Preparing physician candidates for interviews
Posted by Megan Trippi
At any given point, candidates will prepare for physician interviews. Some may not be at that step in their physician job search, but they may reach out to you and other in-house physician recruiters to try and schedule interviews.
No matter the exact step in their process, you can help them prepare to meet with you and gain some insight into the candidate perspective in how they prepare for interviews.
Knowing what they want
Before a candidate accepts any physician interviews, they hope to decide what they want - or don’t want - in a role. Phillip Eskew, D.O., advises candidates to be upfront with their potential employers to make sure the opportunity is a good fit for both them and for your organization.
He says "residents starting the job search process need to have their own list of things they want to see in a role and state them clearly up front otherwise they’re going to exhaust themselves having these sorts of long repeated conversations where they think things are looking good only to find out there’s a major obstruction at the end. So, if you state those things up front, have the nice conversations in the middle and follow it up with some sort of written contract that actually lines all that up, you’re less likely to be job hunting again in a few years."
If the candidate makes a list of exactly what they want, you will want to be prepared to answer their questions and ask them questions about exactly what they want in a role, so you know your goals are aligned.
You’re looking for specific qualities in a candidate and the physician is looking for certain attributes from you. Letting the potential hire know your expectations and goals upfront will keep you aligned throughout the process and will hopefully remove any surprises in the contract and negotiation stage.
Reviewing their must haves
Usiwoma Abugo, M.D., started her job search early, which she says was helpful "in addition to having a must-have list." This included a spreadsheet that had the practices she wanted to go to or was interested in at the top and had her must haves on the side. She shares "after I would have my interview, I would basically go through and just check off the items on my must-have list, so then at the end of my interview cycle, the practice that had all of my must haves was the practice I ended up choosing."
Many physician candidates will have a list of nonnegotiable items. You can ask about these and see how many items on their list can be offered by your organization or if the candidate might be better suited elsewhere.
Recognizing culture fit
Your candidate knows what’s important to them, but they may also ask what’s important to you and the organization. Be honest and share what you are looking for and what you expect from a candidate.
Physicians may even contact you and ask this question so they can get an idea of what it might be like to work with your organization before you offer an interview.
Kavita Jain, M.D., advises candidates "not be afraid to ask organizations what’s important to them. To find a company that has a similar vision and similar goals that you have and what you’re looking for is important."
In the current market, physicians have the position to find roles that suit them, so you may have to be flexible in what you’re willing to offer.
What to remember
Preparing physician candidates for interviews and knowing what they want will help streamline the hiring process and allow you to know early in the interview stage if your goals align.
For more information on physician recruitment and supporting candidates in their job search, visit Recruiter.PracticeLink.com.