If you are the owner of a dental practice, or if you are the hiring manager for a dental office, you have the important job of finding the best employees for your company. 

While this job is super exciting, it is also super important that you are able to choose the best fit for each open position that becomes available. 

Finding the best fit for an open position means that the candidate has the right experience, skills, and qualifications to be successful in that role, as well as being a good culture fit for the dental office as a whole. 

During each interview you have to gather as much information as possible about each candidate, in a short period of time. 

It is important that you ask questions within the interview that address all of these aspects, to make sure that the candidate you decide to hire is the best fit for the job. 

Here are the best interview questions to ask job candidates so that you can find the best skill fit and culture fit for your open positions. 

What Career Accomplishment Makes You the Proudest?

Even though you may be able to read about career accomplishments on the candidates’ resumes, it is beneficial for you to know what they take the most pride in with their work. 

By asking this question you can see what they view as their best accomplishment, and how it made them feel when they accomplished that thing. 

You will be able to more thoroughly understand what type of work that candidate likes to do, and what they are most passionate about in the workplace. 

Answering this question will also make the candidate feel more comfortable and confident during the interview because they are talking in depth about something they feel good about. 

Why Do You Want to Work Here?

This question is extremely important to ask during each interview, because it allows you to see who did their research and preparation for the interview and who didn’t.

Candidates that did research on your open position and on your company will be able to give specific details during their answers to this question, and will be able to link the research they did with their own personal goals and aspirations. 

Certain answers to this question will let you know who is truly passionate about working at your company and who isn’t. 

How Would You Describe Your Working Style?

Knowing what type of working style a candidate prefers is important before you hire them, so that you can see if they will be successful and happy in your type of work environment. 

Some candidates may work better under a strict structure while others perform better under their own direction, and some candidates may like to work more independently while others like a more collaborative approach. 

Understanding which type of work style is best for them lets you know how well they will perform within your company, and within your team. 

Tell Me Something About Yourself That Others May Be Surprised to Know About You

This question is a great way to get to know something interesting about the candidates that you are interviewing. 

It is not a very common question that will come up in a standard interview, so it may also catch the candidates a little off guard. 

This allows you to see how quickly they can handle things that they are not prepared for, and how confident they are in uncalled-for situations. 

What is Your Ideal Position and Why?

Asking this question gives the candidate an opportunity to share what their best skills are personally and professionally, and what type of work they would like to do to use these skills. 

It also allows you to see if their ideal position aligns with your open position. If you are interviewing someone who’s ideal position is completely different than the one they are interviewing for, then the role is not a good fit for the candidate or for your company. 

Describe a Difficult Work Situation and How You Overcame It

Every candidate has faced difficult and challenging situations at work, but the most important part is how they overcame those setbacks. 

The way that employees handle a challenging situation and work through it is usually the time where they grow the most professionally. 

This question gives the candidate an opportunity to explain a tough situation, talk about their problem solving skills, and speak on their ability to manage stress in the workplace. 

Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job?

If a candidate is leaving their current job for specific reasons, it is important that you know what those reasons are.

Whether they are looking for a new management style, a different company culture, or were just working a totally wrong position, you need to see if your open job matches up with what they are looking for.

If your open job is similar to the job they are wanting to leave, then it will not be a good idea to hire that candidate, because they will end up not being happy in the role again. 

This also allows you to better understand the candidate. If they are constantly talking poorly about their previous employer or the company, then that is a red flag. 

What is One Skill You Would Like to Improve and How Do You Plan on Improving It?

This question is similar to the “what is your biggest weakness?” question, but is structured a little differently. 

This allows the candidate to not fully focus on the negatives, but to address something that they would like to be better at, and provide a plan of action for improving it. 

If a candidate is able to identify a problem and provide a possible solution for it, that shows that they are willing and able to learn and grow within the workplace.