Transcript
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Have you ever asked a question in a job interview that absolutely, completely changed your perception of that clinic's culture?
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In today's episode, we're diving into the art of asking the right questions to uncover the true essence, the true values of a clinic's environment, the culture.
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So stay tuned as we explore the top questions that you can ask to ensure the clinic's values align with yours.
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Welcome to Veterinary Voices.
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This is episode 209 and I'm your show host, judy South.
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With listeners tuning in from over 1400 cities worldwide, veterinary Voices celebrates all that's great about working in New Zealand's veterinary industry.
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I'd love to hear where you're listening from right now, so please feel free to share your location with me at veterinaryvoicesnz.
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It's also at veterinaryvoicesnz where you can find back copies as well.
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Veterinary Voices is brought to you by VetStaff, New Zealand's only recruitment agency specialising in helping veterinary professionals find jobs that they're excited about going to on Monday mornings in Kiwi vet clinics.
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That's vetstaffconz.
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Let's face it in a job interview, both parties the employer and the potential employee are both putting on their best faces.
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They're presenting their best foot.
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I think it's fair to say that both want to impress the other, and both sides will probably say something like especially at the end of the job interview that they've got other applicants to consider probably next week, always afterwards or, in the job applicants case, that you've got another interview lined up with another clinic.
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Sometimes people say these things even if and even when they're not true, because neither side wants to appear desperate.
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So to a degree both will be playing a little bit hard to get.
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But as a job applicant, what kind of questions can you ask to get a feel for the culture of the clinic?
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Let's face it, at the end of the day it's attitude that matters most, by the employer and the employee.
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If you're the job applicant, you need to know the team that you'll be working with is governed or ruled or adheres to a set of values that aligns with your own.
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And if you're the hiring manager, you need to know that the values of the person that you're interviewing mesh with your clinics.
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They don't mess with them.
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I've already recorded a couple of episodes about toxicity, so you can check out episode 60, and that's entitled 10 Warning Signs and how to Recognize Vet Clinic Toxicity at the Job Interview.
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I'll put links to that in the show notes at veterinaryvoicesnz.
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And also episode 35, 15 questions to ask veterinary professionals at job interviews to determine whether they'll mess or mesh with your clinic.
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Again, both of those episodes the links to both of those episodes will be at veterinaryvoicesnz and both of those episodes, just so you know, date back to when this show was known as Paws Claws, wet Noses.
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Now, today, what questions can you, as the job seeker, ask at the job interview to check out the culture of a clinic?
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Ask at the job interview to check out the culture of a clinic and, at the same time, if you're listening to this and you're an interviewing manager, be prepared to answer, if you're the job applicant, before you even get to the interview stage.
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Hopefully you've checked out the clinic yourself.
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You've gone online and you've done a bit of research.
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You've checked out the clinic's website and their social media pages.
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Keep in mind, though, that the About Us and, if the Clinic has a Careers page on their website, those are written to impress, so keep an open mind about what you read there.
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For a more impartial sense of what it's like to work at a clinic, what you're looking for are reviews, both employee and the customer.
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The Google reviews will give you an idea of what their customers think about the clinic, the staff and the service If you go to places like Glassdoor or Indeed, they are employee reviews, but none of these reviews are verified.
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So just because there might be a five-star review or there might be a one-star review, it doesn't mean it's for real.
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It could be a vindictive competitor, could be anybody.
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As an offset to that, please visit vetclinicjobscom, one of the sponsors of this podcast.
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The reviews there are verified by real human beings and you know that they are genuine and bona fide.
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What's more, at vetclinicjobscom you can actually search for employers by their reviews.
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So that's vetclinicjobscom.
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Okie, dokie, you've done your online research and you've decided that you'd like to be part of this clinic's team.
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Now what?
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What questions can you ask?
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Here are 10 that you can ask during a job interview to help you find out more about the culture of a clinic.
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First question of the person who's interviewing you can you describe the clinic's culture?
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That's the question.
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Can you describe the clinic's culture?
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What words would you use to describe the clinic's culture?
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It's a direct question.
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It can help give you a broad overview of how the people at that clinic view the culture of the place that they work at.
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Number two what do you most enjoy about working here?
