Once you have navigated dental compensation, it is time to set up a working interview.
A working interview is a paid day of work with no commitment required.
This allows an applicant to observe the practices of an office while completing treatment on the office’s patients. An applicant should ask whether the office offers working interviews in the last step of the job application process. The office assesses the applicant’s fit for the team, while the applicant gets a feel for the flow of the office. The office manager would book a schedule for the applicant just as they would if he or she worked there.
Not every office offers working interviews. Some offices may feel uncomfortable booking their patients with an unknown doctor or find it difficult to set up. It’s nevertheless great to ask to demonstrate availability, an eagerness to work, and willingness to get to know the staff.
What else goes into a working interview?
The applicant shows up to a working interview looking professionally — in scrubs or business casual attire, depending on office preferences. The task is to jump right in to greet patients and act as a team player. The office will appreciate an applicant’s initiative in assessing radiographs, treating patients, and writing thorough clinical notes.
Working interviews may seem stressful because the applicant doesn’t know the protocols of the office, nor the location of instruments. However, an office that has previously offered working interviews will know to support the applicant with guidance. Usually the dental assistant will take the lead in familiarizing patients with the applicant and the applicant with the protocol.
If an office doesn’t offer working interviews, an applicant can ask to temp for a day to see hygiene patients. This is a lower-stakes way of seeing how the office functions. It requires the use of fewer dental materials and less familiarity with protocol, but accomplishes the same goal. The owner or associate doctors and staff still get to meet the applicant and ascertain fit. Likewise, being an employee for the day allows the applicant to see how other associates are treated at the practice.
