in vino, veritas...
Posted on 02/01/2006 5:25:17 PM PST by 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.
Liberals have a "fairness" problem. Ask them questions that revolve around what "is fair". You'll know within minutes who you are dealing with.
Fair enough. I'm satisfied. I guess I'm more suspicious than I thought I was.
I would ask, in a doctorish way, what he/she thinks of Cindy Sheehan - like is she truly crazy or what. If he/she thinks Cindy is a heroine, drop the person like a hot potatoe.
At minimal cost, you can filter employment prospects on the Web. First, for any non-professional or technical position, NEVER hire a registered Democrat: They are incompetent, contentious, and their entitlement mentality defaults to scamster mode at every opportunity.
Second, NEVER hire an unmarried female under thirty: To a femmer, they will either make advances before crying "harassment", or spend endless hours of company time crafting "discrimination" complaints in amazingly diverse form, which demoralize and indeed enrage co-workers at every level of an organization.
Third, NEVER hire anyone with the slightest background in so-called "civil service" or public-employee areas, always excepting the American military (finest people in the world): Regardless of age, gender, political affiliation, these are invariably lay-abouts and hacks of near-indescribable complacency and self-importance. To a (person), they are brainwashed deadheads, terrified of saying the wrong thing... meaning, they are drained of self-respect, possess no individual initiative, lack any capacity for adult give-and-take. Strangely, the more numerous their academic credentials, the less you can expect; in fact, "higher education" seems to correlate with patterns of dishonesty up to and including theft plus physical violence when confronted. Don't let 'em in!
None of us are perfect, but many are a whole lot less perfect than others. Maybe the "wide berth" types we've described will outgrow their deficiencies... on the other hand, aging may only aggravate them. Why take the chance?
To recap: No registered Democrats; no unmarried females under thirty; no-one with any public-employee background, especially no-one waving fancy academic credentials. Doesn't at all guarantee you'll get good people, but violate these criteria and you WILL regret it. I have personally seen far too much of how these self-deluded, shameless, lying creeps operate and accordingly perform. Since you posted the query, this is my response.
in vino, veritas...
Hire me - I dunno much about doctoring (am willing to learn, tho!), but I'm so conservative, I'd make Pat Buchanan look like a Leon Trotsky!
ask for his opinion on what to do about a problem employee who can't make it to work on time, doesn't do a very thorough job when he's there, and often acts inappropriate or mouthy when given a task to complete. explain that this girl is really not all that great but has two kids she's raising and you don't want to fire her. ask the candidate what he/she would do.
if the answer is fire her, then you may have a hard time getting optimal people results from him/her.
if the answer is try to help her, then you probably have a liberal on your hands.
if it was me, i would look for someone who would say only that the employee needs to be reminded that a job is not a right and that unless certain conditions are met they will lose their job and it won't be long if things don't change.
You've probably heard of the structured behavioral interview. It's very popular with financial institutions. (I've been through a few of these.) The thing about it: You can gauge a person's responsibility level by how they answer the questions. If they cannot bring themselves to directly confront and handle dishonest behavior in others (in other words, they'll look the other way, say it's not their responsibility, rationalize, or suggest "counseling" ) they're "Liberal"—leaning, and not the kind of individuals you want.
You ask a question about how they've handled a difficult situation in the past.
What you're looking for is an ability to accurately describe the situation and why it's a problem, the actions the individual took, and why it was appropriate.
Typical questions are:
Tell me the last time you handled a customer complaint?
Describe a time when you became frustrated with a co-worker?(patient?)
When was the last time you gave feedback to a co-worker who was not performing up to standards?
You can tailor these to the circumstances of your practice. Maybe, What is your idea of the ethical standards that should be portrayed in a medical practice? How would you show those standards in your day-to-day work? Why is confidentiality important?
Good luck. I live in Western Mass. too (North Adams area). My only advice is move somewhere else, which is exactly what I'd like to do soon.
I find conservatives to be more modest & quiet, period. Maybe it's because of their deference to authority, or more strongly shaped superego, or whatever. But they're a pleasure to work with.
Although liberals can be equally productive, their personalities suck. We had one here who, though an excellent administrator, drove everyone around her crazy with her whininess & narcissism. Her voice & mannerisms were absolutely grating. Patrons kept away, since they wanted to avoid dealing with her. (This is a library.)
After she was promoted & transferred, and someone more mature (read: conservative) was hired to take her place, the whole dynamics changed. People became more relaxed. Patrons came back once more.
Ironically, our liberal friend is lonely now. Though finally given a higher job & salary, which she had complained for years she was owed, she works in an isolated office (partly because no one there wants to be around her). She phones the old place all the time for conversation.
Tell them about FreeRepublic. Wait a few days. Ask if they visited, suggest they do so. Ask them what they think about it.
Although my work is lower on the intellectual spectrum, I am my own boss and I've hired and fired a bunch of folk. What determines a good employee (construction) is attitude and ability, and lacking ability, the confidence to try. The people in this area of the country (U.P. Michigan) are proud of their roots; many of us are only third-generation Americans. Since I have Finnish roots(Soumalianen) I have fun with the people who interview who have Finn last names. I usually ask them, "Ojala, that's French, isn't it?" and they get visibly upset. So far, nobody has taken a swing at me. When I find one that does, I think I'll make him a supervisor.
I think this is just crazy. I don't care about the political views of my doctors. I care about their clinical competence. It's not unusual for people who work in health care to be idealistic, especially when they are young, and embrace a lot of liberal ideas. This is not a reason to rule them out especially if they show unusual clinical skill.
Hire the smartest and most caring doc you can find. Leave the politics to us.
Ask your candidates what magazines they subscribe to.
Or the last movie they saw, or what book they're reading right now.
Then let 'em talk as long as they want.
Oh dear.
Ritalin is cocaine... speed.
Oh dear oh dear.
Sneak a look at his car! Make, model, bumper stickers, cleanliness, what hangs from the rearview, etc. You can learn a lot. :-) (Happily, no snoop ever did this to me!)
I started a new job yesterday. It is a preschool position at a public school. Sure enough, I got treated to an idiot lib's opinion of Bush's SOTU speech. I was SO hoping she would ask my opinion, but she never did.
Best way? 90 probationary periods. Legal and works well.
90 DAY probationary period. whew.
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