Hiring is both the best and the worst part of running your own business. On the one hand, a new hire can bring fresh energy and new enthusiasm to your practice. They are open to learning new things and eager to be part of the team. On the other hand, sorting through resumes and holding countless interviews can be time consuming and downright draining if the right candidates are not coming your way. Here are some simple ways to make the hiring process more manageable.
Hire for heart and work ethic
While you might feel like you need to find someone with experience, sometimes a candidate’s skill in the field does not necessarily make them a good team member. In my 15 years of hiring, I have kissed more frogs with experience than those who came to me knowing nothing about orthodontics. Hire the candidate with the kind, giving heart and willingness to go the extra mile, and definitely be wary of anyone who comes to you with lots of experience from your local area.
Post your job where candidates in your area are looking
If you don’t feel like investing several hundred dollars in paid listings, try Craig’s List and posting to your practice’s social media pages. Have your team share the listing to their own profiles as well. I recommend having your available positions listed on your webpage with specific instructions on how to apply for the job. Any job listing you have should point to this webpage.
Don’t accept resumes
This is not to say that resumes are not important–they are. But if you are looking for a high-quality candidate, you have to ask for more than just a resume to weed out the lazy. Ask your applicants to send a cover letter, completed employment application, a recent photograph AND their resume. This will give you a more complete picture of who your applicant is. If you are worried about applicants who might question why you are asking for a photo, don’t. Simply say that you typically receive a high volume of applications and the photograph helps you to remember each applicant and put a face to a name.
Conduct a brief phone interview
If you have a large number of applicants, consider a short screening phone call first. Ask the same three short open-ended questions to each and narrow the field from there. If they can’t handle the phone interview properly, chances are they will founder during the in-person interview. If they do make the cut, take this opportunity to call their references. Do not skip this step.
Take the team approach with interviews
Plan to ask your candidate to spend an hour with you the day of their interview. Ask additional in-depth questions that speak to item #1 above, and do more listening than talking. Hand them off to another team member for a tour of the practice and introductions to the team. Allow them to shadow in the position you are hiring for and then leave time for questions and additional discussion of the position duties at the end. Be sure to get your team members’ feedback once the interview is complete. Often times the candidate will reveal telling information to someone other than the doctor or manager. Once I thought I had the perfect candidate, only to find out from a tea member that her husband was in the military and was up for transfer in six months. Bullet dodged!
Give them a parting gift
Put together an abbreviated job description that includes basic duties, expectations, work schedule and benefits. Then let them know next steps and when you plan to make your decision. I always love the candidate who follows up with a thank you note or email.
Hiring is hard, but it doesn’t have to take a ton of time. Put some energy into streamlining your process and it will get easier each time. Want to learn more about hiring for success and get my tried and true interview strategies, let’s talk.
