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Be Ready For Interviewer Curveball Questions
"Doctor, if you were an animal, which one would you be?"
Can you imagine interviewing for a $140,000 position as a primary-care physician and having to respond to such a kindergarten question. It happened to one of our candidates. Wacky as the question may seem, the doctor who asked it wasn't insane. He thought it was a good way to comprehend the candidate's character.
Most of your job interviews will be conducted by physicians. Few are trained as professional interviewers, and some of their questions may seem a tad idiosyncratic-or just plain loony. So get set to be asked some pretty weird things.
Like: "Who gave you your latest fruitcake?" This actual question was supposed to shed light on patient satisfaction. The doctor-interviewer's logic: Patients who like a physician will often present him with gifts.
A candidate interviewing with a group in North Dakota was asked if he had a pilot's license. Was the interviewer trying to determine whether the candidate could fly the group's Learjet to care for patients in remote areas. No. In fact, the Learjet was used to fly the group's doctors to Pebble Beach golf course in California. All the partners were licensed and expected to take turns manning the cockpit. If the candidate accepted the job, he would have to earn his wings as well.
A weird interview. Maybe the job is worth it
When you encounter a strange or uncomfortable situation in a job interview, the best advice is to stay loose, and be ready for anything. Even if your potential employers ask questions that seem odd, don't be too quick to walk away from the opportunity. Maybe, despite the signals you're getting, the job is still ideal in ways not easy to duplicate elsewhere: The location may be perfect, the position interesting or prestigious, or the money too good to pass up. And an interviewer's seeming nuttiness may not be representative either of that person or of the other doctors in the practice.
Weirdness notwithstanding, give your all on every interview. First, get that offer, then decide whether or not to take the job.
Not every curveball should come as a surprise
Although some interview situations are so bizarre you'd have to be psychic to foresee them, many doctors are thrown by questions they really should have anticipated. For example:
You may be asked your feelings about managed care. This could be a loaded question; find out how the group earns its income so that you can best frame your response. If 20 percent or more of the group's patients are from HMOs, the preferred response is probably going to be one that talks about delivering quality care at low cost. On the other hand, if the group still does only fee-for-service, show that you'd be a good cultural fit by focusing on the benefits of not having to ask permission to order every X-ray or test.
Be prepared to describe a clinical error that was your fault. Every doctor makes mistakes, but when those mistakes are covered up, their consequences are compounded-for the patient and the doctor. The interviewer usually wants you to discuss what went wrong, explain what-with the wisdom of hindsight-you should have done differently, and, most important, have the guts to accept responsibility for the incident. Insisting that your performance is always error-free won't make you seem perfect, just immature.
Expect to be quizzed about your productivity, particularly if you're competing for a job in a heavy managed-care market. Common questions: "What's your typical day like. How many patients do you normally see. Are those patients fee-for-service or managed care. Old or young. And what's their health status?
Another inquiry that often takes doctors by surprise: "Tell me about your most recent conflict with a nurse." Or a variation: "How long has your nurse been with you?" Groups that do a lot of managed-care business expect physicians to be part of an interdisciplinary team, along with nurses, midwives, and physician assistants. These midlevel professionals perform many clinical tasks, freeing physicians to concentrate on more-complex diagnoses, tests, and procedures. If you show disdain for midlevel providers, you can probably kiss that job goodbye.
Questions about patient satisfaction should also come as no surprise. Have you recently been surveyed. If so, how well have you fared. Be prepared to discuss your scores and how they compare with those of other physicians. But showing up with an actual survey, as one candidate did, is probably overkill, more likely to arouse suspicion than lay it to rest.
Whether you believe in performing therapeutic abortions is another make-or-break question doctors often fail to anticipate. To find out beforehand the employer's policy, ask the person with whom you make interview arrangements. If you feel strongly one way or another on the issue, make your feelings known to that person. It may spare you from going on an interview that's fated not to work out.
Strange questions aren't the only pitfalls
Curveball questions are just one thing you need to be prepared for. Other aspects of the interview process can also catch doctors unawares. For example:
Quite a few candidates show up for interviews planned well in advance and are left cooling their heels, because the doctor-interviewer forgot about the appointment or didn't consider it important enough to keep. Should this happen, proceed to the next interview at the appointed time. If you don't have another interview, wait quietly for an hour, and then inform the receptionist that you can be reached at your hotel. Do you have a right to be furious. Yes. Should you communicate that fury. No. Keep your eye on the ball.
You'll probably be taken out for at least one meal. If your hosts are ordering glasses of Chardonnay, resist the urge to quaff double vodka martinis. An employer once complained to us that a candidate drank more at dinner than he ate.
Politics is a passion-filled, job-losing subject. If it comes up at dinner, particularly if everyone's feeling loquacious after a couple of drinks, stay out of the discussion. Republicans and Democrats are alike in one respect: They're far more interested in voicing their own opinions than in hearing yours. Nod politely, ask questions, and avoid giving your two cents, and you'll be amazed at how intelligent most people will assume you are.
This article was published by Cejka Search and originally appeared in Medical Economics Magazine. Copyright by Medical Economics Company Inc. at Montvale, NJ 07645. All rights reserved.