Real Life Resumes - How to Pick Good Applicants

Dr. Kuba and Bethany put the gloves on today! While they often see things from different perspectives, today’s episode might represent the most they have ever disagreed on a subject matter. As Dr. Kuba reads through actual applicants from her recent job post, she shares why she accepted or rejected the candidate, and Bethany shares her perspective. If you struggle to determine who is a good applicant, this episode makes it clear that it is truly difficult to decide! However, this episode will also give you alternative perspectives to consider when shifting through a pool of employee applicants. Enjoy the debate! 

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Transcript

00:01 Are you looking for a podcast where you can hear from real people regarding their real dental drama? If so, then—

00:09 You’ve come to the right place. Join hosts Bethany Petty and Dr. Reena Kuba as we dive into the solutions we’ve—

00:17 Created and the mistakes we’ve made while managing dental drama. Let’s get started. What’s up?

00:25 Hey, what you got? I have got something that I think would be helpful, but who knows? Um, but let’s get going here, and—

00:33 Then, if it’s not helpful, we’ll just—we’ll just throw it in the trash.

00:37 Yeah, we’ll hit delete. Um, so, going through résumés for a job posting, and I know we’ve—

00:44 Talked about that multiple times, whatever, and people have their own methods and things that they do. Um, but—

00:52 We’re finding ourselves in that situation, which I’m like, I haven’t had to do this in a while. But damn, people—

00:59 Want to have—stopped having babies. So, um, we keep losing employees to babies.

01:04 And I’m really annoyed. And I’m like, “Just get a damn dog.”

01:08 My husband says that apparently the population is decreasing rapidly, and we actually need every person who’s willing to have a baby to have a baby. So, just so you know—

01:16 While it’s not helping your practice, these people are helping society, apparently. So, but I’ll be dead by the time the impact comes, so it’s not going to impact me.

01:27 Get a damn dog.

01:30 Don’t we need fewer people because AI is supposed to take over everybody’s jobs?

01:34 My husband said that it’s—no, we apparently need people. Yes, there’s going to be AI, but we apparently need people. We’re in a—to do what?

01:41 We’re in a population crisis. But to do what? Like, people aren’t going to have to do anything anymore. Can AI farm the land? Probably.

01:49 I think there are things that are in the works for that.

01:52 Well, anyway, regardless, anywho, dogs are lovely creatures and, um, far less maintenance.

01:59 Says the lady that has no animals whatsoever.

02:04 It seems like it would be a lot less maintenance, is all I’m saying, but less work than a child who keeps you from going to work. True, true.

02:15 Um, okay. So, we’re posting, which I haven’t done in a while, so I’m like, “Oh God, here we go.” So, I started it—

02:22 Off where I asked you, “Should I go ahead and just post and see who bites?” And while said pregnant people are trying to figure out whether they’re going to come—

02:29 Back to work or not, or what that whole path—path, is that a fair word? That’s fair.

02:37 So, um, I am old school. I like posting on DentalPost.

02:41 Yes. So, I posted there, which, by the way, a lot of states don’t have DentalPost. Just so—and I remember you saying that at some—

02:47 Point. But, um, so I posted there because that’s familiar. Yes.

02:52 And then I was like, “Let me just see what I find on there.” And then, if I’m not finding anything, which I figured I wouldn’t, but may as well try. And then I was going to reach out to you to post—

03:01 On Indeed, but I’ve still never been able to figure it out and don’t want to.

03:04 Yeah. So, um, so it was funny because, um, a couple of days, maybe last week, uh, when I finally asked you to post on—

03:12 Indeed, and then y’all sent me and said, “Hey, here are two good candidate—um, two good candidates.” Yeah.

03:20 And so I looked at them, and I was just like—and, you know, you said something, and I was like, “Well, I don’t know.” Per—

03:27 Usual, you and I, for as many things as we agree on, we have just very different viewpoints of how we view these résumés. Yes.

03:34 And so I’m like, “Well, hopefully there’s more coming,” because I didn’t care for these two. And you’re like—but to me, I—

03:41 Was like, “Okay, for you and your team, who look at hundreds upon hundreds of résumés, and you are—that’s what you do—

03:50 Is help offices find the right fit. Like, clearly, there’s me in my own little world, and then you. So, it’s like, if you think these are good ones, clearly, you would obviously know better.”

04:01 Not necessarily better. It’s just a different perspective. And if you’ve deemed these are good, then what do the bad ones look like? And so I’m like—

04:10 Here I am being difficult to get, like, in my own little world. I don’t like these. And so, uh, so I was chuckling, you—

04:19 Know, at this. And my associate was like, “Oh, it’s so funny.” I’m like, “Well, Bethany sent these over, and I don’t like them, but she clearly likes them, and so we just view them—

04:28 Different.” He’s like, “Huh?” I was like, “Well, would you like to look at them?” And he was like, “Sure.” So, it was just a fun exercise to kind of go—

04:34 And see what he picked up on because he, uh, has never been in an owner’s seat.

04:39 He’s been an associate for three-plus years now.

04:43 And so, he has no idea what comes through and what doesn’t come through.

04:47 It gave us a really, um, interesting conversation to have about the hiring process in general. And, um, you know, when—

04:55 I pointed out, like, “Oh yeah, you know, if you’ve got, like, eight candidates you’re looking at, six are going to ghost you, so you really only—

05:03 Have two candidates.” He’s like, “What? Who does that?” And I’m like, “Oh, baby. Like, that’s so cute.” That is so—if you’re—

05:12 A new owner and you haven’t dealt with all of that fun stuff yet, get ready. So, he was like, “What?” And I’m like, “Oh.”

05:21 So, it was just fun to have this conversation with somebody who was like, you know—to me, and he did. He challenged me on a couple. And actually—

05:29 The one that I think we’re going to hire is one that he encouraged me to reach out to because I hadn’t. There we go.

05:34 And then, as we’re going through these last week, he’s like, “I would give that one a try.” I’m like, “Okay.” And lo and behold—

05:41 Lo and behold. And then she’s come in for a meet and greet, and you’ve talked to her, and she followed up. And let’s see what happens. I don’t want to get ahead of myself and jinx myself, but—

05:50 There’s a good chance we’re going to hire this one that I wasn’t even—that I didn’t initially reply back to. So, his insight was very helpful.

05:58 Um, so I thought it would be fun to do a podcast on just kind of, like, yeah, what do people think? And, you know, if you’re sitting there and going, “Okay, I—

06:05 Need to hire, and this is my hiring, and it always works.” Great. Good for you. I don’t think most of us are in that boat. Yeah.

06:11 And it’s just funny how we all value different things.

