We have all made blunders when it comes to recruiting new staff.
There are some things to avoid, making work life easier for everyone.
The first rule …
… of recruiting is never employ someone recommended by another member of staff. If it does not work out, you could lose two members of staff, not just one!
The second rule …
… is never to recruit either a patient or a patient’s family member. Again, if things don’t work out you run the risk of losing a patient as well as a member of staff.
Thirdly …
… never recruit someone who is passionate about their hobby…it will always take second place to work. Imagine someone is a mad keen surfer and the best waves were to be found in Portugal. Would their mind be on the job or on the surf board?
Fourthly …
… and potentially most importantly, references. Taking references on every new recruit is imperative. This goes without saying really, but assess the quality of the person giving the reference. Exclude references from family members (you’d be surprised at how often this is offered!) and previous teachers/lecturers as these cannot reflect work ethic other than attendance in class. You want your younger staff to do much more than just turn up for class. A great way of getting references is on the phone, but if this is not possible, then by writing. Make sure to ask specific questions about dates worked, roles the candidate was employed in, what did they bring to the role that made them stand out. This is your opportunity to ask specific questions about the person you are about to trust your reputation with, so accuracy is vital.
And Finally …
… never hire anyone if you could do their job better than them. This applies right across the board, including non-clinical staff. Let your new recruits lead the way at reception, in treatment planning, in managing your practice or assisting you at chairside.
Each role in a clinic requires a special skill set and not everyone can do every job in your practice. Try to place yourself in their position and ask if you would do anything differently. Dentists should try being a dental nurse or a receptionist for the day so as to appreciate fully the role requirements.
Good luck in recruiting your next staff member. Don’t forget to post your next vacancy on BlueGloveJobs so that you attract the cream of the crop!
With more than 1,000 job vacancies posted and almost 500 professional candidates registered, Blue Glove Jobs is clearly ahead of the game. This is great for employers as they can easily reach out to prospective candidates. Blue Glove Jobs provides an easy to use service, free of charge, to clinics and agencies. By attracting the best jobs available in the UK, we also attract the best candidates. It’s as simple as that.
Now we take dental recruitment to the next level!
Video Interviewing
Our group take sustainability very seriously. We look closely at how we can improve our performance while driving sustainability through the profession. Our new website netzerodentistry.com is testament to this. Blue Glove Jobs is able to reduce time, cost and carbon impact in recruitment by delivering a very clever initial interviewing process.
We have now launched an entirely new recruitment concept for the dental profession – video interviewing. Let us imagine that you are recruiting a new team member. Your options are to advertise amongst plumbers and chefs on Gumtree, or possibly list your vacancy for free on Blue Glove Jobs. You may also consider engaging with an agency and gulp at their fees. Alternatively, posting on social media may bring in a few candidates. However, no matter which option you look at, you still have the initial vetting process to go through to find a few candidates that interest you. This is where we step in!
Recruitment isn’t easy
Blue Glove Jobs, like all our websites, listens closely to the issues in dentistry. As we see it, current issues include:
Getting your advert noticed – dental recruitment has never been so competitive so the need to stand out from your competitors has never been greater.
Getting reaction to your advert – Your post on social media, or on another website may be worded perfectly, with really attractive images, but does this really stand out enough to prompt interaction from quality candidates?
How much time does it take up for you to vet all CVs and then to interview a selection of suitable candidates? Each recruitment takes an average of 9 hours just to get to the final selection stage.
How do you know that the candidate is truly suited to your vacant role? This is difficult. All the candidate knows is that your are a great clinic, with a great team and everyone is friendly. If your clinic has aspirations of developing (for example) Invisalign and your perfect candidate has aspirations to develop a career in implants, then you have a conflict of interests. This may not be picked out from a CV. Remember, you are being interviewed as much as the candidate.
Without discrimination, you may have envisaged a new team member and how they fit into the team. Looking at a CV may not provide you with this level of detail.
A few early questions in the first interview can help you to decide whether a candidate is appropriate or not. For example, availability for the working hours you anticipate may be different to the candidate’s.
