5 Hiring Tips When Interviewing Healthcare Professionals
When hiring healthcare professionals for your facility, it is essential to screen for the best fit possible with your company culture, customer base and job opening. To conduct a good discussion, you have to start by carefully preparing the job posting, narrowing down applicants based on resumes or applications, and writing quality questions. Interviews are helpful to get a feel for a potential employee and see how the qualifications listed on a resume translate to the person.
Build the Right Job Posting
The job posting you place on job boards, either digital, print or physical, needs to have enough information to attract qualified personnel while not wasting the time of unqualified candidates or yourself. Important information to include is the position title and description, the company or facility where the job is, where and how to submit applications and what information to include. Be careful when using minimum education or experience requirements; if the industry standards for salary and experience do not line up, then you may have an unenthusiastic response from your target applicants.
Post the Position Carefully
When you limit your job postings to your community or niche industry boards, you are helping to refine the number of candidates to the best fit for the position. For instance, to find more nursing staff, you will want to place the job listing on boards for nursing students and professionals. Remember that not every applicant will provide the same verifications for their work history. Some may have proof of income instead of the management contact information or a certificate instead of a degree for education history.
Do Your Homework
While you can find software designed to filter applications and narrow down your candidate pool, you will still want to go over the information for each interview before scheduling a sit-down. You should read over the resume to look for any specific concerns you wish to address, and you should check references to spot any red flags during this phase. Depending on the type of position you are building and the professional you want to fill it with, researching some of the benefits and salaries offered at a candidate’s current or former employer can help you find the industry standard. This research can also help you understand if the applicant is over or under-qualified for your job opening and determine if an interview will be a waste of time.
Schedule Structured Interviews
Make sure to schedule at least a half-hour for each interview and give yourself and your panel time to discuss notes between sessions. Having a designated structure for your interviews can help you be more confident in asking questions. It is also a good idea to have one or two others on a panel with you for discussions, so you do not have to rely on your judgment alone. The three best people to put on a hiring committee are the boss of the open position, that boss’s boss and a senior recruiter or member of human resources. This setup helps ensure that the right questions are asked, and the hiring and interviewing process regulations are followed.
Be Consistent
When it comes to interviews, consistency does not mean that you have to ask the same standard questions, regardless of the applicant, but it does mean having a routine and taking notes on which answers were given for each question asked. Most interviews will have distinct phases: introduction, standard questions, behavioral questions, practical skills application, candidate questions, and wrap-up. As long as you have a consistent way of greeting and dismissing applicants, the order of your questions and which phases you include can vary depending on your organization’s needs.
Setting up or refining the interview process for your healthcare facility can be challenging, but it will help you recruit and hire quality healthcare professionals better. Keep in mind that the interview process begins with crafting a job listing designed to draw in the very best applications and that having a consistent routine will help the process go smoothly.