06:16 And so, I think you’ve not convinced me yet that the things that I value, that I pick on, um, but—

06:26 I can be—I can come around to—

06:27 You can be persuaded.

06:28 I can be persuaded, and it does help me to get out of my own know-it-all self.

06:36 Mhm.

06:38 And have your lovely little associate school you on this.

06:42 Yes. And then you two—you two do. Um, so, uh, yeah, I will say, of the three y’all have sent me—

06:50 The two that I didn’t like that day, and I pulled them up for associate, and I was—he was like, “Oh, well, I like these things about it, and I don’t care for these—

06:57 Things.” And I was like, “Okay, perfect.” Because I can see that’s probably what Bethany likes about this, but what I don’t like about it is this. So, I can—

07:05 Maybe pull those two up. Anyway, I was like, “All right, well, let’s reach out to them.” Neither one replied back.

07:10 And then the third one you sent, I had a very nice text exchange with her, and she’s supposed to come meet us next week, so let’s see if she shows up. But—

07:17 Which is about, on average, it’s usually a 20% to 30% success rate with the applicants that you get, regarding—regardless of the platform.

07:27 Okay. Yeah.

07:29 So, okay. So, even before I dive into all of that, what are—I mean, is this what people are doing to post jobs? Yeah.

07:35 What am I missing? Like you said, not all states have DentalPost, but so, what else are people doing? Mostly Indeed. Is Monster still a thing? Does that exist anymore?

07:44 It is, but it’s a relatively small player in the game. There are other job-posting platforms. ZipRecruiter is another one that’s pretty pricey.

07:54 We found it doesn’t have as big of a platform. There are multiple job-posting platforms. Indeed has been the—

08:01 Most, um, volume of all of the platforms that we’ve tried. They’ve made a lot of—

08:08 Changes that we don’t necessarily love over the last couple of years, but it is sufficient.

08:16 Um, but we’ve also found that most communities have dental Facebook-type—

08:24 Groups or clubs or study groups. So, I always say grassroots is still an effective way to get the word out about the position that you’re looking for.

08:35 Telling your supply rep, um, if you still have supply reps that drop in on you, you know, trying to get the word out through them, or through your—if—

08:42 You’ve got a dental CPA, sometimes they’ll—it’s just word of mouth. Uh, but also really trying to get your team—

08:51 Incentivized to help find a good team member, because a lot of times, if they’re really pushed to think about adding—

08:59 Somebody to the team, they’ll go through their Rolodex of people in their head. And even if they don’t know somebody directly, they may have a hygienist in—

09:07 Another practice that they know, and they reach out to that person. So, don’t forget the power of grassroots efforts. And then social media, looking for those—

09:16 Dental Facebook groups, or you yourself, as the dental practice, posting that your team is growing on social—

09:24 Media and trying to get some traction there.

09:27 They are literally growing a baby, and that’s why they are leaving, and we are looking to replace.

09:34 They’re literally growing, and the subliminal message of, like, little birth control popped up in the background.

09:41 Just let that flash behind the scenes.

09:45 Um, so yes. Um, okay. I think I did ask my one hygienist, and I said, “Hey—

09:53 Can you post this on whatever groups you do?” Um, but I probably could hit that harder.

09:59 Okay. Um, and then I did text my RDAs, and I was like—or maybe I texted everybody, I can’t remember—but, “Hey, guys, don’t forget we have a finder’s fee.”

10:08 Yeah, if you help recruit. And that was crickets. So, you cast the net really wide.

10:16 You do lots of different things. Um, don’t throw all your eggs into one basket as far as, like, “Oh, I’m just going to throw up an Indeed post and hope that that works.” Oftentimes, you—

10:24 Need to go through multiple sources to get enough people to give you potential—

10:31 A potential pool. Okay. So, um, so I’m just going to start here with my post, and we—I mean, this could mushroom into a—

10:39 Few different topics. Uh, and I guess we need to kind of figure out what we want to do. I guess I’m not going to go into what did I post and the verbiage of it—

10:48 And all that. And we have resources for people who want sample posts. We do, on the Hub. We’ve got, um—

10:54 Sample job posts and, um, tips on how to—what interview questions to ask and all of that.

11:01 So, I don’t want to get into that here. I just want to strictly go through these résumés and see. Okay.

11:06 So, um, so I get this—the first one I get, and, oh, please tell me it’s going to let me—

11:14 Open this. Okay. Sorry, I just had connection issues, but I’m back. Okay, so this one is, um, the first one I got—

11:23 And it says, “Experience: one to three years. Salary: willing to negotiate. I am seeking a dental assistant position—

11:30 Offering a family-friendly team in a welcoming space.” And then all that they have in the rest of the portal is—

11:40 Um, under other relevant experience, sterilization, little insurance work, patient scheduling.

11:48 And they have been, uh—it looks like they were at one dental office. They just put 2022 to 2022, and then another one, 2022—

11:57 To 2024. What are your thoughts?

12:03 So, my initial thoughts, where my mind goes first before I even look at the skills that they list, is I go to employment history.

12:13 Um, and so, right out of the gate, I don’t love that there’s a practice listed from 2022 to 2022.

12:23 And I don’t like that there’s a practice listed from 2022 to 2024. However, I do wonder if that 2022 to 2022 was—

12:32 Potentially an internship. Um, so I wouldn’t want to just write it off because I saw that one date. I would want to know if that was an internship—

12:40 Related job because a lot of people will list that as an actual job, not internship. Um, and then the second one—

12:49 Was 2022 to 2024. So then that always begs the question for me, did you stop?

12:56 Were you just out of pocket from 2024 until now? And if so, why? Especially if there’s not anything listed. Because, to—

13:04 Me, if this person is actually working at a place right now, to me, that should still be listed. Not that the practice—

13:11 Name has to be listed, but it can say, you know, “Currently at an office in this position.” Um, so based on just the—

13:20 Résumé, I would think that this candidate is not currently working, and that would pique my curiosity. Uh, enough to ask, not enough to eliminate, but enough to try to figure out.

13:31 So, to me, that was enough to eliminate.

13:32 I don’t have time for this. Like, you’ve left me no details on here. You’ve not done anything to tout your skills. Like, all you’ve said is, “I’m looking for a—

13:40 Family-friendly environment,” but then it looks like the last time you worked was in 2024.

13:45 No. Pass. Move on. I’m not wasting my time. I think the other things that I think about are, for us, we, you know, we—

13:52 Have such intense parent expectations—

13:59 And they’re all over my office, and so we are onstage all the time. And so, if we have to—if you are that—

14:09 Green, maybe you didn’t update your résumé, maybe you didn’t—but, to me, again, all of that is then, are you serious about this job? Yeah.