How much carbon is burned per interview? If the clinic stays open longer than normal, then your energy is being used for longer. If you have for example 5 candidates to interview, you have created 5 return journeys to and from interview. If candidates have all sent in CVs, then you have created additional paper usage.
What is Video Recruitment?
Firstly, video recruitment is not carried out on Zoom or on Teams. It is a wholly professional process which is new to dentistry. The issues noted above are real and have to be addressed in a way that delivers benefit to both the recruiter and to the candidate. Having addressed these issues in considerable detail, Blue Glove Jobs not only provides a simple, basic job listing opportunity, but now also provides the following solutions:
Your clinic and the vacant role is profiled on video to ensure that the candidate ticks their own boxes in terms of suitability. By doing this, your vacancy stands out from any other 2 dimensional (standard) job vacancies. Prospective candidates can see your face, your clinic, your style, your aspirations, your equipment and the type of treatments you offer your patients. You shoot your video using a good quality smart phone, then we edit your footage to present it in the best possible light.
You set half a dozen initial questions that you would like candidates to respond to. This can be tailored to each vacancy you have. In turn, the candidates respond to each question using their smart phone video camera. This is the first interview where you can assess suitability from your candidates’ responses.
You can watch/listen to all applications at your leisure, whether that is at home or during a gap in patient time. You can share video responses with others in the clinic so that they are comfortable taking the next step.
Most importantly, you are in control of what questions to ask, what to look out for from your candidates and your means of assessment.
The initial interview stage has reduced your time commitment by at least 50% allowing you to focus on quality rather than quantity.
It may not be the most important thing in your life, but you have taken steps towards reducing your carbon footprint simply by engaging in this video process as opposed to calling candidates in for interview. Initial vetting has taken half the time, half the effort, but has promoted you clinic as being forward thinking and advanced in terms of technology.
The team at Blue Glove Jobs will promote your vacancy through YouTube, social media channels including groups, as well as our own website. Take advantage of this amazing opportunity to be amongst the first to recruit in this way! Simply click the link below to start your new recruitment process.
You are a compassionate person, great with your hands and creative in finding solutions. You enjoyed the sciences at school and thrived under the pressures at university. Your heart is full of hope and aspiration. Does this make you a natural dentist? Is dentistry the right career choice for you?
Your Journey
You spend time shadowing a dentist and realise that you are only at the start of a very long journey. The length of this journey is not defined. You are in control of how far you want to take your career. Is your eventual aim to become a dental provider in a small community where dentistry is managed around your lifestyle? Or perhaps you want to move towards a specialism and become a referral point for all other dentists? Maybe you will find your niche as a solid player on the front line of a large clinic and be happy with not having the pressure of clinic ownership.
Dentistry as a Lifestyle…Is it the right career choice for you?
Is dentistry the right career choice or is lifestyle more important?
Career Choices in Dentistry
These are just a few of the wide variety of choices facing young dentists as they set out on their dental career. However,there is no right or wrong answer, it is simply a case of finding out what is right for you…what is good for your life value. Is money your driver, or is providing oral health for everyone your driver? Is time your biggest influence and finding a work/life balance that allows you to pursue other interests?
You are one step closer to happiness. You have made your decision on how you want your life story to play out. Be entirely honest with yourself. However, another way of looking at this is to ask yourself what the rewards for your efforts should be? Is being rewarded with happy and healthy patients enough for you? Perhaps your reward is winning an accolade, or being invited to give a presentation or training session? How important are the material things such as a quality car, a larger house, or a statement watch?
The rewards that you aim to gain from your dental career, almost defines your career path. Do you elect to work in the NHS environment, possibly in a dental hospital or in a local clinic? Perhaps you jump into private dentistry to see more challenging cases and reap higher rewards? Do you look into buying your own dental clinic, or a partnership in one?
Recently, we have seen many dentists launch a secondary earning stream. This could be anything from working for a supplier or manufacturer to singing on TV. In short, dentists are becoming more entrepreneurial. Is this something that you should be considering?
