As a dental assistant, most of my interviews have been highly clinical, centered around patient care, technical knowledge, and handling fast-paced environments. I’ve experienced both good and not-so-great interviews. Some felt like a real evaluation of my skills, while others seemed like a casual chat with no structure or clear purpose. When thinking about reliability, validity, and utility it really sheds light on what worked and what didn’t.
Some of the better interviews I have had were efficient with structure and focus. One example that sticks with me involved a series of scenario-based questions, such as, “How would you handle a patient who is anxious about a procedure?” The questions were relevant to daily tasks and directly tied to the skills the job required. I feel like these structured interviews were reliable because all candidates were asked the same questions and judged using the same criteria. They also had high validity since the questions predicted how well someone could perform on the job. Structured interviews feel like using a checklist during a dental procedure because you cover all important areas and leave less room for error or bias. I knew exactly what the interviewer was looking for, which made me feel confident and able to focus on demonstrating my skills.
On the flip side, I’ve had interviews that felt disorganized and subjective. In one, the interviewer spent most of the time asking me about my personal hobbies and what they like themselves with only vague questions about my work experience. They jumped from topic to topic without any flow. These types of interviews weren’t reliable because they varied so much between candidates, and they lacked validity. The most frustrating part of these unstructured interviews was how subjective they felt. It seemed like the interviewer relied more on their “gut feeling” about me than on my actual experience or responses.
If I could go back and advise those employers, I’d tell them to focus on structured interviews. Create job-specific questions, use scoring rubrics, and consider adding practical assessments like role-playing patient scenarios. Structured processes lead to fairer, more accurate hiring decisions. Also, training interviewers to recognize bias could help avoid snap judgments. To me, Interviews are like patient consultations, they are structured preparation that leads to better outcomes. The same applies to hiring.
Reference:
Bohnet, I. (2016). How to Take the Bias Out of Interviews. Harvard Business Review.
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