Twelve interview questions to predict future actions

“I love doing interviews” — said no one ever. It can be both time consuming and stressful, and practice owners say over and over that finding good staff is one of their biggest challenges. So, how can you get better at interviewing and finding the right person? Asking the right questions is a good start.

Interview questions should make candidates think before they answer, and they should truly help to uncover hidden behaviors. You want to try to get the candidate to talk about past behaviors, as they help to predict future behavior.

Here are 12 questions to ask in an interview, broken into categories:

DEPENDABILITY

1. Your work day is ending at 5 p.m., however a patient is taking a long time to choose eyewear. What do you do?

2. If hired, what could we expect from you on a daily basis? Give me an overview.

BEHAVIORAL

3. A patient is quite upset that her glasses are not ready. She is yelling at you, even though you were not the one who helped her. What do you do?

4. Tell us about a time when you had to help a colleague out of a difficult situation. What happened, and how did you assist?

SITUATIONAL

5. You are walking a patient to the dispensary; there are several patients waiting for assistance both at reception and in the optical. You have another patient ready and waiting for pretest. The phone is also ringing. What do you do?

6. The receptionist has called in sick. There are four of you working in different departments. How would you handle this?

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

7. There is a lot to learn when you take on a new job. What techniques do you have to help you remember what you are learning in those first few days?

8. Tell us about a particular job that required a lot of concentration and detail. Give us an overview of that job and how you managed to get through it.

CONCERN FOR OTHERS

9. You are on the phone with someone who has a very heavy accent and is, therefore, hard to hear. You also have people standing in front of you waiting for assistance. What do you do?

10. Give a couple examples of when you were a good team member and provided support to individuals on the team.

INTEGRITY

11. Has a colleague ever asked you to keep a secret, but once you heard the secret you knew it was very important for the practice owner to know it? If so, what did you do?

12. You told a patient that you would get back to them today regarding their broken eyewear. You have been swamped all day, and it is already 15 minutes past closing. Your ride is waiting for you outside and honking the horn. How do you handle this?

LAST NOTE

When you ask questions that candidates can’t prepare for and truly make them think of past experiences, the behaviors that followed usually come through. This will give you a truer picture of the person you are about to hire. OM

MS. CHAREST is the co-founder of 4ECPs, a practice management resource company for eye care professionals. 4ECPs has six divisions, including eye care jobs, marketing, social media, payments, events and training. Visit www.4ecps.com , or email trudi@4ecps.com.