Could you be part of the dental team?
Who Can Advise You?
Talk to as many people around you as you can about your career path, and not just your colleagues in dentistry. People outside the profession may not fully understand the nuances of your choices. They will be able to offer advice on what makes you happy. This is vital. There are too many unhappy dentists around us who have not been honest with themselves and have aimed at the wrong path. We are often too insular in dentistry, especially when talking about our careers. Break this mould and talk to friends and family who have nothing to do with dentistry as they can provide you with the clarity of vision we all need. Most importantly, is dentistry the right career choice for you?
The 5 Questions
Rudyard Kipling’s 5 questions are vital…who, why, where, when and how? Who do I want to work with? Why do I want to work in that type of clinical environment as opposed to another? Where do I want to work? When do I want to work…and when do I not want to work? How do I find this ideal role? The last question is simple…you are on the right website to find a wide variety of roles across the UK and soon in Australia. We wish you every success in finding the right career path for you, and to finding the right role to achieve happiness. https://blueglovejobs.com/
How to influence them in their views of working with you.
Interviews are stressful for everyone concerned. This blog looks at the interview process through the eyes of a candidate. We want to increase your chances of attracting the right dental talent. We look at what they perceive rather than what you portray, so you will get an insight into how you could attract the right dental talent.
Step 1 – The job advertisement.
Have a look through other job descriptions and ask yourself
if you would apply for that job? How well is that clinic describing the role
you may be interested in? As a candidate, how would you like that information
presented? What details do you want to see? What is going to motivate you to
apply for the job?
Let’s look at a few examples. Many agencies have a standard format which they load up on their websites. Job descriptions seem to be identical. Candidates do not get a feel for individual clinics, the clinic principal, or even the style of the clinic. An example may be you appearing too needy. Do you seem desperate to entice the right person. Some adverts hold back on information and seem guarded about the job being offered. This would most likely raise suspicions. Attract the right dental talent is your aim.
An easy way of defining your advertisement is to describe yourself as a boss or employer. Clear, concise, professional, engaging, supportive, intelligent, motivating, are all words you could describe yourself as. Reflect these in your advert. Are you the quirkiest, funniest dentist on the planet? Your advert should reflect this. You get the picture.
Fact – 72% of employers feel their job description is
perfect and only 36% of candidates agree.
Step 2 – The interview
Set the right tone for the interview.
You have attracted a bunch of like-minded candidates and you are planning initial interviews. Abide by a simple rule and your results will improve immediately. Candidates should be told of your 2 interview approach. Now they know what to expect. The first interview is all about them selling to you. The second interview is about you selling to them. You also need to give more details on the role.
To get past the first stage and find a few ideal candidates, you must apply the one mouth, two ears approach. Using this ratio, listen more than you speak. This allows you to learn more. You will note both positives as well as negatives, giving you a final score. The end of the interview should err on one side or the other. If you have an equal balance of positives and negatives, you do not have the right candidate. Your candidate will feel that they have impressed you. Now you can try to gauge if they have impressed you as much as they think they have.
The second stage is where you have each other on the hook. However, you have not yet attracted the right dental talent. This is when you can assess if the culture you have created in the clinic is conducive with the candidate’s personality and work ethic. Assess whether they will work well with the support team and your administrative procedures. How excited are they about learning and does this fit in with your own enthusiasm? The second interview you must adopt two mouths and one ear as you both try to sell to each other. Show them around your clinic with pride. Describe your aspirations for the clinic and let them feel part of that.
Having convinced yourself and your ideal candidate that you have discovered the dream team, follow through as swiftly as possible. Make your offer, shake hands on it, get contracts to them the next day. The ball may be in the back of the net, but a goal is not a goal until the referee blows the whistle.
Step 3 – The first day
Attracting the best dental talent.
This is where you and the team have to deliver. New
candidates have been at other interviews and possibly have other job offers. If
the smiling interviewer suddenly turns into a dragon, your ideal candidate will
run to the hills (or around the corner to take up that other job offer)!
