Seeking legal interviewing strategies to avoid hiring whiny/entitled liberal employees (Vanity)

1/31/2006

[doctora]

My first vanity post and hope it's not an imposition. I'd really appreciate the suggestions from fellow freepers and I suspect others may benefit from this discussion.

I'm a doctor about to hire an associate for my practice. A few years ago I realized I was politically conservative which explained why very often a common thread among people I didn't respect was their liberal politcs. Their values were totally opposite mine. I've had some bad employees in the past - turned out they were all liberals (not that being conservative on its own makes one a good employee, to be fair). So it occurs to me a likely predictor of a bad employee (for me) is a liberal.

I hired an associate doctor two months ago who interviewed great but turned south fast. I fired him one month later. He was whiny, complained, treated my staff poorly, brought his personal junk to the office, felt entitled to running the place as he saw fit, etc. You guessed it - turns out he's a liberal. I even caught him Bush-bashing with a patient which I put an end to fast.

I've decided a liberal would be a very poor fit in an associate and I won't make this mistake again. (Also, there's a strong faith component to my practice: we're here to serve God, our bodies are God's Temple designed with the power to heal).

Politics isn't something one can raise in an interview and I'm seeking some ideas on probing for liberal traits. My office is in Western MA so I'm already playing against the odds.

Before I hire the next associate, I'm going to take him/her out to dinner with my husband. Hopefully, during a 3 hour dinner outside the office more will be revealed.

Any ideas on interviewing strategies to avoid hiring a whiny liberal?

Some thoughts that crossed my mind, especially to bring up during the dinner:

1) If has school-aged kids, ask how they feel about their school system. What they like and dislike about it.

2) What kinds of volunteer work they've done.

Any and all ideas very much appreciated.

[Melas]

What would you learn from me? I don't own a car of my own, but drive my wife's occasionally. My vehicle is a 2003 Harley Davidson with mini-apes, and a high sissy bar with a small sticker that says, "15 grand and 15 miles don't make you a biker."

[LK44-40]

Ahhh...not a ~real~ badboy biker but a wannabe, a weekend warrior.

I would say, "Thanks so much for applying but we got all that we can use."

Now donning flameproof, OSHA-certified outerwear.

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

What type of medical practice?

[Melas]

You're smoking crack. 40,000 miles on a 3 year old motorcycle and you'd call me a weekend warrior? lol. Too funny.

[chgomac]

After you've asked the usual questions, try these:

"If all of your former bosses and supervisors were talking freely about their employees, what would they say about you?"

"Tell me about the best boss you've had and why she/he was your favorite"

"Now tell me about the worst boss"

These questions are not fool proof,after hundreds of hires, you can still get snookered, but the answers do provide some interesting data when you are considering if the applicant will fit in with your team.

I'd hire a liberal who works hard, gets the job done, plays nice with everybody and speaks highly of former bosses (and knows they would say the same about him)in spite of our political differences.

[LK44-40]

You're smoking crack. 40,000 miles on a 3 year old motorcycle and you'd call me a weekend warrior? lol. Too funny.

~You~ are smoking crack if you think a doctor looking for a specifically Christian associate for his practice might want to hire a Harley riding, tatooed, wild-bearded rebel (play rebel ~or~ real rebel) like yourself.

I don't really know you, Melas, although I took a peek at your homepage. Maybe you are a wonderful person.

But you are projecting a badboy motorcycle gang image. That is mainly what is visible. It is like high school kids doing the gangsta thing with their pants falling off and their sneakers untied.

We have to make quick judgements in life. If I had to make a quick judgement on your appearance (especially if I were a doctor seeking a "Christian" associate), I would move along to the next candidate.

It is your choice too present yourself as Hell's Angel type. You might rail about my ignorance of biker culture and you would be right. But you are chosing to project yourself that way. The consequence will be some harsh judgements which might not be justified if people had more time and could look deeper. Often, though, the door slams on superficialities. You make your choices; you live with the consequences.

[B4Ranch]

Tel him/her what your beliefs are and ask, "Can you live with that for 40+ hours a week and still do the job expected of you?"

Then tag on a short probationary period and find out if they told you the truth. At the end of the probationary period, have a review and make any changes needed.

[Melas]

You~ are smoking crack if you think a doctor looking for a specifically Christian associate for his practice might want to hire a Harley riding, tatooed, wild-bearded rebel (play rebel ~or~ real rebel) like yourself

That would be fun, since the only things I know about medicne are second hand from my wife. I'm not looking for work in medicine, so I don't understand where that comment came from at all.

I don't really know you, Melas, although I took a peek at your homepage. Maybe you are a wonderful person.

My mother thought so.

