Welcome back,
How prepared are you during an interview? What kind of questions do you bring to the table? Typically people have “up their sleeve” an easy question that could get answered during the interview. If your question that you always ask in an interview is “how is the office culture here?” But the manager starts off by saying “here we’re a really close-knit family, we all really enjoy the presence of each other. The doctor treats us to a half-day each month, we have our staff meeting then we get to fill each other in about what’s going on in our lives. We like the front and back office to be a great cohesive team. We’ve asked each of our staff members what they didn’t like about their previous offices and found that this half-day is a great start to the longevity of our staff members.”
So your question gets answered and now you’re thinking in your hear “Oh shit, that was my question to ask, now what am I suppose to ask.” Now you haven’t listened to anything the interviewer said in the last 20 seconds. Not really a great thing the happen, right? Well, I’m proposing to you, that you print off the fun sheet I have for you. Fill in the blanks to show that you’ve done your homework and you really are interested in working there!
Here are some of the questions that you should be asking in an interview.
What is your favorite part about coming to work here? / What makes you passionate about working here?
What percentage of the time will I be working on my own or with a team?
What traits are you looking for in an employee?
How often will I get a review? / Will I get feedback often, to know if I need to improve anything?
Is this a new position?
How long does your staff usually stay?
Is there anything that we haven’t talked about or that you haven’t asked me that we should talk about?
The fun sheet is detailed and it will show that you really do care and that you want to keep everything written and in your head and on paper. You know, sometimes the interviewing process takes a while, it could be weeks or months possibly. You may forget what they tell you, you won’t want to look like you don’t care, plus if you’re interviewing at multiple places, you for sure want to keep your facts straight! This fun sheet will help you to keep everything organized.
I asked a few manager friends about this fun sheet. My question was “Would you think that an interviewee is cheating if they have a worksheet in front of them telling them what to ask?” These are some of the responses I got..
Kendra- I love a person that completes research before coming in!
Heather– When I “look” at a potential employer…I do my due diligence. I’m interviewing them as much as they are interviewing me. I don’t want someone to “just take any job”. I think it would be great if they are concerned about finding the “right” job.
DeeDee– I think this is great! Shows me they are prepared and interested. Remember, they are interviewing your practice as much as you are interviewing them.
Gabrielle-i Good! It means they aren’t just finding any job (those ones usually leave). They want to find somewhere to stay long term.
Terri– I would offer a job on the spot!! And I actually had an interviewee that had a notebook and questions prepared. As a matter of fact I personally think job seekers should be able to ask the EXACT same questions as the employer including requesting a list of references. I’m being serious. Would’ve saved me a couple of headaches along the way.
Jackie– I came in with notes and questions. My doc hired me on the spot. Why would that be deemed a negative? Shows preparedness and initiative.
Do you see a general consensus here? Employers and hiring managers LOVE this. This could be your ticket in to your next office. Managers and owners love when you’re are prepared, eager, and WANTING to work with them. I have a friend of mine that works in a dental office as an office manager, she says that when someone comes in for an interview without a pen or paper, that’s a huge mark off for them! She even said that that can be her deciding factor! Seriously y’all, interviews are no joke and some managers are super tough, not all but some. They’re looking out for the office, for the doctor and for themselves. They’re interested in someone who will be helpful to the team, not hinder the team. Someone who will step up to the plate, who could potentially take there spot someday. As hiring managers, we should never be afraid of someone who can and will work their asses off to get the team what they need and want! Guess what, you can do this too. You’re a rockstar and you know that you’re ready or almost ready to take on a team.
It’s probably been a while since you’ve been in an interview and that’s totally ok. With all of these resources that are provided for you, even if you don’t interview 100%, you will succeed, follow this sheet and you won’t get distracted. If you’re anything like me, you need guidance to make sure you stay on task. We’ve all got a million things going at the same time, right? Too many patients to call, to follow up on, too many things to organize, too many crafts at home. This sheet will keep you organized and will always provide you with success.