14:17 And so, to me, I see nothing serious about that.

14:21 But, to play devil’s advocate, if 2024 is the last time they worked in a practice—

14:28 There are scenarios that would solicit a gap in employment.

14:33 I don’t care. That means you have two years of experience, not in a pediatric office. We’re busy, and customer service—

14:40 Matters, and I just don’t see that you’re going to have what I need.

14:45 I disagree. Right. So, but to me, I’m like, nope.

14:48 I disagree because I think it’s a quick—like, to me, many times I’ve looked at a résumé like this, and I’m like, “I definitely need to find out about the—

14:56 2022 to 2022, but then where have they been since 2024?” And a lot of times it’s like, “Oh, my husband was in the—

15:04 Military. We got stationed out so-and-so. We knew we were only going to be there for a year and a half due to this assignment. I didn’t want to compromise—

15:13 Somebody else’s practice by only getting incorporated for a year, year and a half. We knew we were coming back here when he retired from the Army.” And I’m—

15:21 Like, “That’s a perfect description. And how responsible of you that you didn’t weigh down—”

15:26 But I’m like, if that was the case, you would have put it because you know it looks bad that you haven’t worked in—what would she have put?

15:33 I would have put, um—I would have put that. I would have put on there somewhere, you know—

15:40 “2024 to present, moved to Hawaii for husband’s military position. Now I’ve moved back to Dallas, and I’m—”

15:49 But you know what happens with military people? They get judged on that. So, for you, if she put it on there, that would—

15:56 Have been helpful for you. For another client of mine, if they see “military wife” on there, they’re—

16:03 Immediately like, “Nope, can’t invest 18 months, a year, into somebody just to have them move.” So, to me, she may be in a—

16:10 Position of, “I can’t put that on my résumé because there’s a chance that 50% of people are going to be like, ‘Yeah, no, I’m not giving her—’”

16:17 Then put something. 2024 to 2026, what were you doing? Yeah.

16:22 Were you—if you were a military wife, were you working at the store, the exchange store on base? Were you working? What were you doing?

16:31 See, even if I were, which I’m not, but even if I were building my résumé, I wouldn’t. I would much rather somebody be—

16:39 Curious enough to ask the question, “Tell me what life’s been like since 2024,” than for me to have to put, “Yeah, I—

16:45 Worked in the cafeteria on the military base.” Well, now it looks like you were in dental, and then you left dental—

16:53 “Why’d you leave dental?” And cafeteria work. Like, I just feel like some of it can be damning information. Or another—

17:01 Scenario that you hear a lot: “I had a baby in 2024.”

17:04 Right back to that baby. And so now, if you had a baby in 2024, the baby’s still only two, which means they’re going to start daycare and be sick all the time.

17:11 So, you’re going to be out all the time then, too. And then the baby’s going to get to kindergarten. You’re going to have to go to every kindergarten party they have, and so they’re going to have to let you go there, too.

17:19 That’s exactly why she shouldn’t put it on the résumé.

17:23 And again, my husband, again, teaching high school, he’s always coaching students on how to best represent themselves on paper. And one of the—

17:32 Things that we talk about a lot is, he’s like, “You never want to put anything damning on that résumé. You want to put your best foot forward.” Now, you’re not—

17:40 Dishonest. You have to be honest, but you don’t have to put things like, “Left in 2024 due to having a baby,” and now 75%—

17:48 Of the practice owners out there are not going to take a look at you because you’ve got a toddler at home.

17:54 And as a woman, I’m like, don’t shoot yourself in the foot with that.

18:01 That was a quick thumbs down for me, and I moved on and haven’t looked back. You should feel very guilty about that.

18:08 Don’t. My mind’s not changed. She didn’t give me anything else on there. Give me something. And I agree.

18:14 It’s like, “These are my skill sets. This is my passion. This is something—” Like, I agree. Fluff it up in other ways. And she definitely could have done that. She—

18:22 Could have put way more fluff in there to really sell herself and what she’s passionate about and what she loves about dental and all of that.

18:29 Absolutely. Help yourself out. Give this crusty doctor here that’s eliminating you quickly something that—

18:37 Goes, “Oh, I like how she said this, and she didn’t include that.” So, I think that’s fair. It was useless. What a waste of time for everybody, for her to fill it out and for—

18:44 Me to read it. And, oh my gosh, I hope she didn’t pay to post it because she wasted her money. Um—

18:54 Uh, see, like, look at how differently we view these. Yes. Yes. We always have.

18:59 We always have. Yes. Um, so then we’ve got the next one that is a recent graduate from RDA school. “I’m reaching—

19:07 Out to see if your office would consider a motivated and eager new graduate for temporary or permanent positions. Blah, blah, blah, blah.”

19:15 What? What? Can you read the blah, blah, blah?

19:17 Okay, I’ll read the blah, blah, blah. Um, the blah, blah, blah is important. “While I am new—while I am new to the field, I am—

19:25 Enthusiastic about learning, committed to providing excellent patient care, and excited to gain hands-on experience in a dental practice. I am dependable, hardworking, and ready to contribute to—

19:33 Your team. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss any current or upcoming openings you may have. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.”

19:41 Lovely.

19:42 There’s the fluff that we just asked of the last one. So, now I can already read you well enough to be like, “Ah, blah, blah, blah, it’s useless.” But you just said you wanted that on the last résumé.

19:53 But that, to me, ChatGPT told her to put that. I don’t care. It’s effort.

20:00 I don’t know. I don’t know, man. I just need—and what if she didn’t use ChatGPT?

20:05 That’s very beautifully written, but it’s also a dime a dozen. Everybody says that. Or—

20:12 The ones that say, “I’m a fast learner.” Oh, honey. Everybody thinks they’re a fast learner. Find me a real fast learner.

20:18 “But I’m a team player.” Find me a real team player.

20:21 She put detail in there that the one right before it didn’t.

20:24 True. But I quickly put a thumbs down on this one, too, because she’s just going to require so much training, and I don’t have the energy. So, she lost out.

20:36 She lost out just because she’s a new RDA. Yeah.

20:40 Which is fair. Some people don’t have the capacity to train. You have to consider, are we going to be able to invest in this person in training? But I—

20:49 Also think a lot of offices miss out on the opportunity of working with fantastic people because they will not give new RDAs a chance.

21:00 Whatever. I’m raising my hand proudly. What did her actual work history say? Nothing. Nothing.

21:07 No. Just had her school stuff, like where she went to school for RDA. Okay. Any high school listed there?

