Tips for Hiring Team Members with No Dental Experience
Let me begin by saying that I’ve been in dentistry longer than I’ve been alive. Well… not really, but it sure seems that way some days.
I started my dental career when I was a junior in high school, working after school with a local dentist. I was trained in his office as a dental assistant and took numerous continuing education courses to get x-ray certified, my coronal polishing certification, etc.
This was 44 years ago, and I’m proud to say that I am still as passionate about learning new things in my job as I was just starting out.
I’m providing this background to demonstrate that for certain positions in your office, you don’t have to hire someone with years of experience.
How to hire people with no industry experience
Always search for a candidate with an amazing personality, work ethic, and eagerness to learn new things.
Individuals with these traits will be like a sponge and soak up the experiences so unlike many that may have been in the field for years and are in it just for a paycheck.
There are many tools out there to help you determine if an individual is right for your team.
Personality style testing resources such as “DISC” is one such tool that helps to assess not only your team but potential candidates.
Organize a lunch with the candidate and your team in an effort to get to know them prior to making your final decision.
Once you’ve decided and are committed to hiring an individual with less experience, it’s important to recognize you may need to approach training in a different way.
With an inexperienced team member, you need to begin with a detailed checklist and timelines for each item to be tackled.
Whatever department this new employee has been hired for, make it the responsibility of that department team lead to take the newbie under their wing and help grow this new team member successfully.
Celebrate the accomplishments and work through the mistakes or miss-steps until they are mastered.
Believe me; you’ll be happy with the decision to hire and train someone to flourish in your office.
I’ve had a long, successful dental career that keeps growing, simply because a doctor decided to take a chance on me when I was young.
I’ve assisted chairside, worked at the front, worked with Patterson Dental Company as an Eaglesoft dental software trainer, consulted as a practice management expert, and managed single and multiple location practices. Oh, and did I mention, I don’t have plans to slow down anytime soon.
Meet the Author
Liz Russell, MAADOM has worked in the dental industry for over 40 years. She began her career with a job after school and worked her way from there.
Over the years, she has served as everything from an Eaglesoft trainer to establishing her own practice management business. She has managed single and multiple-location dental practices and is co-president of the Triangle AADOM Chapter… This text opens a new tab to the chapter’s website… in Raleigh, NC.
