Sample Behavioral Questions for Interviewing Healthcare Employees
Beware, the dreaded mis-hire! Hiring the wrong candidate for a healthcare position can be a costly mistake. But with such limited opportunities for interaction, how can interviewers get to know candidates well enough to pick up on red flags?
Enter behavioral interview questions! Whether you are tasked with interviewing healthcare executives, physicians, advanced practice providers, allied health professionals or non-clinical candidates, behavioral interview questions can help you gain insight you might otherwise miss.
Yes, traditional interview questions are essential. After all, you must learn about candidates’ education, training, skills, qualifications, interests, goals and work experience to ensure they’re suited for the role.
But you’ll also need to know how they’ll handle crises, how well they’ll get along with colleagues, how they’ll treat your patients, whether their personality and ethics align with your organizational culture, what happens when they make mistakes, and more. AND…you have limited time to dig in and elicit this critical information.
Behavioral Interview Questions
Behavioral interview questions can help you evaluate soft skills, including (DePaul):
- Adaptability
- Ambition
- Analytical thinking
- Communication
- Conflict resolution
- Planning
- Presentation
- Resourcefulness
- Cultural competency
- Decision making
- Delegation
- Initiative
- Innovation
- Self-assessment
- Stress management
- Integrity
- Leadership
- Learning
- Listening
- Organization
- Patient interaction
- Teamwork
- Time management
- Values
Sample Behavioral Interview Questions
Create a list of behavioral interview questions tailored to your facility and the particular position. Here are a few ideas for a start:
- Give an example of an impactful change at a past organization you worked with and how you adapted to that change.
- Tell us about a time you had a conflict with a patient, patient’s family member, colleague or supervisor or observed a dispute between others and how you resolved it.
- Do you work well under pressure? What strategies do you use to cope when things get hectic?
- Can you give an example of a mistake you made and how you handled the error?
- How do you make patients of various backgrounds feel comfortable and safe?
- What do you do to ensure you’re always learning?
- If you have served in a supervisory capacity, give an example of effective delegation and outcomes.
- Can you give an example of how you participated in teamwork to help resolve a crisis?
- What would you do if a patient started panicking? What if they got up and started to leave the facility?
- How would you respond to an unprofessional colleague?
- What motivates you on days you feel overwhelmed?
- Do you see yourself as an advocate for patients? How?
- How comfortable are you speaking in front of others?
- How do you show others you are listening?
- How do you feel about patient education? In what ways do you like to include patients in the care journey?
- What is your vision for your career?
- What is your vision for this organization?
- What do you do when you do not have the supplies, materials or resources you need?
- How do you evaluate your performance?
- What brings you joy in your career?
As an interviewer, you aim to identify ideal candidates for your organization, but it’s not always easy. Behavioral interview questions can help you discover who align with your organizational culture, be part of an effective team, deliver the safest and best care possible, make patients feel confident and satisfied, and ultimately, move your organization forward.
We’re ready to partner with you! Connect with Cross Country Search to get the right healthcare executives, physicians, advanced practice providers, allied health professionals, non-clinical employees and other healthcare talent for your facility.
