You've almost made it through the hiring process – congratulations! You’ve reviewed resumes (bit.ly/0124OMstaffing), narrowed down candidates through social media and professional references (bit.ly/0324OMstaffing), and conducted your phone interviews (bit.ly/0424OMstaffing). Now, it’s time to bring in your final potential hire(s) for an in-person interview. Below are three tips to help you make the most of your in-person interviews beyond the questions you may ask.

1. Evaluate non-verbal attributes
When the applicant arrives at your practice, you can gather as much, or sometimes more, information about their potential fit from their non-verbal cues as you can from what they say during the interview. Examples of this include:

1. How the candidate is dressed: Did they present themselves in a professional manner? Do they look put-together, or do they seem disheveled? An interview is the chance for a person to put their best foot forward, so someone who presents themselves unprofessionally during the interview will likely do so at work.
2. The applicant’s arrival time: Again, an interview is the candidate’s opportunity for a good first (in-person) impression. I have found that lateness signifies immaturity, unprofessionalism, and a lack of respect for you and your business. You have no reason to believe that this behavior will differ once they become an employee, so take note of their arrival time, and make your decision accordingly. In my practice, being late to the interview is a total deal-breaker.
3. The way they treat your staff: I highly recommend making sure you are not in the front of the office when the candidate arrives, so that they are forced to interact with your team members before they meet with you. This way, you can get first-impression feedback from your staff. Did they smile when they arrived? Were they kind and polite or pushy and off-putting? Taking note of this has been one of my most useful tools in deciding whom to hire.

Consider a group interview
Conducting a group interview can be a helpful way to gauge how well the candidate may get along with your current team. If you have a large staff, consider selecting leaders to attend the group interview. Allow the staff participating in the interview to ask questions of the applicant, have conversations with them, and then give you feedback upon the conclusion of the interview. A caveat: The staff must understand that while you value their opinion of the interview, the ultimate decision is yours.

Have the applicant demonstrate skills
People often exaggerate their skills during the hiring process, but tests and demonstrations can weed out those who have fluffed their experience. There are various tests you can design (such as defining medical terminology, insurance knowledge, or lens features) depending upon what skill set you are testing the applicant for. Additionally, you can do some light training on your equipment or your scheduling process and then have the candidate demonstrate what they have learned. For example, when hiring a receptionist, I will show them the basics of appointment scheduling within our practice management software and then ask them to role play making an appointment for a new patient. This demonstrates their ability to learn quickly and understand one of the main tasks for which they will be responsible. If the candidate has a background in the role they are applying for, such as a technician familiar with optometric work-ups, you can also request that they demonstrate their skills on a test patient (often a staff member) during the interview.

Landing the best hire
No matter how the interview is conducted, I have found that the three tips listed above will increase your chance at successfully landing a talented hire. Good luck! OM

PATRICIA FULMER, OD, FAAO opened her practice, Legacy Vision Center, in Huntsville, Ala., in December 2020. She also serves as a member of the board of directors of the Alabama Optometric Association and the Optometric Advisor on the Board of Directors of HEALS, Inc, a local non-profit organization.