21:14 So, we don’t know, which, again, even if she—so, this is where, again, play devil’s advocate. If she literally just—

21:22 Graduated from high school and just went to get her RDA, people are going to look, “You graduated from high school in 2026, got your RDA. I’m looking at an—

21:31 18-year-old. No, thank you. Moving on.” But as much as that could damn her if she put that on there, it’s also damning if—

21:39 She doesn’t add anything. Um, which I think was the mistake there. So, it’s interesting because she had all the fluff there and none of the content. The—

21:47 Previous one had content but none of the fluff.

21:49 I don’t think the first one had anything. I don’t think she had content or fluff, but, I mean, she at least listed some work history, I guess. Um, I will say, in my defense—

21:59 Even though this is a side thought, not the primary thought, but in Texas, for an RDA to get their coronal polishing, you have to be an RDA for a year. Yes.

22:09 And two years for sealants. And that, to me, it’s like, I’m not going to wait.

22:12 There’s—I need you to be able to jump in and do those things. So, yes, newbie, you’re already going to require—and yeah, at 18, newbie, you haven’t—

22:20 Lived enough life. So, I’m going to spend the next two years pouring blood, sweat, and tears into you and training you up, only for you to leave. And I think 99% of you are going to leave. So—

22:30 As my aside that I would say here is, I keep preaching to everybody that will listen—

22:38 That we have lost a significant portion of dental professionals. And I tell everybody, we’ve got dental assistant—

22:45 Schools in Texas that are closing down because we’re not attracting enough people to the field. So then you get a—

22:52 Young little whippersnapper that maybe listened to somebody that was like, “You should go into the dental field.” Thank—

22:59 God that we’ve got some fresh blood in the dental field, and now she gets through this program, and nobody—nobody will hire her.

23:07 Exactly. And same for dental students getting out of school, too.

23:11 Just like the corporate will swallow them up and get them back out of the field of which they thought they were trying to get into.

23:17 Just like the decreasing population is a problem, not being able to repopulate our dental field with—

23:26 Professionals that are hungry enough to apply for the job. We’ve got to give these people a shot.

23:34 There we go. I need, like, five-ish, four years to go. Maybe 10.

23:40 Isn’t it somebody else’s job to teach them? I’ve done my fair share over the last two decades.

23:45 So, it’s every private practice. And then I’m like, and then they’re being trained up by the evil conglomerate DSOs. And then we want—

23:52 People that have been jaded by that awful environment to then come in because they got a few—because they got a few hand skills. No.

24:01 Because now you’re going to appreciate my office more because I can’t give you everything they promised you, which was really a farce anyway. But maybe you’ll have a little bit more—

24:09 Appreciation, rather than the other way around. Then you’re sitting in my office, where I can offer you some things and I expect some things, and then you’re like—

24:17 “Well, so-and-so makes this much,” or, “So-and-so has this.” You know what? Off you go. Off you go onto corporate.

24:24 I’d rather it be the other way around.

24:26 Okay. Okay. Okay. So, here, you’re going to like this one then, too. So, this one is another one that is, um, “Hello, my—

24:36 Name is blah, and I’m a newly certified dental assistant seeking employment opportunities to gain experience in my career field. I’m willing to learn and—

24:44 Adapt to a new working environment. I just recently moved to the Houston area, and I’m looking for a office to start my career.” Minimal punctuation.

24:54 Okay. And you are not in the Houston area.

24:57 Now, I’ll be honest. It’s the first time I’m seeing that. I hadn’t even read it.

25:00 I had only gotten to, “I’m newly certified,” and I moved on. So, that’s the first time I’m seeing that.

25:06 Oh my gosh. Don’t tell me that. Okay.

25:10 But then—then I’m looking at her, you know, when I look down at her, uh, whatever. So, she finished high school in 2022.

25:19 Okay.

25:19 And she went on a hands-on dental assisting program from 2023 to 2024.

25:25 Okay. Then she went on to be a childcare attendant at a daycare from February 2024 to present.

25:33 Okay. Because no dental office would hire her. Yes. Yep. Okay.

25:37 Then she went on to being—oh, no. This is not in—this is not in any particular order. Okay. That’s a problem.

25:43 So then she’s got—yeah. She was at Walmart from October to December. Mhm.

25:49 And she was a Radiant—or she was a childcare attendant again at a daycare from February to September.

25:57 No, she’s done.

25:58 Okay. And so, tell me what your thoughts are on that.

26:01 Multiple infractions. So, obviously, she’s applying in the DFW area and has recently moved to Houston. So, we’ve got a little bit of a location problem there.

26:10 She didn’t use Google Maps to realize that they’re not neighboring cities. Okay. Um, the job history is a concern for me.

26:19 So, anytime there are short little stays—

26:21 Now, Walmart I could almost justify, especially if it was done during her RDA schooling, because Walmart often does seasonal help October through the end of the year.

26:30 Okay, that’s a good reminder for me.

26:33 Yeah, that would not be super alarming, especially if it fell during her RDA schooling time. But everything else, childcare work from, you know, February—

26:42 To September, or whatever it was, if you can’t—which, childcare work is hard. I’m not knocking that. But you can’t last—

26:50 Anywhere for longer than six months. And those little six-month, six-month blips, I cannot stand them. And so, just—

26:57 Like you are like, “Oh, new RDA, done.” If I go down to that job history and I see one or even two of those—

27:07 Little blips, I don’t look at anything else. I’m like, done. Same. Yeah.

27:11 Same. That’s telling me you’re looking for something. And why do I think I’m going to be the stop that changes your—you won’t. Yeah. Yeah.

27:18 Um, okay. So, this one, 10 years of experience, bilingual, with hands-on—10 years of hands-on experience—

27:27 Holds strong knowledge of clinical procedures and dental terminology. Works exceptionally well in back-office procedures. Okay.

27:34 Um, so the chronology makes sense. So, after she finished her RDA school, she was—

27:41 With a, uh, who knows, general dentist or not, whatever, um, from 2015 to 2019. Oh, nice.

27:48 And then another office from 2019 to 2021. Okay.

27:52 And then now, the office she’s with is 2021 to present. Okay.

27:56 So, thoughts? I love that. I love that there are no gaps. I love that, even if it were in the—

28:04 Same city, the fact that it’s longer stints like that is really impressive.

28:09 Um, clearly said 10 years of hands-on experience.

28:15 Um, so yeah, all of that’s quite impressive. My concern would be, what are her pay expectations?

28:23 Um, and, of course, why is she—even though she’s been at her current practice for several years now—why is she transitioning out? Uh, because we—

28:32 See a four-year stint, a two-year stint, and it looks like a four-year stint again. And so, I’m wondering, is four her absolute max?

28:41 Okay.

28:41 Which, still, it would be helpful to have somebody on. I just need to make it to five-ish. Yeah.

