of thumb is to ask yourself whether it relates to the specific functions of the job. If it doesn’t, don’t ask the question. In addition to employment law, you must also know your state’s professional


licensure laws and your facility’s policies related to registration and licensure. Can you hire a candidate who is RDN-eligible but does not yet have the credential? Is a li- cense required to practice in your state? In many states, a dietitian must be licensed to practice.4


If you reside in one of those states, is there an option for provisional licensure and, if there is, how long does it take to obtain a provisional license?


Doing Your Homework Far too often, busy managers find themselves rushing to prepare for interviews at the last minute, and, as a result, they fail to get the key information during the interview that they need to make an informed decision. Be sure to prepare ahead of time and write out your questions so you remember to ask them in the interview to obtain the information you need about the applicant. According to Davila and Kursmark,1


managers most often make hiring errors because they do not gather


enough information and make improper assumptions. In fact, research reveals that more than 70% of managers spend less than 5 minutes preparing for interviews.1 The following Stories From the Field box describes a hiring error of this nature.


STORIES FROM THE FIELD: A Hiring Error


A newly promoted clinical nutrition manager’s first task was to hire a dietitian replacement for the open staff position. The manager’s personal friend (also an experienced dietitian) recommended a friend of theirs for the position. The candidate interviewed well, but the new manager did not fully investigate the candidate’s job history and did not interview any other applicants. Soon after hiring the new employee, the manager noticed several red flags: the employee was openly critical of previous bosses, abused their salaried status, and became sloppy with their work. After the new employee did not show up for a weekend shift, the manager took action and began formal performance coaching. The manager found this very challenging, given the personal connection to the employee. However, once the employee realized the manager was serious and that their job was in jeopardy, performance improved. Simply because someone is a personal friend does not mean they are the best candidate for the job. In addition, being a manager means it’s not always possible to be everyone’s friend.


The following points may be helpful in organizing your interviews before they begin:


› Determine the skills and competencies needed for the position. Make a list of what you are looking for. For example, if you are interviewing for an outpatient RDN, requirements might include experience with motivational interviewing, proven coaching skills, program marketing and development experience, and demonstrable public speaking skills. When interviewing candidates for a diet office supervisor position, you would want to find out about their management skills, employee counseling experience, attention to detail, problem-solving skills, customer service abilities, and knowledge of your particular computerized diet office system, such as CBORD or Computrition. Also determine what soft skills (or “people skills”) the candidate needs to have; these may be even more important than technical skills because they involve how people relate to each other. Ex-


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