Hello there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com.
And in this tutorial, I will teach you how to pass a dental receptionist interview. So
if you are thinking, how am I going to prepare for a dental receptionist interview? And more
importantly, you are wondering the type of interview questions that will come up and
how to answer them, I will disclose all of that during this tutorial. Please do stick
around, take notes and watch it from beginning to end. If you do that, I promise you it will
make a huge difference to your preparation. Now, before I get into the interview questions
and answers, a very warm welcome to this dental receptionist interview training tutorial.
My name is Richard McMunn. That's me there in the center. I've been helping people for
a long time now, about 20 years to pass their interviews. And I do that specifically by
giving you top scoring, unique answers that you can't find anywhere else. Please do make
sure you SUBSCRIBE to this channel by clicking the red button below the video, and then you
won't miss out on any of the weekly training videos that I'm uploading. And I would also
very much appreciate your support if you gave the video a LIKE, that always motivates me
to create more content for you. Thank you very much. Okay. Let's get into my Top Five
Dental Receptionist Interview Questions and Answers. Now, I will put the interview question
up on the screen. I will then give you a couple of tips of how I suggest you answer the question,
and then I will give you my own suggested answer. So, the first question of your dental
receptionist interview is going to be: Can you tell me a bit about yourself and why you
want this job? When we are answering this question, what we need to do is, make sure
you focus on your work related skills and how these can be transferred to the role of
a dental receptionist. So, what I mean by that is, if you have any prior experience
of working in a customer facing role of dealing with patients and also being organized in
respect of managing diaries, then I would mention those during your answer to this first
dental receptionist interview question. Tip number two, don't talk too much about what
you get up to outside of work, apart from perhaps the fact that you are flexible and
you are available to work extra hours as and when required to support the dental practice.
That is a good tip, and I would encourage you to write that down. If you are in the
position that you can work additional hours to help out when needed, that will certainly
work in your favor. Here is my suggested answer to the interview question: Can you tell me
a bit about yourself and why you want this job? Here we go. “Thank you for inviting
me to be interviewed today. I am a friendly, positive and caring person who can work well
in both a team environment, and also on my own. I can be relied upon to complete repetitive
tasks accurately and I have strong attention to detail skills. This means I won’t make
any mistakes and I will always organize the dental appointments diary meticulously, whilst
always providing very good service and care. Outside of work, I am a family person who
has the support of my partner, which means if you ever need me to work late or come in
at short notice, I will be able to. Just to summarize, I have read the job description
for a Dental Receptionist in detail, and I believe my past experiences, interpersonal
skills and qualities make me the ideal person for this position.” So that's a strong answer!
It gives you the confidence then to move forward for the remainder of your dental receptionist
interview. The second question that I want to cover: In your opinion, what skills and
qualities do you need to be a dental receptionist? This is assessing whether you understand the
role and exactly what is required. My first tip is to make sure you read the job description
and the person specification for the role. Now, I have already done that for you and
this answer covers all of the things that are contained within those documents. The
second tip is: tell the interviewer the specific quality, and then explain why it is important
in the role of a dental receptionist. So, anybody can say one of the qualities needed
is to be able to provide brilliant service, but you will be the only person who then backs
it up and says ‘why’. So you would say: “One of the qualities needed is to provide
really good service, because we want to look after our patients and we want them to return
time and time again, because that's obviously good for business.” OK, so here's my answer
to the interview question: In your opinion, what skills and qualities do you need to be
a dental receptionist? “There are lots of skills and qualities needed if you want to
be competent in your duties as a Dental Receptionist. The two most important ones are, providing
great service and also maintaining attention to detail with outstanding organizational
skills. As a Dental Receptionist, you are the first person both patients and visitors
to the practice see, and that means you have to be positive, polite, welcoming and create
a good first impression. In respect of being organized, there is no margin for error whilst
booking appointments and also handling patient data. You also have to be a good team worker,
maintain confidentiality at all times, be supportive of the dental team and also be
flexible and supportive in the role. If I am successful at interview today, and I get
to become your Dental Receptionist, I will carry out my duties responsibly and will always
maintain a positive image for your Dental Practice” That would demonstrate to me that
you have a thorough understanding of the key skills and qualities needed to be a competent
dental receptionist. Next question guaranteed to come up during your dental receptionist
interview: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Tip number one: list more than one strength.