28:50 So, it suits me. Yeah. Okay. So, I agree, and I think, if I’m to be picky, what I didn’t like—the two things that occurred to me that I didn’t like. One, there’s no pedo-specific—

28:59 Yeah.

29:00 Um, so that’s going to be a challenge, again, in my mind, going then, coronal polishing, sealants, do you have those?

29:04 Do you not? Are you familiar with sedation?

29:08 Um, all of that. And then 10 years out, what is your ask? And so that’s my next. But the other thing I really liked is that—

29:16 It looked like she was in, uh, individual practices. Now, did I go back and look at it? No. But I didn’t see any big—

29:24 DSO ones that I see. Um, so I think I like that she’s content with the small private practice. Yeah.

29:31 And hoping that that’s good. So, I reached out to her, and I always ask, um, “What are you looking for in a new work—

29:39 Home?” And her reply was, “Hi, I enjoy working with pediatrics, and I really love your office hours. I enjoy private-practice environments and am looking for—

29:48 Opportunities for financial growth in the future with a stable company while having a work-life-balanced job.”

29:56 I don’t love that answer. Okay. Why?

29:59 I appreciate her candor and that she’s being honest with—she’s looking for work-life balance. She looked up your practice, saw that she likes the hours.

30:10 Um, I don’t like some of the grammar in there, first and foremost, which, again—which, no punctuation, by the way.

30:17 Okay, that’s a problem. Um, an RDA with that caliber is going to be pivotal in documentation, charting, and notes. And—

30:26 So, that’s a concern for me. And also, the fact that she said all of that, plus financial growth. And I’m like—

30:33 “Okay, what do you not want then?” Like, it seems very, very me-focused, and that’s a concern for me. Now, should that eliminate her, where you don’t meet her?

30:43 No. I think it’s probably still worthwhile to meet her, but those would be hesitations that I would have. And once she’s in person, I would definitely—

30:50 Want to dig in more on those things. Yeah, those things. Agreed. We agree.

30:58 Let’s stop the podcast right here. Done.

31:00 Yeah. End on a high note. Okay. So then I put, “Do you have any experience with sedation, lasers, Dentrix? Do you have nitrous, coronal polishing, sealants—

31:10 BLS?” Her reply: “Sedation? Yes, because I used to do papoose on children.”

31:16 “Lasers, yes, for small bumps on gums.”

31:20 “Dentrix, yes. I have BLS, and my certifications for the last ones, I can get them. My offices have never been so—

31:28 Strict about that, so I currently don’t have them, but I can always get them. Sorry if I’m taking too long to reply. I’m currently driving.”

31:42 Yeah, I don’t love a lot of that.

31:44 I don’t love a lot of that. Um, again, I appreciate that she indicates why there was potentially a delay in her—

31:52 Response. So, that’s good. Um, but I don’t like that she said, “The offices I—

32:00 Have been in haven’t been very strict on that.” Now, to be fair, a lot of offices do not do their due diligence with—

32:07 Certifications and things like that. But still, it’s concerning that she views that as strict—

32:15 Because I’m like, uh—anyway, I could even look past that. Um, it’s concerning that her pedo interaction is papoose.

32:25 Yeah.

32:26 Because then I wonder if that’s been your behavior management. Yes. Do you have any skills at actually behavior-managing a child without papoose?

32:39 And, by the way, the only papoose we have is for emergencies, like for the two-year-old that had trauma, we need to extract a tooth. Yeah. So, yes.

32:47 And it just changes your expectation of what is normal, what is okay. Um, and again, maybe it was one patient that she—maybe she wasn’t papoosing every kid.

32:58 So, maybe she wants to say, “Yes, I’ve had pedo, and it was with papoose.” And maybe that was one or two patients, and that’s it. But it just jades your perspective of what is acceptable.

33:09 Well, and to me, to go to—not recognize that that is a pretty, um, polarizing topic, because you’ve got pediatric—

33:17 Dentists that are like, “What’s wrong with the papoose? That’s why we’ve got it.” Blah, blah, blah.

33:20 Yeah. And then you’ve got others that are like, “That’s why we go to residencies, to learn better techniques than that.” So, anyway—

33:29 It’s a polarizing response, and she doesn’t realize that. She has no clue. Right.

33:34 But more importantly, too, that, yes, is that the, uh, the extent of your behavior management?

33:42 Mhm.

33:43 Um, so then I always leave it as, if all of that is, like, reasonable. There was nothing I didn’t want—

33:49 There’s nothing egregious. Yeah, nothing egregious. So then I always just jump straight to, “When are you available to come meet us?” And then we set up a date to come meet.

33:58 Then she asked also, “Is this for an interview or a work interview?” Okay. So then I kind of go through—well, I’ll tell—

34:06 You what I say. I said, uh, “Please plan to join us for huddle. Um, please plan to stay for as long as you want to, to get a—

34:14 Feel for the office. I typically don’t do a work interview to start with,” and I kind of go on about why I don’t do a work interview. It’s just for you to meet and greet.

34:24 “Okay, no problem.”

34:26 “I was wondering, so would I be working or shadowing someone?” Like, I just answered that. Yeah.

34:35 So then I put, “Shadowing or observing and talking to team members so that you can get your questions answered on seeing if we’re a good fit for you.”

34:44 Um, so anyway, then we kind of go back and forth about a few other things, and then she ends up—she ends up coming.

34:53 And then I’m—as I’m looking at this now, I’m like, “I don’t remember this one. Like, why didn’t that work out?”

34:58 Because everything’s basic. There’s nothing egregious, nothing precious, but whatever. Could we make it work?

35:06 Would I pick this one over brand-new training? Yes. So, yeah. So, why? I can understand that.

35:12 Yeah. So then I—the notes I made for myself: she came for the interview, she was seven minutes late, which is a big deal in our office.

35:21 Me no likey. Yeah.

35:23 Um, and then the other note I have here was she asked a lot about hours.

35:29 Like, that was her number one. “I need my 40 hours. I need my 40 hours. My 40 hours. My 40 hours.”

35:33 Yeah. And I was like, “Well, if you looked at our hours, if you said, ‘I looked at your work hours, and that’s what attracted me to the—

35:41 Position,’ well then, you know it’s not—do the math. It’s not 40 hours.” Right. So, and when she was in the office, we went in circles with that to—

35:48 The point of where I got irritated, and I don’t get irritated that easy. But I was like, “You’re clearly not getting it, and I’m not going to keep going. I don’t think you’re the candidate for us—

35:56 Anyway.” Um, and then I put, “I don’t think she’ll be able to keep up with her pace and attention to detail. She’s all over the place.” Um, so when she came in, I—

36:04 Always pair her with somebody. I’m always like, “Ask for so-and-so.” Yeah.

