If you've ever interviewed for an opening in your practice, I'm sure this thought has entered your mind. I am currently interviewing for a roving office assistant and I am disheartened by the attitudes of the applicants I've been interviewing.
To begin with, I can remember interviewing for positions when I wanted a job. I tried to present my skills, abilities and willingness to be an integral part of a team. I never asked what the position benefits were until we were clearly negotiating my employment. Once I was hired, I understood that if I wanted my salary to increase, my skills and value to the practice would have to increase first. I didn't expect to be paid more for being nice, or funny, or for just existing. I knew that I'd have to take on more responsibility, find ways to improve what we were doing, and be an overall asset in terms of my physical, personal and psychological presence in the practice.
Let's break it down. When I say my physical presence, I mean I have to work. If a patient cancels and I'm an assistant, I have to find other things to do, even if it's just wiping down shelves or straightening the supply closet. I have to offer my help to others in the office. It doesn't mean sitting in the break-room with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. The dentist is already losing money because of the cancellation, I'm not going to rub in the fact that he's paying me to read Ann Landers. This holds true for any position in the office.
When I talk about personal presence, I'm referring to the mood you create around you. I try to be upbeat and optimistic, try to help my co-workers and look for ways to help them stay on time and relieve stress for them. I don't wait to be asked, I don't act like a request is an imposition and I don't feel like they owe me something if I help them. It's all work, it all needs to be done, and I'm getting paid to work; seems like a no-brainer. Everyone knows they can come to me for help and I like that.
Finally, having a healthy psychological presence in the practice is so important. We've all worked with people who bring their baggage to work with them. They seem to define themselves by their quirks and expect others to find it endearing. It's not, it's usually annoying. They seem to think that it's their God-given, legally protected right to be weird, and if we are unlucky enough not to catch it in the interview, we're stuck with them. If we really can't take it and we let them go, we're going to end up paying unemployment while they sit home watching The Price Is Right. They may even manage to seem fantastic during the interview process, only to unleash their poor work ethic, entitlement attitude and generally unacceptable personality flaws soon after beginning to work. All of which would have been huge red warning flags slapping you in the head if they hadn't so carefully hidden them while they were sitting in your office convincing you that if you just gave them the chance they'd be a dynamic part of your hard-working team.
What I am finding, despite the poor economy, are people who want to spend the interview time telling me what I'll need to do to make them feel cherished and happy. They are applying for an entry level position, but want to tell me what responsibilities they will assume, rather than show a willingness to progress by learning what we want to teach them in the time-line we have developed. I'm sitting there listening to what they apparently consider the thoughts of a genius, and thinking, "Where are all the normal people hiding?" Sometimes I even wonder if my boss has set up a hidden camera somewhere in my office, but I think Candid Camera has gone off the air. I have developed an interview system that usually saves us from making hiring mistakes, but it's arduous and time consuming.
I've heard that this is a great time to be hiring because there are a lot of talented people available due to cut-backs and lay-offs. What I'm really seeing are people who are willing to take a job outside their area of interest until something they really want becomes available. During the interview, if you ask them why they want to work in a dental office after attending nursing school, they'll tell you that they realized they don't like working in a hospital, but really love the dental environment. Two months later, they may tearfully hand you their resignation when a nursing job is offered. I understand that people need to do what is best for them, but it's made me harder to convince when the next person comes along.
I want to interview someone who will show an interest in becoming a hard-working member of a fantastic team. I want someone who will not damage the culture of our practice with bizarre behavior and unreasonable attitudes. In other words, someone with a great work ethic, a desire to serve our patients, and a pleasant and caring personality. Anyone like that out there? If so, click on comment, I'd like to interview you.
Me! Shame you're so far away! I have just walked away from a practice the reason being I kept double booking appointments but I have to add the powers that be were unable to provide me with any hard evidence. I'm also perplexed as to how it occured especially as a computer system is being used! It never happened on the days I was on site and feel i've been sabotaged. And that all other efforts, to make the practice a positive and all round better experience, were irrelevant. Overall leaving me with a feeling of bewilderment and like your article 'is anybody normal out there?'
Good luck with your search it can only mean there's someone brilliant out there just waiting to complete your team!
best wishes
Suzanne
Posted by: Suzanne Renna | November 09, 2009 at 07:20 AM
Sorry to hear about that Suzanne.It's really difficult sometimes isn't it? Hopefully you'll find a better job and I'll find a person who will be good for our team.