In fact, give them three or four with your most prominent strength listed as the first
one. Then, give them one weakness. But make sure that weakness is not a match for any
of the essential skills needed to be a competent dental receptionist. So, for example, one
of the skills needed to be a dental receptionist is to be able to multitask and manage diaries
and appointments. But, if you said one of your weaknesses is that sometimes you struggle
whilst working on the pressure, and you are not very organized, you will not be getting
the job! So it’s very important to not give a weakness that is a match for the job description.
Here is my suggested answer to the dental receptionist interview question: What are
your strengths and weaknesses? “One of my strengths is my ability to provide genuinely
good service – I believe I have a positive approach to life and a genuine desire to help
people. I feel comfortable dealing with people and I also have the interpersonal skills to
defuse conflict and also get to bottom of people’s problems or queries quickly. Other
strengths include, my ability to consistently do a good job, regardless of the repetitiveness
of the task. My supportive nature when working as part of a team is another one of my strengths,
and finally, the fact that I can be left alone to carry out a job properly – basically,
you will never have to chase me up for anything. I guess the only weakness I have is that I
don’t like asking for help if I get stuck with a task or project. I always try to find
out how to do it myself, when in fact it would be far quicker to just ask someone more experienced
than me for advice and guidance. Although this is one of my weaknesses, I am learning
to not be so stubborn and ask others’ within the team for guidance when I do need it.”
It's a very good answer and that weakness is brilliant in respect it is not damaging
to your chances of being a dental receptionist. Next question. How would you deal with a difficult
patient during a busy period as our dental receptionist? So, my main tip for that is
always remain calm, composed and use effective listening skills whilst dealing with all patients.
Show empathy where appropriate and be confident in your communication as a dental receptionist.
Here is my suggested answer. “I would deal with them by first of all listening to what
they had to say, and then by using problem solving skills to get to the bottom of their
frustration, with a view to providing a resolution or solution to their issue as soon as possible.
I would show empathy when needed, as patients will sometimes be in pain and their emotions
could get the better of them. I think it’s also very important to be confident in your
communication and to take control of the situation so that you can steer it to the place you
want to get to. Obviously, I would never accept any form of abusive language or aggression,
but I would instead be calm, composed and confident and I would also remember that I
am representing the Dental Practice, and as such, I would want to give a high level of
service.” So that shows, you know, how to handle difficult patients, and you will get
them whilst working as a dental receptionist! It's quite a tough task, quite a difficult
job to carry out, especially during busy periods. And you will need a good set of communication
and interpersonal skills to deal with a wide variety of situations. Next question of your
dental receptionist interview: What's the best level of service you've ever provided?
Tip number one, in your answer to this dental receptionist interview question. Show your
understanding of how important customer service is. Tip number two: This is basically what's
called a behavioral interview question, where they are looking for you to give a specific
answer to the question. Basically, when have you been in a previous situation where you've
provided really good service? My advice, when structuring your answer to this behavioral
interview question, is to use the STAR technique. So, you start off and you tell them the SITUATION
you are in. You then move on and explain the TASK that needed to be done. You then move
on and provide details of the ACTION you took, and you then tell the interview panel the
RESULT following your actions. So, it's the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action and
Result). In the answer that follows, I have structured the response using this technique,
the STAR method. Here we go. What's the best level of service you've ever provided? “In
my last job, I often dealt with customers and it was always my responsibility to make
sure they got what they needed. My role basically involved answering telephone calls from potential
customers who wanted to buy some of our products online. One day, I took a call from an elderly
lady who wanted to buy a gift for her grandson. I could tell the lady was confused, and so
it was my task to guide her patiently through the online ordering process. I took my time
to ask her some questions about the type of products her grandson might be interest in,
before explaining the different product options that we had available. Throughout the call
I reassured her that ordering online was both safe and secure. After 10 minutes of speaking
to her, and providing reassurance, we managed to order the correct gift for her grandson.
I always think it’s important to go above and beyond in respect of customer service
when the situation requires it, and I would always do the same as a Dental Receptionist.”
Now, what you'll notice about that response is that it is organized. You are using situation,
task, action and result, and that makes sure you are giving them a specific example of
where you have already demonstrated one of the key requirements of a dental receptionist
role. If you would like my full set of Dental Receptionist Interview Questions and High
Scoring Answers, if you click the link that’s appeared there in the top right hand corner
of the screen, it will take you through to my website (PassMyInterview.com) where you
can download them straight away. Thank you very much for watching. Please don't forget
to SUBSCRIBE and hit the LIKE button. I do appreciate your support on this channel. Thank
you for watching and I wish you the best in your pursuit to becoming a dental receptionist.
Have a brilliant day.