Online Interviewing Tips for Hiring Managers

Interviewing can be costly and time consuming, especially when considering candidates from out of the area. Luckily, technology advancements have enabled us to reach these individuals with much more ease than we have had in the past thanks to the webcam allowing for online interviews.

We are seeing more clients opting for online interviews due to the following benefits:

• You are able to view the candidate and gauge their professional appearance and body language
  
• Allows you to see the interviewee in their own surroundings
  
• Reduces travel costs associated with bringing candidates in for interviews
  

Considering adding online interviews to your hiring process? The following are some tips to help both the interviewer make the best first impression.

1. Be familiar with the technology you are using —Download the program ahead of time, and do a test run with a friend. Skype is one of the more common software programs being used, but as with any technology, it’ll be much better to work out the technical kinks on the front end before starting the interview.
   
2. Make sure that you and the interviewee are able to connect —Make sure you have one another’s screen name or log in information needed prior to the appointment.
   
3. Make sure you look into the camera —If you are looking at the screen, you are not making direct eye contact with the person to whom you are communicating. This can be just as damaging for a video interview as it would be if you were sitting across a table from someone.
   
4. Be mindful of your background and lighting —Put yourself in an area with little to no background noise, and be mindful of potential interruptions. Also be aware of what the person will see behind you. It is best to avoid stark white walls and busy backgrounds. Test the lighting in the area where you will interview ahead of time to make sure it is flattering.
   
5. Adjust the camera ahead of time —You want the camera to show your head, shoulders, and hands. You need to be able to communicate fully, so this includes being able to transmit and receive nonverbal cues.
   
6. Dress for success —Dress for a video interview the same way you would if you were meeting the person at the office. Dark colors with a touch of color are the safest and look best on camera.
   
7. Have a script —Having notes in front of you can prevent awkward silences and keep the conversation on track.
   

Written by Tiffany Worstell, Account Executive/Vision Recruiter for Vision Staff at ETS Vision (www.etsvision.com). For more information, contact Tiffany directly at 540-491-9112 or tworstell@etsvision.com

Grow Your Practice in the Upcoming Year with a Business Plan

 

The theme of my articles around this time of year always revolves around planning and goal setting.  Like it or not, we are just 60 days away from the end of 2013.  It’s in the books, and that’s all she wrote…

Practice owners: If you don’t set time aside to write out your business plan or set your personal goals by November 15 it’s probably not going to happen this year.  Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, followed by Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years.

 

Associates and practice owners: Set your personal goals for 2014 by November 15. Whether it is improving your clinical skills, planning for retirement or your kid’s college, or getting back in shape, the time to set your 2014 goals is NOW!

 

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of articles, books, and blogs have been written about the importance or writing a business plan and setting personal goals.  I’d like to share a few of my favorites:

 

Eleven reasons to write a business plan:

 

1.     Achieve your long-term goals by developing a road map that details specific short-term goals and milestones.

2.     Prove to associates, employees, family members, and bankers that you’re serious about growing your practice.  It allows them to see where they fit.

3.     Share your strategy, your priorities, and your plan of action with those who will hold you accountable, such as associates, employees, your spouse, and business advisors.

4.     Determine when you will have to say “no.”  There is no shortage of good ideas.  Each year it’s better to pick a few and execute them well, rather than saying yes to everything and not giving any of the ideas the effort they deserve.

5.     Understand your patients, your competition, and your opportunities better in order to grow.  Writing a business plan forces you to do research on your market and the needs of your patients.

6.     Make your practice more attractive to potential buyers-- five, ten, or twenty years from now.

7.     Making a plan gives you a reason to stop doing things in your practice that don’t make sense anymore (or never made sense in the first place).

8.     A plan determines your financial needs.

9.     It allows you to assess new revenue opportunities as well as rejuvenate old ones.

10.  It also gives you a chance to make mistakes on paper, or to prevent you from repeating those mistakes that you’ve already made.

11.  Establishing daily and weekly goals simply makes it more fun and rewarding to come to work in the morning.

If you have never written a business plan before, you will find the following article helpful:

 

8 Simple Steps to Preparing a Business Plan

 

Twelve reasons to write down your personal goals.  (Today!)

1.     Writing transforms your goals from thoughts to tangible objectives.  Once goals are written, they are easy to remember, track, and accomplish.

2.     Great minds have purposes, others have wishes. (Washington Irving)

3.     First you write down your goal; your second job is to break down your goal into a series of steps, beginning with steps which are absurdly easy. (Fitzhugh Dodson)

4.     One worthwhile task carried to a successful conclusion is better than half-a hundred half-finished tasks. (B.C. Forbes)

5.     All you have to do is know where you’re going. The answers will come to you of their own accord. (Earl Nightingale)

6.     A goal is a dream with a deadline. (Napoleon Hill)

7.     Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor. (Brian Tracy)

8.     You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change. (Les Brown)

9.     A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder. (Thomas Carlyle)

10.  The path of least resistance is the path of a loser. (Phil Weltman)

11.  Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk. (J.C. Penney)

12.  You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures. (Charles C. Noble). 

Written by Mark Kennedy, Owner/Managing Director of Executive Talent Search (ETS Dental, ETS Vision, ETS Tech-Ops). To find out more, call ETS Vision at (540) 563-1688 or visit us online at www.etsvision.com.