What Not to Do When Looking for a Job in the Dental Industry

What Not to Do When Looking for a Job in the Dental Industry. Photo courtesy of Antonioguillem/stock.adobe.com.

Last month, we looked at how to find employees using Indeed and Facebook. Now it is time for Job Seeking 101. You may not be in a job search currently, but this is still relevant to you. The name of the game is interviewing, and you will need to play it well. Ask yourself; “What mistakes am I making when I interview?”

Behaving Unprofessionally in Interviews

True story: I was interviewing a dental assistant over the phone, and at one point she said; “I am flossing my teeth.”

On what planet does that make any sense to do during an interview? Should my response have been “Oh, this is a ‘working’ interview?” Instead, I told her, “I am glad you have good oral hygiene.” What was I supposed to tell her? I did coach her to not share that with anyone and to please not tell me if she starts cutting her toenails.

I passed on her.

True story: A 10-year-old son asked his mother who is a dental assistant, why she didn’t want to get a job at Target, as they are now paying $15 per hour, and this is more than what she is earning as a dental assistant. She posted on Facebook a philosophical statement of how she told her son that she has gone through training to work in her field and does not understand how she can make more money working at Target. She never named her employer and, in her profile, did not have her profession. Then, a co-worker took a screenshot of this post and gave it to the dentist, who promptly fired her. Be careful who you “Facebook friend” from work. I am not sure about that one. Consulting a lawyer might not be a bad idea.

I did not pass on her.

True story: A dental hygienist told me that she wanted us to pay her to spend 2 hours observing in her final interview. If you are not providing any patient care, it is ridiculous to think you should be compensated to interview. Be aware. It is a huge risk to employers if you have candidates work on your patients and staff before hiring them. In other words, do not do it.

I passed on her.

True story: A dental hygienist put me on hold to go to the bathroom. These are scheduled interviews. I am grateful she did not take the phone into the restroom with her. Candidates do that all the time—we can hear toilets flushing!

I passed on her.

True story: A dental office leader was on a video interview and was reading his texts and checking his email on the call. Seriously? It was a waste of my time. Obviously, he felt the same way.

I passed on him.

True story: A surgical assistant was driving during our interview. Another driver cut him off, and boy did I hear a whole slew of curse words. I do not think that is typical interviewing jargon.

I passed on him.

True story: A receptionist lit up a cigarette, or at least that is what I thought it was, and smoked during her interview. Not the image this practice was looking for.

I passed on her.

Another common issue is ghosting. Why do people behave this way? Don’t they realize that it is a small world in dental and you are burning bridges every single time you are ghosting a recruiter or a dental practice? But it still happens repeatedly. Do you know how hard it is to get the person to the “finish line” nowadays? Job Seekers do not answer phone calls from numbers they do not recognize. Forget emails. Texting is the way we are communicating in the job market.

Why do many people think that they can behave these ways and still get the job? I know we are in a staffing crisis, but all you need to do is go onto Facebook and there are a million and a half dental positions posted. Everyone is looking. It is the job seekers’ market.

I share all of this because you are really doing a disservice to your reputation when you behave unprofessionally in a job search. Think about these stunts. Do you ever do them when you are on the job hunt? If you did, knock it off in the future. There is nothing professional about ghosting me when I have made you an offer. Just send the text saying, “No longer interested.” That is what grownups do.

Share with me your frustrating stories about hiring and what message you want to give dental professionals in the job search. Email me at diana2@discussdirectives.com