How to Successfully Screen for Empathy in New Candidates

April 30th, 2015

In the medical industry, there is no underestimating the need for empathy from your staff. With patient care as a prime directive, employees in healthcare need to provide a sense of care and understanding to what are essentially their customers. But how do you know whether or not a job candidate boasts empathy as a soft skill?

What follows are a few strategies for detecting an empathic nature within the candidates for a position in the healthcare industry.

Finding Empathy on a Résumé can be Difficult

Finding candidates with empathy by perusing the résumés sent in for a job posting isn’t an obvious process. A simple keyword search will find any job applicants that mention it on their CV, but additional verification during an interview is still a good idea. Any recommendations or endorsements from a candidate’s references that mention exemplary patient care is a good bet, so make sure to follow up on that question with those references when you contact them directly.

The Interview is the Best Place to screen for Empathy

Ultimately, you will need to use the interview to truly verify the level of empathy of your job candidates. The résumé screening process will narrow down the number of applicants, but it is vital to earmark one or more interview questions for finding out more about a candidate’s empathy. Pay close attention to how they answer these questions.

A good question for this purpose can leverage a real word patient care scenario to see how the candidate would react when placed in that situation. If an applicant is fresh out of school, frame a similar question around a family situation. Additionally, questions about working in a collaborative environment also help to verify their empathic nature.

If multiple staff members are involved in the interview process, collect opinions from all of them regarding the empathy of the candidates before making that final hiring decision.

If your organization needs additional staffing assistance, look no further than Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the nation’s top healthcare employment agencies, our knowledgeable staff can help your medical business with a robust supply of quality, empathic, candidates. Make it a point to meet with us as soon as possible.

Three Ways to Connect with Your Interviewer

April 24th, 2015

There’s no argument that the interview remains the most important part of your job search. It is your chance to expound on the contents of your résumé, while explaining how you’ll make a positive difference for the healthcare company with which you are interviewing. You stand a better chance of earning a second interview and hopefully a job offer by successfully connecting with the interviewer.

What follows are three strategies suitable for connecting with an interviewer to help your chances of landing the position of your dreams.

Eye Contact. Eye Contact. Eye Contact.

Did we mention eye contact? It might seem a bit too obvious, but it is vital that you make natural eye contact with your interviewer throughout your face to face meeting. If you are taking part in a group interview where you are the only candidate, spread the eye contact around between all the interviewers.

Follow this same principle when asking questions during the interview. Eye contact definitely helps build a connection and a sense of trust between you and the interview team.

Don’t forget to Listen!

It is important to pay attention during the interview — listen closely to the interviewer and observe their mannerisms. Leverage your listening skills to ask meaningful questions throughout the interview; don’t necessarily wait to be called upon. Of course, pay extra close attention to their answers to your questions and use that information to form follow-up questions.

This interaction is part of the give and take process that helps you truly connect with the interviewer.

Be Personable and show Gratitude

It is important to remain personable, yet professional, throughout the interview. Consider taking an attitude that you are reconnecting with an old business colleague. Be sure to thank the interviewer for the opportunity to talk with them, and that you can’t wait for the chance to make a difference for their organization.

If you need further advice on interview preparation, talk to the knowledgeable recruiters at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the top staffing agencies in the U.S. healthcare industry, we can help you take your medical career to the next level. Schedule some time with us at your earliest convenience.

What Will Employers Find When They Type Your Name Into Google — Managing Online Reputation

April 17th, 2015

There’s no denying that the Internet plays a large role in today’s job search process. Everything from online job sites to professional social networks like LinkedIn has become part of finding a new position in healthcare or any other industry sector. While you leverage the Internet for researching a company with an open position, you can also be sure that the hiring manager from that company will return the favor once you become a candidate.

Around 75 percent of hiring managers use the Internet to search for information about a candidate. So what will potential employers find when they search for you on Google? Are you worried? Let’s take a closer look at managing your online reputation.

Understand your Social Media Network Privacy Settings — especially on Facebook

When looking at the management of your online reputation, it is important that you fully understand Facebook’s privacy settings — which seemingly change on a weekly basis. A good policy is to assume everyone can see what you post or who tags you in a post, so don’t allow any embarrassing material to appear on any social network — including Twitter, Google+, in addition to Facebook.

Beyond that, ensure that you don’t mark anything shared on Facebook as “Public.” Keep your privacy settings to “Friends Only”. Additionally, watch who tries to add you as a friend, in case they may be a hiring manager.

Don’t Forget about Comments you Post

Any comments you post on Amazon or many other websites are searchable. So be sure to watch your online etiquette. It is reasonable to think that most companies aren’t looking to hire Internet trolls.

It is a good idea to regularly Google your own name to see what appears in the search results. If you have a common name, add additional keywords like your city in the search text. In today’s age, online reputation is almost as important as a well-written cover letter to ensure you get a shot at an interview and a job offer.

If you need additional advice on managing your online reputation, talk to the recruiters at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the top healthcare staffing agencies in the country, we can help take your career to the next level. Schedule some time with us today!

How Should You React to Medical Staff that Seem Disengaged?

April 10th, 2015

Empathy is one of the most important attributes for any medical professional. The best healthcare employees put patient care and happiness at the forefront of their thoughts when they are working. On the other hand, disengaged members of your team, providing less than quality care, run the risk of ruining your organization’s hard-earned reputation.

How should you handle members of your medical staff that are disengaged? Let’s take a closer look at some ways to deal with this important issue.

Take Steps to reduce Stress and Increase Employee Happiness

 

If your staff feel overworked and overstressed it may impact their patient care. Make it a point to ensure each employee isn’t working too many hours each week or even an extra long shift. If an employee has accrued vacation time, make sure they take it, as it will help them recharge and reengage with the patients under their supervision.

 

Consider hosting a team lunch or an after work event to help improve employee morale. In many cases, poor worker morale leads to disengagement, so it is better to nip any issues in the bud before patient care begins to suffer.

 

Communicate Regularly with your Staff

 

It is vital that you and your managerial team regularly communicate with your employees. This could be formally within the context of the workday, but also casually during the team events mentioned earlier. Employees need to be reminded of their daily expectations on the job, and also that they are valued members of your staff.

 

Champion Employee Development

 

A key factor is employee engagement is their personal career development. Offering tuition reimbursement and a robust training program helps to keep your staff engaged in both their career as well as their daily duties at the office. Once again, this ties into the simple fact that employees need to know that they are valued.

 

If your organization needs any additional advice on building a top notch healthcare team, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the nation’s top medical staffing agencies, we offer the business insight and vetted candidates to help ensure your company’s success. Schedule some time with us today!

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