Victoria Vilas on how to identify the stars among job applicants

A job applicant’s CV may provide you with an overview of their work experience, training and skills, but the facts and figures laid out in that document won’t give you much of an insight into whether that person has the right attitude, work ethic, or personality to it with your role and your clinic team. When answering interview questions, an interviewee could give generic answers, providing you with standard responses that they think employers want to hear. Though the answers may sound acceptable, they won’t reveal much of an interviewee’s true personality or outlook. To try and better understand your job applicants, look beyond their CV and their rehearsed answers, and look at their actions and their behaviour.

COMMUNICATION

First of all, when you contacted your applicant to invite them to interview, did they respond promptly? Did your applicant sound positive and polite when replying to you? If an applicant has a good work ethic and has a strong desire to get the job at your clinic, they should demonstrate this by making the effort to communicate professionally and show some eagerness. Their communication will give you your first insight into how your applicant may act as an employee. A new employee who understands the importance of professional communication and is excited about their new role is more likely to strive to become a valuable employee than someone who appears disengaged or a bit too casual.

When you held your interview, was your applicant easy to talk to? Though some interviewees can be understandably nervous, do watch out for warning signs that someone may not be the team player you are looking for. Interviewees who talk in an open and straightforward manner, and those who try and highlight the positive aspects of their work history, are more likely to bring a good energy to your clinic team than those who are negative about past roles or seem defensive when asked to explain their answers further. Do take note if your interviewee is not forthcoming or gives superficial answers. This is not to suggest that you should have a suspicion that every applicant has something to hide, but someone who doesn’t probably won’t be cagey during an interview.

Did your interviewee do a good job of balancing talking and listening? Though it’s good to meet a job applicant with enthusiasm and plenty to say about their passion for the aesthetic medicine industry, it’s also a good sign if an interviewee listens carefully to the questions you ask and comments you make. New clinic employees will need to listen to managers or colleagues to learn and follow clinic processes correctly.

EFFORT

Did your applicant make the effort to write a covering letter or note of some sort? You can’t expect every applicant to be a talented writer, but writing a covering note, even if it is very brief, shows that a job seeker has made more of an effort than just submiting their CV, and that they perhaps care more about their application.

How much research and preparation did your interviewee do prior to interview? You may not have asked your candidate to prepare anything in particular, but they should certainly have made an effort to understand your clinic business before attending an interview. Every clinic website is easily accessible to job applicants and will usually provide a good deal of useful information, such as your treatment menu, your USPs, and perhaps the company history and profiles of the clinic team. Candidates for interview should be reading this information for their own benefit, to get an idea of whether your clinic is a good it for their needs and wants before they take their application further, not just so they can prove that they know something about your business if questioned at interview.

PROFESSIONALISM

Did your applicant present themselves professionally at interview? For example, did they arrive at interview looking smart and well groomed? Regardless of whether your vacancy is for a patient-facing role or a back-oice administrative position, a good job applicant should demonstrate something of their intent and their work ethic by making an effort to look presentable and professional when they first meet their prospective employer. Someone who turns up to an interview looking scruffy may also turn up at work looking unkempt.

Did your applicant use professional language throughout their communication with you? Even if you both got on well during the interview, an interview is a formal meeting, not a chat with friends. It’s a good sign if an applicant is personable and shows some warmth and spirit, but they should stick to language and topics suitable for a workplace discussion with an employer

Candidates should also make the effort to be polite. It isn’t hard to show a bit of courtesy and simply say “please” or “thank you” when appropriate. If you are interviewing a candidate for a patient-facing role where customer service skills are key, they should demonstrate that they are courteous at interview.

Though some interviewees can be understandably nervous, do watch out for warning signs that someone may not be the team player

PERSONALITY

You may be making a judgement on whether an applicant will be a good it your clinic role, not your group of friends, but do ask yourself this: did you like them? You need to consider whether a new employee will work well with your other team members, and please your patients. If you thought your interviewee was a pleasant person with positive personality traits, your team and your patients are likely to think the same. If you find someone to be quite cold and distant, do consider what effect this may have on teamwork and customer service.

You can’t expect to collect a thorough profile of any person through a couple of interviews alone, but you can look for traits that will give you an outline of their personality, and have a better idea of whether they will be a positive addition to the team. Is your candidate honest, open-minded, eager to learn, adaptable, sociable, positive thinking, energetic, kind and understanding, confident but modest, and a good communicator? If so, you may have found a valuable new employee. AM

Victoria Vilas is marketing and operations manager at ARC, an aesthetics recruitment consultancy. The ARC team helps organisations in the industry grow their businesses by hiring the most talented aesthetic professionals.