36:08 So, two of my hygienists had met with her, and before they brought her in to meet me, they were like, “Uh-uh.” Yeah.

36:14 So, I think I already kind of knew, but I was hoping. She came in, she was well put together. Not too much makeup, not no makeup at all. She looked professional.

36:22 She looked sweet, actually. But then, once they were like, “Uh-uh, she’s all over the place,” I was like, “Are they being too harsh?” And then I had my own experience—

36:30 With her going, “Yeah, okay.” And then it made me go back to the text messages going, “Oh yeah, she was that way in her texts, too.” Or, yeah—

36:38 It’s like, well, and again, this shows the value of critically looking at a résumé and texting with the person, realizing—

36:46 Okay, I still think she’s good enough to interview in person, and then in person is ultimately what shut the door on it.

36:52 And I think that’s proper technique for trying to find your next team member.

36:58 Um, okay. So, we have another one that’s over two years of dental experience, skilled in chairside assisting with—

37:05 Several procedures, experience with patient communication, scheduling, front-desk support, familiar with nitrous oxide monitoring and BLS certified, quick learner, and team-oriented. Okay.

37:16 But then work history, um, is—

37:23 She’s currently enrolled in community college. Okay. What do you think about that?

37:32 I know that’s a hesitation for most of my clients. They get nervous about that.

37:37 Um, I like it because that normally means I’m working with somebody that’s a little bit more driven, um, more—

37:45 Career-focused and career—I mean, and community college is not—

37:51 Um, let me figure out how to say it. So, let’s say she was wanting to go into hygiene school eventually—

37:59 There’s going to be a number of courses that she’s going to have to take over several years to get those prerequisites—

38:06 Done for hygiene school. So, just because she’s in community college doesn’t mean that she’s only going to last for a—

38:13 Semester. Most of the time, it takes several years to get through those courses. So, you might—it might be worth your time to invest in—yeah.

38:22 Yeah. Um, so I think then, when you look at work history—

38:29 Uh, she worked for, I think, like you said, one of those quick, um, at a seasonal time. Okay.

38:36 It looks like. But then she’s at an, uh, office now that I do not think highly of whatsoever. Okay.

38:44 But she’s been there for three years, I think. And that might, to me, I’m like—

38:52 That’s kind of the perfect timing to go, “Okay, so you’re not a fresh grad, and I could probably teach you a lot of things, and I wouldn’t have to start from ground zero.”

39:02 Exactly. Yeah, that’s a very strong one.

39:04 So, I send her all of that again, and her reply was, “Hi, Dr. Kuba. Thank you for your message. I am looking for a practice where I can build long-term—

39:12 Relationships with patients and coworkers, continue learning and growing in my career, and be part of a positive team. I enjoy working with—

39:20 Children and helping create a comfortable experience for patients and their families. I look forward to hearing more about the opportunity.” Love that. Love that.

39:27 Great response.

39:28 So, the other thing that catches my eye on these, and it’s so little, but I put, like, this is all I put: “Hi, Amy.”

39:36 “Thanks for your reply to our DentalPost. What are you looking for in a new work home? Thanks, Dr. Kuba, Children’s Dental Center of Irving.” And I like that she said, “Hi, Dr. Kuba.” Yes.

39:45 Yes. The number that don’t say that at all. And I’m like, “You missed it.” Yeah.

39:51 You missed that you were talking to the doctor. Yes.

39:55 And then, what a professional. I love that because, again, to compare it against the other one that you just read, hers was like, “I need this. I’m looking for—

40:04 This. I want this.” It was I, I, I. This one is like, “I’m looking for a great environment where I can really serve our—

40:10 Patients and do this for—” It’s patient-focused, practice-focused, not, “I need this.” And so, that’s a very well-done response.

40:19 So then I ask again, “Do you have these certifications?” Um, “I have experience with Dentrix, and I’ve shadowed sedation procedures. I currently hold certifications in nitrous monitoring—

40:27 Sealants, and BLS. I do not have my coronal polishing certification at this time, but I’m willing to obtain it if required.” Love it. Love it. Um, when are—

40:37 You available? Come meet us. “Wednesday morning next week works.” So then I went through the same thing about, like, wear this, ask for so-and-so, arrive by this time, check out our website. “Thank you.”

40:46 “I’ll be there by 7:05 and will ask for Emma. I’m excited for the opportunity to meet the team, get a feel for the office, and learn more about the position. Looking forward to it.”

40:54 Perfect. No-show. I’m so glad you threw one of those in there.

41:03 Oh, this is how it works, people. This is how it works. You get one that—

41:08 Literally checks the boxes, all of them, and then boom, poof, they’re gone.

41:15 And boom, poof, they’re gone. This is real life.

41:21 So, uh, I will tell you the one that, um, the one—because, I mean, we could go on and on all day with these, right? But, um—

41:29 The one I was going to—that I initially had, um, rejected. Yes.

41:35 And then I, uh, came back to—sorry, I’m looking for one more response that made me laugh. Um—

41:44 But, uh, I can’t seem to find it just about yet.

41:49 Um, oh, this one. And this is when I was going through them with my associate, and he’s like, “Oh, give it a try. Oh, give her a chance,” whatever.

41:58 So, and I had two like this. So, again, I say, “Good morning, Amy. Thanks for your reply to our DentalPost. What are you looking for in a new work home?”

42:06 “Thanks, Dr. Kuba, Children’s Dental Center of Irving.” “Good morning, Dr. Kuba. I’m looking for a dental assistant.” Wow.

42:16 I had another one that, um, I almost didn’t reach out to because she has, like, 15 years of experience, and she was—

42:24 Asking for 30, which is what I put outside of my range of.

42:29 And so, again, “Hey, Amy,” and her reply was—I was like, “What are you looking for in a new work home?” Her reply was, “I’m looking for a new work home.”

42:37 That’s—that’s—and you’re requesting over average for—yeah, right now.

42:43 I’m like, “Never mind. I don’t have time for this.” So, so, so I think I—I’m like, “Never mind.” And—

42:52 My associate was like, “Well, you know, maybe I would still give it another chance.” I would—I’m like, “You would?” And—

43:00 He’s like, “Yeah.” I’m like, “Okay, okay. Well, I’ll reach back out to her then and kind of see.” He’s like, “Well, maybe.” I’m like, “I can’t think of—

43:08 One excuse that is justifying that response.” Yeah, but okay, associate. Fine.

43:18 Um, so then I texted her, and I said, “Hi, Amy. Following up. Sorry for the delay. I’ve been out of town. What are—

43:26 Your expectations and desires for applying to work in our office?”

