May 21, 2024
Care Options for Kids, formerly The Hello Foundation
Hiring pediatric occupational therapists and highly qualified school staff can be a significant challenge for any school administrator. But once you have candidates in front of you, how do you determine if they're the right fit for your team? Our new "Techniques for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating the Interview" infographic provides the answers you need. Scroll down to download it!
We use the following six steps to ensure a successful interview:
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Build Rapport: Interviews are stressful! As the interviewer, you want to see and hear what the interviewee has to offer when they're at their best. Who is at their best when they're nervous and stressed? No one! You can help ease the tension by breaking the ice and doing your best to calm nerves.
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Establish Structure: Knowing what to expect will help center and calm your interviewee by providing a preparatory set and a framework for what's happening. The aim here is to give the person the opportunity to put their best foot forward by giving them an idea of what to expect from the interview.
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Preview the Job: Often, job postings are somewhat general and vague and don't give the details that interviewees really need to make an informed decision. This is your chance to provide lots of details about the position, especially those you know are potential deal-breakers or have been problematic in the past.
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Ask Questions: This is where you ask "behavioral competency" questions of your candidate. When people think of an interview, this is usually what they're thinking about. Be mindful that you're asking questions that are relevant to the job and that will give you real information about whether the person is a good fit.
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Encourage Questions: Show your candidate that you're an organization open to questions and that values their voice by allowing them to interview you, too. We recommend that for speech language pathologist jobs, in particular, candidates go into their interviews seeking answers to critical questions.
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Close the Interview: Finish your time together by sharing what the interviewee can expect from you in terms of communication and timelines, as well as who to contact if they have further questions. Leave things on a positive note, and be sure to thank them for their time and interest.
Get these six tips as well as some interesting statistics and a few examples of fun critical thinking questions by downloading the free PDF. Click on the image below to download, and happy interviewing!
And if you need help setting up interviews with incredible SLPAs, SLPs, OTs, and School Psychs, contact us and we'll help match you to highly experienced clinicians!