Before I close this podcast I want to fill you in on my moves in dentistry and I’ll go all the way back. I was dating someone at the time when graduated high school, I had never known the answer to “what do you want to do when you get older”. So I was always looking at different career choices. Well, that boyfriends mom is a dental assistant, I thought well my teeth look nice, she says that she likes what she does, I’ll go and observe for the day. We get there and she shows me around, she tells me what’s on the schedule for the day. She brings her first patient back, I could see that she was extremely nervous, she had someone bring her, she was in a horse and buggy, yup, she was Amish! she was there to get a tooth taken out, so the doctor comes in and gives her a shot. And down I go… Yeah, I didn’t mention that I was deathly afraid of shots. But can you imagine how she felt….. I still feel bad about that! Well, I thought that my problem was that I didn’t eat enough for breakfast, so I continued to look into being an assistant.
I went to Ross Medical and I got a job through my externship and worked there for a year and a half, I didn’t really like how the dentist or the fact that I worked with kids all day, it was a pediatric office.
From there I thought my reputation was tainted for working there and that I went to Ross. I didn’t get even an interview for probably two months, I now think that my problem was my resume not that I worked at that office.
I said to myself, I’ll just work anywhere I can, any general practice, Well, I did end up getting a job and it was another terrible place, antiquated, and not a wonderful dentist. I was determined to learn whatever I can and move on after 6 months. Well, one of the hygienists also worked at another office, knew I wasn’t a good fit here and told me that there was a receptionist position at her other office. She helped get me an interview. I fell in love with this office, the staff, the hours, the dentist, the patients, I loved every bit of it!
After being there for about 2 years, the office manager left to work for an insurance company. When she was leaving, she said to the doctor, I think you should hire another manager or at least someone who can do insurance, I can’t teach her insurance in three weeks. However, I didn’t find this out for a few months. So we hired someone to do insurance and she was the fastest and most efficient person I’ve ever seen! She ended up working slow on purpose, I could tell she wasn’t going to last, this environment just wasn’t for her, so she ended up teaching me insurance and I fell in love. It was so fun and easy for me. Within the same week that she said she was leaving is when I found out that the previous manager had said I wouldn’t be good enough to be a manager and holy shit, that lit a fire under my ass so big! I told the doctor that if I get the manager position, I will show him that I can do it.
He was a little reluctant because of what the previous manager had said, she had worked there for over 10 years, so her opinion mattered to him. Needless to say, that fire helped me take the office chartless, get digital Xrays, increase how much money we had in the bank by about 80%, and we all got bonuses at the years end. The Xrays and bonuses were announced at Dr’s 50th work anniversary party which the previous manager attended. She pulled me to the side and said how did you do this? I said it was easy, I saved us some money, I got us more money, and was extra efficient with my time and the time of others, in a few different words than that. But that was my joyous moment, someone saying I couldn’t do it, and I knew I could.
With your determination and skills, you can pull off the same kinds of things. Track what you do so you can show the manager, the doctor, or your new staff what you’re able to do and how you’re able to help them. Nothing is more powerful than showing what you can do and what you will do for a future office!
Comment below or send me an email at careerelevationce@gmai.com and let me know what your story is, how you got to be where you’re at, where you lead your team. I personally will read every one of the emails! Always remember that you can do anything you set out to do. Marie Forleo says it best with “Everything is figure-out-able.”
Next Monday’s podcast is all about how you can overcome if someone is trying to keep you down. Use their negativity to fuel your fire! You can do anything for 1 minute, 5 minutes, 1 day, 1 week, keep pushing and you’ll make it to where you want to be.
I’ll see you next week and don’t forget to subscribe in the link below so you’re always getting the newest information and I’m also offering 10% off any service when you do so, which I will personally email to you, this offer is good for March and April 2020. Click the links below and see ya next Monday!
Fun Sheet: https://careerelevation.mykajabi.com/interview-questions-to-ask
Podcast: https://anchor.fm/wendy-aldhamen/episodes/Do-You-Interview-The-Interviewer–You-Should-ebi5p0