43:30 So, that’s what—to the associate, he’s like, “Well, maybe.” I’m like, “What do I say?” Yes, I know you’re applying for a position. That’s the only reason you would reply to my DentalPost.

43:38 Duh. Like, I don’t know how to word this properly. Help me come up with verbiage.

43:42 So, that’s what we came up with. “What are your expectations for applying to work in our office?” No reply.

43:51 All right. Well, that was that.

43:52 Yeah. She’s like, “The first question was already challenging enough. The second one is mind-blowing. Yes, I cannot formulate a response.”

44:01 I have had it. Okay. So, I’ll end on this last one that we have high hopes for. The one that I initially rejected, cast aside. Yes.

44:10 Yes. Um, “Organized and dependable dental assistant. Successful at managing multiple priorities with a positive—

44:17 Attitude. Willingness to take on added responsibilities to meet team goals.”

44:21 “Proven ability to enhance workflow efficiency and manage teams effectively.”

44:25 Love it. Love it. Until I scrolled to the bottom.

44:30 And we just graduated dental assisting school. Okay. Never mind.

44:37 Not doing it. So, as I’m going through these with, um, my associate, he’s like, “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on.”

44:45 “Go, go, go back to that one.” Because as he’s scrolling through, and I was like, “What?” And he’s like, “Well, first of all, she, um, she finished high school in—

44:53 2010. So, it’s not like she’s a spring—”

44:55 She’s not young. Yeah.

44:57 Then we have, from 2013 to 2015, she, uh, has a BA in criminal justice.

45:05 Mhm. Okay.

45:07 Yeah. And then her work history, from 2023—sorry, 2020 to 2023, she was, um, in the Navy.

45:16 Mhm.

45:18 2023 to 2025, she, uh, was a juvenile supervision officer.

45:26 Mhm. Thoughts?

45:30 I always am impressed when somebody has a BA under their belt.

45:39 It shows that they’ve got grit and determination to get through college, and that’s got to count for something.

45:46 There are natural things that you pick up, which is deadlines and writing and—

45:53 Grammar and time management. Time management and all of that. So, to me, that’s always very impressive.

46:01 And, uh, multitasking. You’ve got to be able to do—do multiple—yes. And I don’t care that it’s not in the dental field or anything—

46:08 Related to healthcare. I don’t care. I don’t care if it was in art. It still is a program that you were able to graduate—

46:17 From that shows that you had intelligence and discipline enough to get through that program. So, that’s always—anytime I see somebody with a—

46:26 College degree on their résumé, I’m looking more closely at that. Um, the other thing is, I am a big fan.

46:34 So, I guess, for me, I agree with you for all the reasons that you just said, but then, so that’s 50% of me. The other 50% is like, “I’m suspicious of you.”

46:42 Why dental? Why are you here, then?

46:44 No, not at all. Because there are so many degrees that you can graduate with now—

46:52 That it is very challenging to get a job. And I hear this from—because we had kids late, but a lot of my friends have kids—

47:00 That are in college, and, um, they are talking about, you go through this whole program, and then to be able to find a job on the other side is very—

47:08 Challenging. And so, sometimes you’re having to change your plans and go, “Okay, well, maybe the dental field,” right? But then, am I a pit stop?

47:16 It could be, but even if you’re a pit stop for two or three years with a really smart person, that’s a worthwhile pit stop. Yes.

47:23 Yeah. So, that is impressive to me. And I love our military—

47:31 People. Army, Navy, you know, Marines, all of that. Because, again, it reinforces that discipline. They’re—

47:38 They’re career people that have made it through a couple of years of a very—

47:45 Challenging program. And so, I love that that’s on her record, and, um, so I’m—

47:52 Always giving some deference to them as well. So, I think, again, my initial was, “Uh-uh,” because of the, uh, new—

48:01 Whereas I did like her degree, and I did like that she was in the Navy because, same reason, it gives—it says discipline.

48:07 I think what I didn’t like was this other job was, uh, her last, you know, listing of work history was June 2025.

48:14 So, what have you been doing for a year? So, you know, I kind of need to know that.

48:19 So, I think, ultimately, I was like, “I’m good. Like, never mind.” So, I skipped it.

48:23 Yeah. And, of course, then associate, when he saw “in the Navy,” he’s like, “Ooh, ooh, I like that. You need to give her a chance.”

48:29 I was like, “All right, well, let me text her then.” So, I was like, “What do we have to lose?” Because then we texted that one. We texted another one, and—

48:36 This one, you know, “Hi, Amy. Thanks for your reply to our DentalPost. What are you looking for in a new work home?” “Good afternoon, Dr. Kuba. I hope all is well.”

48:44 “I’m looking for a family-oriented, supportive, team-playing office. I’m a quick learner with the best personality.”

48:51 “I love people and helping people.” I think that’s a great response.

48:57 I didn’t care for the punctuation or lack thereof. Yeah.

49:01 I hate “quick learner” because everybody thinks they are one, and I have yet to find—I could count on one hand who all is. And—

49:10 Uh, what is this with “the best personality”? Oh, you—you have—you’re tooting your own horn. “I’m a quick learner with the best personality. I’m—

49:18 Just great.” I was like, “Are you going to be drama?” Sometimes we need that little cocky confidence coming in. But I agree, it—

49:27 I think it’s worth feeling out in person. Does she have those drama vibes? Because her text was a little bit—

49:36 Confident, but also she’s a brand-new RDA trying to get her foot in the door.

49:40 So, she’s trying to—and, to me, then, with a Navy background, I was like, okay, you still—if you’ve got this great personality, but the Navy—

49:48 Probably tried to crunch that out of you, so you survived that. And okay, all right. “Do you have any experience with sedation, lasers, blah—

49:55 Blah, blah?” Um, “Lasers, no, I don’t have any experience, but sedation and Dentrix, I’m a little familiar with. In school, they used a different system.”

50:04 “I do have my certificates in nitrous, coronal polishing, sealants, and BLS.” Right. You’re thinking about that. I’m like, “No, you don’t.”

50:13 No. No, you don’t.

50:15 So, what do you think you have? Yeah.

50:19 So, I was like, “Well, I’m just going to say it. How bright are we?” Yeah.

50:25 Or how good a bullshitter are you? Are you thinking that I’m not going to know the difference? Or do you not know the difference? Right.

50:31 Chances are, you don’t know the difference because you’re new to the dental field.

50:34 You know what? You’re new to the dental field. Again, I’m going to give you a minute. Yeah.

50:37 So, “When are you available to come meet us?” “Tomorrow will work great.” “Sounds great. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to see y’all tomorrow.” That was that.

