A couple months ago I posted an article entitled “The Perfect Dental Hygiene Resume” and got lots of great feedback. Curiously, some of it came from dentists, which while unexpected is awesome.
I recall one dentist made several interesting suggestions, but a few of them were not necessarily to your advantage. There’s a subtle game that takes place between employers and job seekers and it’s important for you to know or remember the rules.
Next week I will share with you those few things dentists would love to know about you, but that you should not share.
But this week I want to cover the two most important things dental employers want that you need DO need to share. Always keep these in mind as you create/update a resume and other materials, and as you prepare for your interview:
1. How well will this hygienist get along with me and the rest of the staff?
2. How good are they at building and maintaining relationships with patients?
Everything you do – from resume prep to interview prep – should be a response to those two areas.
How do you do that? You have to know what they want – here are two ways to get it:
First, it will often be listed in the job announcement itself. “We are seeking an organized and fun hygienist that…”
Use those words “organized” and “fun” in your materials and interview, then pull out your thesaurus and find related words so as to avoid too much repetition. For example, a great substitute for “organized” is “efficient” and “fun” can be swapped out with “pleasant,” “lively,” or “energetic.”
Second, I am giving you permission to “stalk” your employer. Not the actual people that work there (although some of you will go to that extent also), I am mostly talking about the business itself.
Follow their social media channels, jump on their website. Talk to people that might know people that work there. Talk to patients and former patients, if you can. Read online patient reviews about the office (that can be very enlightening).
In essence, do your homework on the employer so you can know the culture and can speak their language. There are unique things about every office – you probably won’t find all of them. But you can usually find enough that will help you create immediate connections with them and they will have a higher level of confidence in selecting you.
I recently interviewed several people for a position, two of the three had clearly done their homework – guess which two seemed the most prepared for the interview?
This is all extra work you have to do through, yes. But it does make a difference. Even though the differences between hygienists can seem really subtle at times, doing these extra little things are what will help you close the deal – get hired!