But you are projecting a badboy motorcycle gang image. That is mainly what is visible. It is like high school kids doing the gangsta thing with their pants falling off and their sneakers untied.

I've always been a biker, always. My father rode bikes in the service during WWII, and brought the passion back with him. My first bike was a 50cc Honda with a centrifigul clutch, when I was 6. When I grew up, there were always bikers and bikes around the house. I just reflect the world the I grew up in, and subsequently live in.

It is your choice too present yourself as Hell's Angel type. You might rail about my ignorance of biker culture and you would be right. But you are chosing to project yourself that way. The consequence will be some harsh judgements which might not be justified if people had more time and could look deeper. Often, though, the door slams on superficialities. You make your choices; you live with the consequences.

I have no problems with your views on biker culture, or being associated with it. I'm proud to be a biker. That's not what raised my ire. What got me was when you said, Ahhh...not a ~real~ badboy biker but a wannabe, a weekend warrior. See, you might not realize it, but in my circles, that's a horrific insult. To us, a weekend warrior is a RUB (Rich Urban Biker), who's probably a CPA or an orthodontist in the real world, but like two grow 2 days worth of stuble and play badass biker on the weekends, most likely on a bike that doesn't 2,000 whole miles a year.

Weekend Warrior is never and appropriate description for the biker who uses his bike as his primary mode of transportion, never. The RUBs primary vehicle is probably an Escalade, a BMW, a Mercedes or a Lexus. It's never the Harley.

[LK44-40]

Okay...no real harm intended. Just posting with a little attitude for amusement. Ride strong, dude.

[ncountylee]

Clean your gun during the interview. LOL

[LibertarianInExile]

Sue Bob is 100% correct, doctora. Any advice on this thread is worth what you paid for it. You should talk to an employment lawyer before you get yourself in trouble. People are sued for asking the wrong questions these days, and as a doctor, you do NOT want to get any more sued than you probably already are.

And don't worry about the cost, because you'll save money on that lawsuit later. Additionally, you can probably get advice cheaply just paying in trade, as most lawyers in Massachusetts will likely need their heads surgically removed from their fannies. 8^)

[Son Of The Godfather]

Just mix politics in to the profession:

"Which method do you prefer to cut out a cancer?... Surgical precision strikes, or 'cut-and-run'?"

[doctora]

Great advice - thank you.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

Are most Volvo drivers liberals? Do Ford pickup drivers vote Republican. Has anyone done a study on the subject?

[AUJenn]

They never do. They just assume you feel the exact same way and it never occurs to them that you may disagree. Trust me, I have dealt with this SO many times lately. Most recently our waitress; it got so bad, I almost went and talked to the manager.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

WOW,
You just managed to hit several categories that apply to me and I must say unfairly.

1) I would be generally disposed to hire conservatives, rather than liberals, but there are still many people in the South that call themselves Democrats that vote for conservatives (who now are usually Republicans). Also, I am and lawyer and work with Democrats and Republicans, and frankly, would hire most of the Democrats (and Republicans) if I was making a hiring decision. None of the Democrats are Howard Dean types.
2) As for hiring an unmarried female under thirty, until recently, my Daughter and Stepdaughter were under thirty and both unmarried. Both have done quite well in their careers since they work hard, are proud of their work and very professional.
Neither have filed harassment claims.
3) Also, I am a civil service employee of the Military, and proud to support our troops. I work with civilian personnel and discrimination cases. Previously,I worked in acquisition. I have worked countless hours of overtime for my client (the taxpayer) and strive to uncover waste, fraud or abuse. I am not a deadhead in any way. Further, NONE of my colleagues can be called deadheads. I will admit that firing people in the Federal Government is hard, but the command that I currently work for does it when necessary and we almost always win our cases on appeal.
4) Last but not least, I am a lawyer and have a law degree, which makes me one of your "higher educated" types. Again, I cannot see the connection. I suppose there is always a potential problem with hiring a person with too much education (over qualified) for a position, but I find that people that have to work hard and get an advanced degree age generally have something on the ball.

You are a FREEPER and I will grant you that we probably agree on a lot of political issues, but I think your generalizations are at a minimum largely overstated.

Better to evaluate the person and their track record.

[fishbabe]

so an owner can bring up political affliation and not hire libs???I'm set to hire 6 people and I know the majority of them would be liberal...I live in Los Angeles....

[fishbabe]

Can I put in job advertisment that only conservatives wanted???????

[Gordongekko909]

It's not a protected class. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn't have a title listing Dems, as a group, as a protected class. Discriminate away.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

Good luck. Complainants come up with many novel arguments to sue. They will likely claim that your preference for Republicans is a pretext for discrimination. Many Democrats are women, minorities, old or non-Christian, so they will have grounds to sue you. Just be sure you have plenty of insurance and legal representation.