50:45 So, I’m thinking, again, 50/50, you’re going to show up or you’re not. Um, and then she messages, “Good morning. I’m outside the door. Is there anyone I can—

50:53 Contact to open it for me?” She was supposed to be there at 7:05, and I got that message at 6:59. Love it.

51:00 Love you, sweet pea. Then, um, she was delightful.

51:05 Yeah, she was delightful. And some of my toughest ones on the team were like, “She was a breath of fresh air. We really liked her.” Yeah.

51:14 So, now I’m up against, “Okay, but what is your ask going to be?” Yeah.

51:18 The one hygienist was like, “My hesitation with her is that she is, um, coming new to dental, and God knows what—

51:26 Our expectations are. Switching careers is tough.” Yeah. And she’s like, “But she seemed like a professional.”

51:34 Yeah.

51:34 And, um, so anyway, she interviewed very well. Yeah. So now, then—then I had you call her.

51:42 Mhm.

51:45 What did you think of—I mean, great personality. That jumped out at me immediately.

51:53 Good communicator, very professional, you know. Um, knew my name, even though I—because I had texted her first to set up the—

52:01 Phone call and then called. Very responsive, um, was available and ready as soon as I—

52:07 Called. And, um, very—said the right things as far as being excited about the opportunity. Just—

52:16 Again, a really good communicator, and I felt like her ask was very fair.

52:22 So, I guess that, to me, then—so, the one, my manager that hadn’t met her, that’s always kind of wary of anybody we bring in. Um, and she was—I knew when she was—

52:31 Asking, I was like, “Well, she’s new to dental,” and I knew immediately she was going to be like me and be like, “Uh-uh, we don’t have time or energy to—” And I said—

52:39 “But anybody who is younger and hasn’t experienced life, I have not entertained those.” I was like, “This one has lived life.”

52:47 She has life experiences under her belt. And so, whether that’s a good thing or bad thing, to be determined, right?

52:53 But I feel like I’m not seeing any major red flags compared to any of the others in the—

53:01 Bunch. And so, we’re looking for a unicorn. Didn’t find a unicorn, but she—there’s potential, right? For any other new grad, I wouldn’t waste—

53:10 My time with this one. Now, I will say, if she was asking a higher rate—and even if not asking, either way—like, do I—

53:17 Want to tie up my monies in somebody that can’t really help me for a year or two? Because in Texas, again, polishing, sealants, you can’t help me—

53:25 For a while. Have you ever taken an X-ray on a kid? I don’t know what they taught you in your dental assisting program. Chances are, no. And that’s—we’re back to, again, our parents are—

53:34 Very demanding. So, I’m not super excited. However, she was willing to be front door or back.

53:44 Yeah, at least that’s what she said. Maybe she’s smart and knows that that’s what she needs to say, but it gets her foot in the door.

53:50 But it gets your foot in the door. And damned if you weren’t so pleasant and delightful. And the employee we lost earlier in the year that, um, had her baby—

53:59 And was not planning on coming back, she was front.

54:01 Yeah. And I’m like, if this one could sit front and just spread her cheer as people walk in, then we may have a spot for you.

54:10 Exactly.

54:11 And then, in the meantime, we work on training you to do sterilization, flip rooms, training you on X-rays as we can, training you on this, training you on that.

54:18 We’ve got options.

54:19 We’ve got options. And I don’t have a lot that are good treatment coordinator talkers. Yeah.

54:25 Can you learn the dentistry? Maybe that’s asking too much, but we don’t know. That’s some simple things, like sealants, if we could get her trained up on that. And you’re so—

54:33 Delightful with the way you speak and communicate. Well, yeah, maybe you’re kind of being a jack of all trades. You’re helping some in clinical. You’re helping—are you going to be my chairside assistant for sedations? No.

54:43 Right.

54:43 Unless you stick around for five or 10 years. No.

54:46 But are there purposes for you in the office, or are there seats you could fill? Absolutely.

54:52 So, she’s supposed to come back on—is it tomorrow? Tomorrow. Let’s see if she shows up. We shall see. We shall see.

55:00 But I’m glad that your lovely associate encouraged you back on that one.

55:05 I don’t know if I’m thanking him or ready to punch him in the face. Let’s see tomorrow.

55:11 Or if we hire—I mean, already in my mind, I’m like, unless she does something egregious tomorrow or no-shows, I’m hiring her. Like, she’s checking a lot of the boxes and is the best.

55:22 Um, she’s not a new graduate.

55:25 Yeah. And she’s experienced life, and I like that. That, for me, weighs heavily on what I’m looking for: a career person, not to be a stepping stone.

55:34 Yeah. And that’s very hard to find these days.

55:37 It is. It is. And hopefully, fingers and toes crossed, that she’s the one.

55:43 And if she’s not, then I get to tell Associate to mind his own business.

55:47 And yeah, either way, we need an update. So, this is going to lead to—you know, listeners, inquiring minds are going to want to know how this turns out.

55:58 So, I hope this was helpful, but it’s very interesting to me just how you and I disagree on so much of this.

56:04 We do. We do. But, so, the point being, the takeaways are: know what’s important to you.

56:13 Yeah.

56:14 Um, maybe think outside the box a little bit and get an alternative perspective.

56:18 Yes. And so, that’s what I was about to say. If you know, if you’re like me, where you’re super critical, um, have somebody else eyeball things with you.

56:26 And so, to me, you’re my eyeball of things. And in this case, it just happened to be Associate, which is a good reminder to me to let somebody else go through these as well because you aren’t—

56:34 On my DentalPost, right?

56:36 So, I’m the only one filtering through these, and who knows who I’ve missed in the past. Yeah.

56:42 Perfect little unicorn out there that you just scrolled right past. But that’s okay. She wasn’t the one.

56:52 You said unicorn earlier, and all I can think of is the little goat from the Minions.

56:56 Do you know what I’m talking about? The little girl has that little whatever, fluffy goat that she calls her fluffy unicorn, but it’s really just a one-horned goat.

57:06 That we need to remember when hiring, that that’s the type of unicorn we’re looking for. Unicorns do not exist, but one-horned goats do. And sometimes we—

57:16 Just have to reduce those expectations and realize those little—we can work with one. They don’t have to have two.

57:23 That’s right. And we can work with goats and not unicorns, and they’re still going to be beneficial. So—

57:30 The GOAT could be the goat. The goat could be—that’s where I thought you were going with this. I should have. Dang it.

57:39 Thanks for joining the conversation today. We hope that you are comforted in knowing that you are not alone, but we also hope that you’re walking away with—

57:48 Some really great tips and tricks to try in your practice.

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58:11 As always, please know that we are rooting for you today as you manage your dental drama.