Maybe you interviewed last month for a short term assignment. Maybe you haven’t interviewed in years. Either way, here are some great interviewing suggestions for your next HIT consulting position:
- Be on time for the call. Show the interviewer that you are serious about the position.
Sheila Rogers, Founder and CEO - Be succinct and ensure you are answering the interviewers specific questions.
- Research the background of the company that you will be interviewing with. Many times companies will issue press releases which will give great insight into the company’s goals and recent activities. Also be sure to go to the company’s website and view their “about us” page as well.
- Be sure that you are in a quiet environment and that you have blocked off sufficient time for the phone call.
- It is always good to have a notebook with you that you can take notes on during the phone interview.
- Because you are on the phone, it is important to be conscious of the attitude that you are presenting via your voice. It is important that you keep energetic and try not to be monotone over the phone. Your voice is all the interviewer has to go on – s/he cannot pick up things like body language over the phone. If you smile while talking, your tone will immediately improve!
- If on a mobile phone or any possible phone issues, immediately when call begins, explain the use of mobile phone or bad line, and apologize in advance any dropped calls or bad signal that comes from it. The typical understanding is the person who initiates the call always calls back if dropped.
- Bring up details about the hospital you are interviewing with, for example: faith based organization, moved from Cerner to Epic, etc… something to make a connection.
- Don’t answer a question with just a “No” answer. If you don’t have the experience they are asking about, relate what they are asked to something with which you have experience.
- Be flexible. Strange things can happen during interviews.
- Always remain positive. It can be very detrimental to an interviewer if a candidate talks negatively at length about a previous employer or about the environment of a previous position.
- Be prepared to answer technical questions. Be sure to review the technical specifications on a job description. If it has been a while since you have used a particular technology, be sure to re-familiarize yourself with it so you do not get surprised by any questions.
- Expect questions that are designed to be open ended. Many times you will be expected to answer questions that don’t have a definitive answer. There may be questions like “tell me about your responsibilities in your last project” or “tell me about your ideal work environment.” If you feel that the question is too broad, ask for clarification. For example, you could ask, “Which responsibilities would you like to hear about…my management responsibilities?”
- Many hiring managers will ask you what you believe to be your own strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses are sometimes difficult to admit for a person, but it is important to show that you know your weaknesses and how you try to control them.
- Also be prepared to give examples of times that you were in a difficult situation. For example: “Tell me a time of when you and your manager had disagreed. What did you do to resolve the disagreement?” or “Tell me about a time in your career when you had a difficult task. What steps did you take to complete this task?” Managers will ask these questions to gauge how you may fit in with the team and how you might react when you disagree with them on some issue.
- It is always good to have 1 or 2 questions prepared for the your question part of the interview. It shows him/her that you are taking this interview seriously and that you are interested in finding out more about the position.
With these interviewing suggestions for your next Healthcare IT consulting position, you should “break a leg”! Now all you have to do isregister here.
-Sheila Rogers
Sheila is Founder and CEO of HIT Consulting Jobs. She can be reached at 214-929-8959, or via email at Sheila@hitconsultingjobs.com.
