Interviewing

Before inviting applicants to interview, review their resume for professionalism and to get an idea of their career profile. Review the resume for those items that you deemed most important when considering hiring additional staff. This may not be concrete experience, but rather hints towards future aptitude and a good work attitude. Some interviewers like to pre-screen candidates by telephone, as it will speak volumes about communication ability. Questions during this brief contact can include queries about the candidate’s strengths, their current job and performance, and their career goals.

For those candidates that you invite to the office for a physical interview, prepare beforehand with a list of questions. This list should be varied. It should cover past, present and future work, through open-ended questions and/or scenario-based questions.

Including these folks in the interview will ensure that the full range of questions is asked that complete a picture of the candidate. It will also provide evidence of future dynamics with other staff.

Questions to ask candidates can include the following:

1. Ask about other working relationships. To understand how candidates tackled work problems in the past, ask for concrete examples that demonstrate tenacity, problem-solving ability, a good attitude in tough situations, and more.

2. Predict the candidate’s approach to your office by posing role-playing questions. Ask the applicant how they would deal with a typical situation that you and your staff sees everyday, problems with patients, or other scenarios.

3. Ask about conflicts they have had with co-workers or managers in the past. How did they get resolved?

4. What is the applicant’s work ethic? Determine this by asking about times in the past they have stayed late, performed extra work, or other tasks. What is their attitude to this?

5. How does the candidate react when given a task he or she is not sure how to do?

6. Depending on what type of staff position you are interviewing for, ask about applicant’s experience with computer programs, accounting/accounts payable, or medical procedures.

Always ask if you can contact the applicant’s previous employers.