Posted by: Linda Zdanowicz | November 09, 2009 at 07:31 PM
I have been following your blog since 2006 and I really enjoy reading it daily. I wish I could find an office like yours it sucks to be taken advantage of.
Shelly
Posted by: Shelly | November 10, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Hi Shelly, wow, you must be my longest term reader. I appreciate that. I didn't find an office like mine, I helped create it. You can too. It might not be in your present office, but you can make it happen somewhere. I really believe that. At one time, the office I'm in was not a great place to be, quite the opposite. People change and circumstances change, sometimes for the best. Keep trying to make it better.
Linda
Posted by: Linda Zdanowicz | November 11, 2009 at 05:43 AM
I am having the opposite problem. I was also a victim of the economy and lost a well paying job in a completely different field after 10 years and am now starting over.
When I was younger I had enjoyed working in more than one doctors office and so decided to get back into this field as a new career. I was lucky enough to find, through a friend, a dentist office that would hire me on probation part time in the front (I'm 50 yrs old and going back to minimum wage is killing me -- but I'm grateful for the work).
The office/practice manager and I get along great but there is so much DRAMA! I hear every day about ex boyfriends, divorces, restraining orders, her wild teenager (who often comes in). I don't mind being a listening ear as I am very sympathetic and calm but often I am asking her to please give me more work because she talks so much about her personal life, or is texting someone or taking cigarette breaks, that she then has little time to get that done plus train me. I have to dig it out of her. The thing is she is VERY good at what she does (or so it seems) and gets her work done despite her personal life interfering.
I am trying my hardest to become valuable and learn dentistry as best I can (thus subscribing to your blog when I found it which I enjoy VERY much). The office manager is very complimentary and seems to definitely be training me to stay and be able to do her position and I have heard through the doctor's wife that he is very pleased with me but I wonder how effectively I will be able to learn in an often chaotic environment. I try to keep myself busy and have even gone through every file looking for email addresses to add to the computer that had been neglected if I have nothing left to do.
I will take your words to heart to create an office like yours. I do know one of the reasons the doctor likes me is because I am "drama free". Perhaps in the long run I can make a decent wage and have a good effect on this office. I sure hope so!
Thanks for all your good posts!
Posted by: Laura | November 11, 2009 at 09:13 AM
I've been reading your blog for the past two years off and on. I for the life of me couldn't even tell you how I came across it. However, I do read your blog with great enthuaism and think it would be great to work for/with you. Keep up the good work, Happy assisting and Happy blogging!
Posted by: Kim | November 11, 2009 at 08:37 PM
Laura, do you work every day? If not, could you talk to someone in another office about the possibility of shadowing them so you can learn more. Talk to your doctor about it first. Just approach it as if you want to learn as much as possible as fast as possible. Linda Miles has a good book titled Dynamic Dentistry. Try to find as much CE as possible. Visit the American Association of Dental Office Managers website at
http://www.dentalmanagers.com/
Also check out the American Dental Assistants Association website at http://www.dentalassistant.org/
They have a lot of good online CE.
Just keep learning what you can, keep the right attitude, and do the right thing no matter what anyone else is doing.
It's too bad that so many people don't seem to understand the value of discretion anymore. It's never a good idea to talk about things that should be kept private at work.I think it's almost gotten to be a competitive type of conversation. Almost like people have to top each other with bizarre stories. You're smart to try to keep things professional.
Posted by: Linda Zdanowicz | November 11, 2009 at 09:29 PM
Kim, I'm glad to know that you've kept reading and enjoying my blog. Sometimes I wonder if people are getting tired of it all. It sounds like you'd be a great team member and great to work with, too. I'm just like everyone else, I have good days and bad days and days where I'm not the best I could or should be. I try to do the right thing everyday though. It bothers me when I let things get the best of me and know that I have the ability to use self-discipline. It's always a choice.
Posted by: Linda Zdanowicz | November 11, 2009 at 09:40 PM
Linda, Never tired of your blog! It's great that we have this online community to talk with and share our ideas about what went 'right' or what went 'wrong.' What works for one office may not work for another, but it is always worth it to share ideas. That is one reason I like temping on my days off. I get to go out there, see 'new' ideas and then bring them back to "Home base." Then, I bring them up at a staff meeting and we either test them out or brain storm off of what I brought 'home' trying to find a good fit of something new for our office.
Posted by: Kim | November 11, 2009 at 10:30 PM