Make the candidate feel welcome and at ease. Ask someone to take them around the clinic again so they can buddy up from the first instance. Make sure everything is in place in their clinic, ready for the first patient. Prime your support staff, so that they all make the new start feel part of the team.
At the end of day one, take time to have a chat about how things went and invite an open discussion on your new talent’s thoughts on the clinic. First impressions count. This not only applies to new staff, but also for new patients. Feedback is vital so absorb everything that is said. Maybe now you have attracted the right dental talent Attracting the best dental talent.We wish you every success in hiring your next big talent. Blue Glove Jobs will help you every step of the way, ensuring that your advertised role is promoted across our various social media channels and through our neork of contacts in the profession.
Post your job vacancies by clicking here.
Have you made full use of your clinic’s listing on DefactoDentists.com? This is an ideal way to promote your clinic to the public and to prospective staff. You can check your clinic’s listing by clicking below.
Did you know that job seekers are 7 times more likely to apply to roles in companies that they feel they relate to?
These days, content is king, no matter if you’re looking to sell a product, show off your service or even recruit someone. That’s right, job seekers are hunting out roles in companies that excite them with great content. But how and why is this relevant to recruitment?
Today, we talk about why the humble job vacancy just isn’t cutting the mustard anymore and how content marketing is the key to attracting the right type of job candidate.
Your regular vacancy listing is boring , sorry.
If you’re guilty of using the same copy and paste job ad every time it comes to recruitment, keep reading.
A bland and over-used job ad is the reason you struggle to recruit good candidates and it’s that simple. A vague and boring job post won’t cut the mustard, especially if you’re looking for top quality candidates. Times New Roman, size 12 and poorly formatted isn’t going to draw candidates in. A job advert should be an extension of the company. Don’t give too much away, but give a flavour about what it’s like to work for you. This is a great way to cut off the deadwood before you even start receiving applications. The more specific you are, the less unsuitable applications you’ll have to rifle through.
We’re not saying it has to have widgets and slide shows and pictures and different fonts, sizes and colours, but it does have to be somewhat engaging. Here’s how you can do it successfully…
Step One: Take a look at who you’re trying to recruit.
If you’re recruiting, there is a good chance you already know the type of candidate you’re looking for. Are they a team player? How much experience do they have? What matters most to this person in a job? Where do they look for jobs? Once you have established who the candidate is and where you’ll find them, it’s time to start your content marketing.
Step Two: Go ahead and create some content.
The type of content you create for your recruitment process will very much depend on who you’re trying to recruit. That’s why step 1 is vital. Then step 2 will help you decide on the type of content, tone & voice of content and location of the content.
TYPE OF CONTENT – Videos, blog posts, social media posts – what type of content are your ideal candidates most likely to engage with? Are they online or offline?
TONE & VOICE – Are you speaking their language? Using Jargon? Are you referencing things they’ll recognise in the job?
LOCATION OF CONTENT – One candidate might spend their days on Facebook, the other scouring job websites. You should share content to different channels to target different potential candidates.
Step Three: Share out your content marketing efforts and monitor the results.
Share out your content in your chosen platforms and monitor the results. How many good quality candidates have come through compared to before? How are people engaging with your content? If it’s not quite right, adjust the content. Share it elsewhere. And don’t be afraid to ask for feedback from those who are already working for you. What are their thoughts on the content? Is it relevant and accurate to the business? Find out from the people who already work there!
Why not give content marketing a go? You never know, your recruitment process could take just a fraction of the time with a little bit of creative content targeted to the right audience!
And remember, you can post any dental vacancies on our website completely free of charge to compliment your content marketing! Let us know how you get on with our ‘content marketing for recruitment’ tips!
Maybe you’ve had a vacancy out for a while and you think you’ve finally found the right person. Have you invited them for an interview? If you have, keep reading! These are our 5 top tips for conducting the best job interview. You need to be punctual too.
