Practice Management Alert

Question: I am a relatively new practice manager. While I am well versed in the healthcare industry, I do not have much actual people management experience. I have been tasked with hiring a new front desk person. I have not done interviews before. Do you have any tips?

Georgia Subscriber

Answer:  An interview can be as stressful for the interviewer as it is for the job candidate, especially if you are new to interviewing. After all, you’re under pressure to hire your practice’s next superstar.

Marcia Zidle, founder of Leaders at All Levels, a leadership and business development firm, offers her advice on what HR staffers do wrong when they’re interviewing job candidates in the article “Hire Winners: Avoid These Interview No-No’s.”

Make sure you can deliver quality new recruits by avoiding these common interview mistakes:

• Don’t ignore the potential employee’s work history. Even if you’re conducting several interviews in a short amount of time, don’t skip over the resume-review process. Knowing your candidate’s background allows you to zero in on key areas and ask the right questions. And definitely don’t tell your candidate that you haven’t read her resume, says Zidle. It makes you look unprepared.
• Don’t ask questions you already know the answers to. If you can find the information on the candidate’s resume, you’re only wasting both your and his time by asking the question. Focus on more meaningful interaction with the candidate.
• Don’t be a cheerleader. Instead of trying too hard to sell your practice as the best place on earth, give the candidate a realistic picture. Tell her the organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Most job candidates know that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is — so give them information that’s helpful, not misleading.
• Don’t talk too much — start listening instead. Give the candidate a chance to speak, and then listen with what Zidle calls the “third” ear. That is, think about what the person says (and doesn’t say), why she answers a question in a certain way, and what you can deduce from her body language.
• Don’t be vague about the job’s requirements. The candidate should know exactly what’s expected of her. Define what criteria will determine the job’s success so a candidate who isn’t confident that she fits the job requirements can opt out early in the process.