John Borrowman, CPC
Borrowman Baker, LLC
Gallatin, TN
Interviewing has a parallel in dating when both sides are putting their best foot forward. No surprise that useful, real-life information can get missed in either scenario.
When you interview, you want to find a practice where a good job performance will bring rewards. It’s natural to want the room to climb the career ladder. “Rise as fast as you want to” can sound sweet. Test that by asking if you can meet someone who is evidence of what you are being told. Maybe there is someone many levels up who started in your job. Maybe there is a “fast-tracker” in another department who can attest to the potential to climb up. Don’t be shy about checking claims. If proof is quickly offered, all the better. If not, you are better off knowing that now.
The culture of a BV/LS practice is tops on most everyone’s list of things to ask about. Relying on euphemisms about “work-life balance” risks being tangled up in subjective judgments, however. If you want reliable information about what the culture is day-to-day, ask your would-be peers. Pose specific questions that include a scenario:
If you know several days in advance, can you usually get away for your child’s soccer game?
If you really must stay home at the last minute with a sick child, how does management usually take that news?
When it comes to interviewing, it is easy to get swept up in the romance that a practice you respect wants you to come to work for them. Taking the time to ask the right questions can help you avoid the heartache of a bad job choice.
When it comes to dating, you are on your own.
