By Carol Hurst, LVT, CVPM, CVJ
The interview process is a vital step in selecting a quality candidate. Often, interview questions are too cookie-cutter and don’t really hit at the meat of what you are trying to learn from a candidate, which is – will they be a good fit? There is a thoughtful approach that should be taken when selecting which questions you want to use for which position. Below are my favorite types of interview questions and examples of what I’ve used in the past.
Situational
When I put together situational questions, I try to think of scenarios that are consistent with my practice. I try to think of what is important to my practice and how I can figure out if it is important to that candidate. For example, if having a drama-free clinic is important to your practice, you may have this question:
Tell me what you would do in this situation. You make your way to the lab area to clean the sink and two coworkers are already there. They are talking candidly about the way one of the new receptionists is always on her phone. You’ve noticed this too. What do you do?
Or, if you are looking to find out more about your CSR’s candidates views on client service, you could ask this question:
It is 10 minutes after we close on a very busy day. Lights are out and the drawer is being counted. Closing procedures have started. A client who was supposed to pick up medication refills just pulled up into the parking lot. They get out and come to the door, looking inside. What do you do?
Emotional Intelligence
Past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior. These questions can give you valuable insight into a person’s level of emotional intelligence and how they will approach problems that arise. Since communication is always an area that we work on in our practices, I like to focus on this area when crafting questions. For example:
Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with a coworker and you were in the wrong. How did you handle it? Was this the correct way to handle things? Why or why not?
Core Values
Core values are an important communication tool. They communicate expectations to clients and staff. They are also a great accountability piece – giving your team the information they need to be able to handle various situations. For a candidate, they can help you decide how closely aligned their values are with the practice. Here are some core values interview questions:
One of our team’s core values is integrity – what does this mean to you?
One of our team’s core values is “Always Learning” – where do you think you would excel with this core value? Where do you think you would struggle?
Honesty is an important core value for our team. This doesn’t just apply to the team, but to the clients as well. Can you tell me a way that you think honesty would apply to our relationship with our clients?
Miscellaneous
These are questions that don’t necessarily fit in any other category. They may be a way to double verify one of our deal-breaker questions or a method to gain some general insight from the candidate. Examples include:
The shifts that you can anticipate working are <X, Y, Z>, do you anticipate being able to work these shifts?
This question is one of my phone interview questions, but double checking is never a bad thing, right? We’ve all had that candidate who we go through the schedule with and when we hire them, they suddenly “can’t” work Monday afternoons. 😊 No? Just me? 😉
What traits do you look for in a supervisor?
I love this one. It is interesting to see them think of traits they don’t like, and then turn it around.
Conclusion
The questions you select for your interview should be thoughtful and align with your practice’s goals and values. Let this be your guiding light and it will give you better information to make a decision about the candidate sitting across from you. Happy interviewing!