Interviewer Tips to Help You Hire for your Pediatric Practice

interviewer tips for pediatricans

Being understaffed in your office wreaks havoc on every part of the process in your office. The nursing staff is overwhelmed, providers run behind, and patients feel frustrated. Everyone on your team suddenly has more work, and you probably feel a lot of pressure to fill the job. However, having the wrong person in a position can be just as stressful and cause just as much frustration.

As the founder of a pediatric billing company, I am frequently asked by clients about how to make sure they hire the right person for their practice, especially in our current job market where it’s hard to find anyone to even apply for a position.

Here we will talk about how to have a much more insightful interview with insightful interview questions. By defining some key qualities you would like to have on your team, knowing how to spot some red flags, and following these interviewer tips you will know how to hire the right team member for your pediatric practice.

Still trying to find the right candidate to set up an interview? Check out our screening guide here.

Set Your Desired Core Values and Traits

Set your core values and the traits you want to screen for.

I recently attended a conference and  presentation on defining a practice’s core values. These are the key things that make your office and your team unique. Think briefly of your top 2-3 performers and what they have in common. What qualities do they have that you would like to screen for in the interview process? Write them down.

Ask the Right Interview Questions

Create questions that screen for these values.

During the interview, don’t just ask about their recent positions and the work they did. To really understand how someone works, you need to ask them about varying situations they have found themselves in. Here are some examples of core values you may have in your office and the questions you can use to help screen for them:

  • Focused on Patient Service: “Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond for a patient or parent.”
  • Accountable: “Tell me about a time you made a mistake. What did you do?”
  • Team Player: “Tell me about a time when you saw a coworker needed help. What was the situation, and what did you do?”
  • Respectful: “Tell me about a time you disagreed with something your boss wanted to do. How did you handle that?”
  • Creative Problem Solvers: “Tell me about a time you had to complete something but weren’t sure how to do it. What was that situation, and how did you handle it?”

Ask for Specific Examples

When asking these questions, be sure to get a specific example for each one. You don’t want to hear what they WOULD do; you want to know what they DID.

These questions may catch people off guard because, many times, people have never encountered a question like this. Set them at ease by telling them they can take a moment to think about it. They can also use examples outside of work, like a parent-teacher situation or an example from when they were in school.

Red Flags You Shouldn’t Ignore

There are some things that you shouldn’t ignore when they happen during an interview.

  • The candidate is late. I am sure everyone realizes that this is a problem, but I don’t think everyone really understands how big of a problem it is. I have heard people say, “She was only five minutes late” or “She called to let me know she would be here 10 minutes late”.Unless there is a news-worthy traffic event (i.e., your main highway is shut down for some reason), do not, under any circumstances, hire the candidate. It may sound harsh – life happens, people are late. I get it, but not in a job interview. This is the absolute best performance you will ever see from this person, and I promise you that if they are late to a job interview, they will be late to work regularly.
  • They badmouth their current or previous employer. If they complain about the people they worked with, who they worked for, how they were treated, or how they were compensated, they will say the same about you when they move on. 
  • They can’t tell you about a time they made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone. You want someone who can admit they made one, owned up to it, and learned from it. 

You Can Find the Right People

Interviewing job candidates is hard, and not everyone you hire will prove to be great for your practice or team. You will meet people who are perfectly capable of doing the job and will be tempted to hire them. However, when they don’t fit in with the rest of your culture, you will find they don’t stay long. Then, you’ll be right back to an open position and further team frustration.

I have interviewed hundreds of candidates and have learned that one of the most important interviewer tips is to focus on how the candidate’s skills and experience align with your team’s culture and values. Having core values and clear stories of demonstration is a much better way to know if someone will fit in with your team, beyond recapping their previous work experience. 

Get Help from a Pediatric Consultant

Do you need help crafting core values and accompanying interviewer questions? Book a call with Altus, we would love to help you think about your ideal team member and how to screen for your core values.