Show Notes

Welcome back to the Designer Practice podcast, and I’m your host, Kayla Das.

When I worked in nonprofits, I hired a lot of people, but it wasn’t until I became a business coach that I realized that many practices overlook some key elements when conducting hiring interviews that could easily help prevent issues down the road in their practices.

So, in today’s episode, I’ll share the seven most overlooked elements when conducting hiring interviews, so that hopefully this sparks some ideas when you’re ready to hire.

1. Develop Practice-Specific Interview Questions

So, let’s get started with the importance of crafting interview questions that are specific to your agency, as well as the role that you’re hiring for.

Finding generic questions on Google might be tempting as it’s the easiest thing to do. However, if you can find those questions on Google, so can your potential candidates.

And it’s not uncommon for potential candidates to do their quote unquote research to prepare for an interview. Although this does show commitment if they do take time to prepare, it doesn’t necessarily demonstrate fit for your agency or your role.

For example, if you’re hiring a therapist specializing in trauma, rather than just asking a generic question like, what are your strengths, which is very common in hiring interviews, consider asking, how do you approach trauma informed care in your sessions with clients?

This kind of question requires potential candidates to provide specific examples and insights into how they practice with clients, giving you a clearer picture of their suitability for the role.

2. Develop Practical Components to Interview

Secondly, incorporate practical components into your interviews. These could be written or scenario-based questions. This approach gives you a clearer understanding of how candidates would respond to real life situations that they might encounter on the job. For instance, provide a case study relevant to your practice and ask candidates how they would handle that particular situation. This not only tests their knowledge, but also their problem-solving skills and ability to think on their feet, especially if this is a likely scenario that they’ll come across when working with you. And are they solving the problem in a way that reflects the culture of your business?

3. Determine Intrinsic Motivation

Next, look for potential candidates who are internally or intrinsically motivated to work at your practice and with the clients that you serve. While skills can be taught and experience gained, you can’t change someone’s internal motivation for the job.

Now, although we’d like to believe that everyone who is applying for a job is intrinsically motivated by it, unfortunately, it just really isn’t the case. For instance, it’s not uncommon for people to apply for jobs for extrinsic reasons, such as necessity and/or income. And I know I’ve applied for jobs for those reasons.

Even if you’re hiring a therapist, it doesn’t mean that that therapist aligns with your practice vision, your therapeutic orientations, or even driven to work with the type of clients that your practice works with.

For example, there are five reasons why someone might apply for a job, and four of these five reasons are externally motivated.

The first reason is that potential candidates do not have employment or are wishing to supplement part time employment so that they increase their earning potential.

The second reason is they have full time employment but are unhappy or burnt out at their current place of employment and will take any job to get out of their current situation. I could certainly relate to that one.

Third, they apply for the position because it’s an increase in pay, regardless if they think they’ll like the job or not.

The fourth reason is some people actually enter a profession or apply for a job due to strong encouragement or pressure from others, such as family, friends, and sometimes even society.

And finally, and this is the one that we hope they are applying for the job for, is that they are intrinsically motivated to work and are excited to work with the clientele, regardless of pay. Now, in saying that, pay still matters for most of us because we still have bills to pay.

However, it’s important to acknowledge that each reason is not mutually exclusive, and they can overlap, but it’s your responsibility as a potential employer to determine intrinsic motivation and fit, as there are so many extrinsic motivators that might entice someone to apply. And again, this doesn’t always lead to a good fit.

How you start identifying internal motivation is asking questions like, when providing therapy, describe the type of clients that when you work with them, time just flies by. Or, ask them their preferred therapeutic modality and why they are driven by that approach. Their answers can reveal whether their passions align with what your practice can provide them.

4. Observe for Nervousness

The fourth, which is one that’s going to sound a little unorthodox, but you want to observe whether the potential candidates are displaying some type of nervousness. Nervousness can be a positive indicator of a candidate’s genuine interest for the job.

From my experience, I found that candidates who exhibited nervousness in interviews often truly want the position. While confidence doesn’t necessarily indicate lack of desire for the position but just don’t overlook those who might be a little bit extra nervous because they might just be a perfect fit.

To bring this point home, imagine you applied for two positions. Your dream job, and a job that you just put your name in because you needed a job. Which one do you think you’re going to be more nervous about? I know for me. It’s definitely going to be the dream job. I’ve actually had this scenario in the past. The job that I really wanted. I was so nervous and I didn’t think that I could even get the job. Which, spoiler alert, I did fortunately. But I was so nervous. But I’ve also had interviews for jobs, which I really didn’t want. I just applied because I either needed income or I felt burnt out and I just needed to apply for any job. And I really wasn’t nervous at all because I really didn’t even care if I got the job.

Anyway, my point is, don’t discount someone who is nervous versus someone who might be more nonchalant. Because it can be a good indicator whether they are interested or not in the role.

5. Obtain Police Check and Child Intervention Checks

Next, ensure when you find a successful candidate, that you obtain a police check and child intervention check if they are working with children. I’m sure as a therapist, you’ve been asked at some point in your career for these documents. It’s equally important to ask for these in your practice. This not only enhances the safety of your clients, but also protects your organization from potential risks down the road. For example, a candidate might have an impressive resume, but these checks can reveal past issues that could impact client safety and your practice’s reputation.

6. Check the Successful Candidate’s License or Registration

Also, verify a successful candidate’s license or registration with the regulatory body. Almost all, if not all, regulatory bodies have a public registry where you can just go and search through their member listing to ensure that someone is in good standing.

Although we want to trust that everyone’s being truthful in their application, just because a candidate lists their license on their resume, it doesn’t guarantee that they are actively registered or in good standing with the regulatory body. So, a quick check protects your practice and your clients.

7. Hire Based on Practice Needs

Finally, hire based on your practice’s needs. I see this all too frequently. That therapists often hire the first application within a small pool of applicants. However, they might not have identified the gaps in their services. Or also looked for someone with specific client niches. Or identified areas that they specifically need assistance with. It really is tempting to hire someone with extensive experience or numerous trainings, but if their experience doesn’t align with your current needs, it might not be the best fit.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say that you have a practice that works with children who have experienced trauma. And you have two candidates that you’re choosing from, one with 20 years of experience, and maybe 50 plus trainings, with some of those trainings focused on working with children experiencing trauma. But their primary area of practice is working with adults experiencing workplace burnout. And then you have another applicant with five years’ experience, primarily working with children who’ve experienced trauma, and they have maybe just five trainings under their belt, but all five are hyper specific to working with children in some capacity. The second candidate may be a better fit because their experience and trainings are more relevant and better aligned with your practice mission, and practice needs.

Recap

So, there you have it, the seven most overlooked elements when conducting hiring interviews.

So, let’s recap.

First, develop, practice, specific interview questions.

Two, develop practical components to interviews.

Three, determine intrinsic motivation.

Four, observe for nervousness.

Five, obtain police check and child intervention checks. When you find a successful candidate, you don’t have to ask all of your applicants for that.

Six, check the successful candidates license or registration on the regulatory body’s website.

Seven, hire based on your practice needs.

Thank you for tuning into today’s episode. If you like this episode, I invite you to subscribe to the Designer Practice Podcast on major podcasting platforms, such as Apple podcast, Spotify, and YouTube so you don’t miss an episode.

Until next time. Bye for now.

Credits & Disclaimers

Music by ItsWatR from Pixabay

The Designer Practice Podcast and Evaspare Inc. has an affiliate and/or sponsorship relationship for advertisements in our podcast episodes. We receive commission or monetary compensation, at no extra cost to you, when you use our promotional codes and/or check out advertisement links.