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What would the lead vet or the head nurse say about working here, that's if you're being interviewed by the practice manager or the HR manager.
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So what would the lead vet or the head nurse also say about working here?
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What that does is it gives you an insight into how your peers value or perceive about working at that clinic.
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Question number three how does the clinic support professional development and career growth?
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Question number three how does the clinic support professional development and career growth?
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This is because a clinic that invests in its employees' growth is likely to have a positive culture.
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Number four can you give examples of how the clinic looks for and responds to employee feedback?
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This question can help you understand how open the clinic is to change and improvement and whether it's proactive with its feedback or not.
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Of course, nobody's going to say that, yeah, we go out and get feedback and then we keep all the answers in a bottom drawer and don't do anything with them.
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So just ask how they look for and then how they respond to employee feedback.
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Question number five how does the clinic promote work-life balance?
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They might say that they've got it and they're all for it, but how do they do it?
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What does that look like when you understand the clinic's approach to work-life balance, you know what you're looking for and whether that aligns with you.
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You know they might say that we're a family-focused clinic.
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Well, how?
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What does that look like?
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Now I just want to interrupt this chat for a very brief moment to share something important for clinics that are doing their own recruitment.
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Vetclinicjobscom mentioned them already.
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You probably already know and agree that traditional recruitment methods just aren't cutting it anymore, which means that a different approach to recruitment is necessary.
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If you're an employer who wants to work direct with job applicants and you're a job applicant who wants to work direct with the employer in other words, no recruitment agencies involved then your job advertisement needs to be listed on vetclinicjobscom.
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Vetclinicjobscom shows employers how to boost their clinic's employer brand, which is what we're talking about today, which is just what job seekers want to know about.
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The employer brand is completely different to a client brand and at just $99, new Zealand dollars per vacancy listing, it's totally affordable.
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So visit vetclinicjobscom today and give your job listings the oomph that they need, and check out different employee reviews vetclinicjobscom.
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Now let's get back to today's show.
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We are up to question number six what are the clinic's values and how are they lived out and implemented in everyday work life?
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This question helps you see whether the clinic's stated values align with its action.
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Also, is the person answering this question fumbling around with what they think the clinic's values are?
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Do they even know them?
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Are the values actually determined?
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So what are the clinic's values?
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Question number seven how does the clinic celebrate team successes?
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This gives you an idea about how achievements are recognized and celebrated.
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Obviously, what you're looking for to hear here is about successes from different teams, not just the vets.
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How is the admin and the support team recognized, or is it just the veterinarians, the only ones talked about?
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Question number eight can you describe a typical team meeting?
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This question can help reveal about how collaborative, collegial and communicative the team is.
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Is it the sort of team meeting that you'd like to attend?
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Number nine what are some of the challenges that the clinic is currently facing and how are they working through those?
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In New Zealand, we're currently working our way out of a recession.
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Some clinics have closed around the country, some clinics are short-staffed and some clinics are overstaffed.
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Understanding the challenges can give you an insight into the clinic's current priorities and how the teams various teams, different teams and the clinic handle those difficulties?
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And then, finally, question number 10, how does the clinic ensure diversity and inclusion?
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Do all the different people that you're talking with meeting with, seeing, if you're going for in-clinic interviews?
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Do they look the same or different?
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Do they sound the same or different Ethnically?
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What about age and experience?
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Wise, hopefully there's at least a few men in the clinic.
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This question and this insight, this viewing, can help you understand the clinic's commitments to creating an inclusive environment where everyone's contribution is important, including yours.
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I hope you found those questions helpful.
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Remember that if you're looking for a job, please check out vetclinicjobscom.
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If your clinic is looking for staff and actually even if it's not, if you enjoy working where you do, then one of the most supportive things that you can do to help your clinic is give it a five-star review at vetclinicjobscom.
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As I said, every review is 100% anonymous and it is verified, so it helps your peers and colleagues who are looking for jobs know the good places to work at.
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Check out vetclinicjobscom.
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This is Julie South, signing off until next week, inviting you to go out there and be the most fantabulous version of you you can be.
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Thank you for spending the last quarter of an hour or so of your life with me.
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This is Julie South signing off Ka kite anō.
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Take care.
