine if the candidate demonstrates these qualities:
- Coachable: Can they adjust their performance when given feedback?
- Conscientious: Are they detail-oriented and dedicated to fulfilling their responsibilities?
- Growth mindset: Do they enjoy learning and implementing new techniques?
- Enthusiasm: Does their verbal and nonverbal communication indicate they genuinely like this work?
- Self-awareness: Are they capable of accurately evaluating themselves, and can they manage their own and others’ emotions appropriately?
We’ve created a list of more than 60 behavior-based questions that we’re happy to send to any Dental Economics readers. To avoid inadvertent bias, we suggest you ask the same questions of every candidate.
Get your team on board
Involving your team in the hiring process gives them a say in choosing their next colleague and increases their investment in helping that person succeed. Additionally, the team can pick up on strengths or red flags you may miss. But team members can also inadvertently sabotage the hiring process by:
- Judging candidates on superficial qualities such as hair style or unconsciously favoring applicants who are like themselves, leading to a lack of diversity among the team.
- Asking illegal or inappropriate questions, such as whether a candidate has kids.
- Creating a negative impression of the practice and thus dissuading applicants from wanting the position.
If the team is involved in hiring, they must understand that their objective is to evaluate whether a candidate has the technical and communication skills that are required for the role.
To prepare them, identify the “must-have” or nonnegotiable knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) they must demonstrate to get this job. Create a list of behavior-based questions to determine if the candidate has these KSAs. While employees can ask follow-up questions, discourage them from asking questions not on their list. This will prevent them from asking repetitive, illegal, or biased questions.
Advise employees to take notes during interviews, ideally to capture the candidate’s actual responses. Be explicit about who makes the final hiring decision. If you alone will make the decision after hearing their input, tell them this from the start so they can manage their expectations.
Finally, choose only the most positive, emotionally intelligent employees to interview candidates. You may have to be brutally honest with some employees about why they won’t directly interview candidates.
A successful hire can transform your practice, while a poor hire can lead to costly challenges, so the investment in a robust interview process is worth it. By leveraging behavior-based questions, evaluating a candidate’s emotional intelligence, and involving your team in a structured and unbiased manner, you will increase your chances of finding a true crown jewel for your dental team.
In our second article, we’ll share ways to handle tricky hiring situations. including replacing an employee who’s still working at the practice and preventing current employees from sabotaging new employees.
To receive a list of suggested behavior-based questions created by Sharyn and Holli, contact Sharyn at [email protected].
Editor's note: This article appeared in the January 2025 print edition of Dental Economics magazine. Dentists in North America are eligible for a complimentary print subscription. Sign up here.
