Dental nurses usually do not need to look too long and hard for jobs, given that it’s a profession with high employability in the UK. The same cannot always be said about high paying jobs though, because those do not come along as frequently. Even when the opportunity is there, the competition is going to be steep for obvious reasons and in order to crack those important interviews, preparation is key. Stay with us as we share a few tips to help you with both finding the highly sought-after jobs, as well as cracking the interviews.
You Will Always Find the Best Openings on Niche Sites
If you are looking to find the highest-paid jobs with high credentials, then you should be looking at niche sites, rather than universal job posting websites. For dental nurses, dentists, orthodontists and other professionals related to dentistry, some of the best jobs in Ireland are often listed on sites like https://www.dentaljobsonline.ie/.
Prepare for Common Questions
As a medical professional, you might be surprised to know that most job interviews are scored on how you answer the most generic questions! The thing is, interviewers already know that you are qualified for the post, because you have confirmed the same by providing copies of your educational qualifications and training certifications when you applied.
You have received the call because they know you can do the job, but other dental nurses have most likely applied for the same job with similar qualifications. Most medical/dental questions usually have similar answers, but the generic questions do not. Therefore, how you answer questions such as the following will be a big factor in deciding the outcome of your interviews:
- The call to introduce yourself
- Asking for reasons as to why you chose to apply
- Asking for reasons as to why they should hire you
- Asking about your achievements related and unrelated to the dental profession
- Questioning your decision to leave your past employer (when applicable), or education gaps/shortcomings (if present)
- Questions about your strengths and weaknesses.
How Should You Answer them?
Answers to such generic questions would not be unique if they were universal. Nevertheless, there are some useful guidelines which should help dental nurses ace those confusingly linear questions.
Presentation – You are going to work as a dental nurse, so each answer should be presented in a polite, patient and assuring manner. It conveys the feeling that you know what you are talking about, which is an important aspect of working in healthcare.
Honesty – Do not claim to have achieved things you have not, or at least not anything that can be verified anyway! It is best to avoid lying altogether, because that only piles up impractical expectations.
Communication – Communication is a soft skill which nurses need to rely on regularly, irrespective of their field. It is important that you are able to display your own ability to communicate effectively during the interview.
One’s ability to establish rapport with the interviewer(s) is what all the generic questions are about. They are going to work with you if they hire you, so give them reasons to like you as a colleague and a professional. As long as you have a decent enough resume to back your application, that’s what it all comes down to sometimes.