1. You need to be punctual too.
We expect our candidates to show up on time, so you should be prepared to hold the interview on time too. If you’re late to welcome your candidate and are rushing around trying to organise the interview 5 minutes after it should have started, are you really setting the right impression? We’d have to say no to that one. There is a good chance the applicant has taken time out of their existing job to come and see you. They might have arranged child care so they could be on time for you. Make sure you’re on time for them too. Which leads us on to point number two.
2. Create the right interview environment.
Interviews can be pretty daunting. The majority of people don’t like being interviewed! Make sure you have a space that feels welcoming and puts the candidate at ease. If they’re uncomfortable or feel under pressure, you won’t get the best from them. Find a quiet, well-lit room, where the temperature is just right. Make sure it’s clean and there is plenty of room to have a sit down and a good chat. A glass of water for the candidate might be a nice touch too. Put your candidate at ease and they’ll probably impress you more! Don’t forget to put a sign on the door, or let other staff know you’re conducting an interview. That way there won’t be any unprofessional interruptions – unless of course it’s an emergency!
3. Be prepared.
Read through the candidates application again. Skim read their CV once more so you’re not spending time asking questions that they have already answered. There is a high chance the person coming to the interview has read up on your company. The interview should be a chance for them to elaborate on their CV, not regurgitate what’s on it. Have your questions ready, a few at least to get you started. It doesn’t need to be a rigid interview. Let the conversation flow and see what happens, but it’s nice to have somewhere to start.
4. Invite them to ask any questions.
Sometimes, candidates will walk away from interviews feeling like they don’t quite know everything they wanted to. After you’ve completed all your questions, it’s a nice idea to ask them if they want to ask you any questions. They might not, but it’s nice to ask. It might be something simple that you’ve skimmed over. It might be something more complex that you’ll need to ask someone else to get the answer. Regardless, you should welcome any questions they might have.
5. Whatever the outcome – contact the candidate.
If you want to hire them, great! If you don’t want to hire them, you should let them know that too. Sadly, and more often than not, candidates are often left out in the rain if they don’t get the job. Some recruiters don’t even call to let them know they were unsuccessful. Like we’ve said, it’s possible that the candidate made special arrangements to come and be interviewed. Do them the decent thing and let them know if they are successful or not. It’s always appreciated and doesn’t leave them hanging around in false hope.
What tips do you have for hosting the best job interview? Let us know in the comments!
When was the last time you had a team meeting at work?
Team Meetings, some people love them, some people hate them.
Team meetings provide us with a ‘safe’ environment.
That might sound a little strange. However, if there are issues in the work place that you don’t feel comfortable confronting alone, or raising via e-mail or in a report, a team meeting is an ideal place to discuss any problems and concerns. Team meetings should be relaxed and everyone in the meeting should feel like they can contribute something. It should be a level and open playing field!
Team meetings create a space for giving each other feedback
Staff members can use meetings to offer feedback to each other, as long as it is pitched at the right level. Team meetings shouldn’t be used to provide individual feedback that is critical – this should be done in one-on-one meetings. Positive feedback is a great motivator, particularly in a team. Whoever is in charge might not see all of the good that is being done in the workplace, that is why it is essential to get feedback from everyone. This may also highlight which members of staff work well together as well as areas for improvement.
They’re great for re-gaining focus!
Ever feel like your team just needs a bit of a re-focus? Have a few things gone wrong? Are goals not being met? A team meeting can help your team to re-focus and re-connect, allowing them to get their heads back in the game. This shouldn’t be done in a negative light, it happens to most teams! A quick 15 minute meeting could be the solution!
Finally, they’re a reminder that nobody is alone in the work place.
It’s in the name after all! Wether you work in a big team, or there are just a handful of you, it’s nice to come together as one entire team occasionally. If some of your staff are passing ships because of shift patterns, or if people have been working remotely, away from the office, a team meeting can be the perfect way to re-connect! Team meetings are the perfect way to bring everyone together to remind them that nobody is alone and that you are in fact a team!
So there we have it! A few reasons why the team at Blue Glove Jobs think that team meetings are important in the work place. What do you think about staff meetings, do you love them? Do you hate them? Let us know!
