When Krista Wink tries to recruit dental assistants, she always makes sure to mention that Pacific Dental Services is not only a great place to work for new hires but also for people looking to advance their career.
"The No. 1 thing I say when people are looking at Pacific Dental Services is that if you're looking to not just stay as a dental assistant and you want to be an office manager one day, if you want to be in a corporate role, that it's the place for you. Work hard and you'll get there," Wink said.
A dental assistant in her own right, Wink said it's important to have good technique and knowledge when starting out, but one of the key things wanted in new employees cannot be taught in a classroom.
"We're really looking for someone with a positive attitude," Wink said, "someone that wants to help patients, be there for them, comfort them. The skills come with time, but just being there for the patients, going above and beyond for them is really what we look for."
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What advice do you have for someone attending their first career fair?
Bring your resume with you. That is always a great thing at a career fair. Get to know everybody here. You don't know what kind of opportunities you might be looking for later on. Maybe if you don't pick a certain company to start with, maybe later you're looking for the opportunity. If you're a dental assistant and you're looking for an externship, get in there, get excited. Get in there because there are so many opportunities out there.
What do you like about ACC grads?
Every time I'm here I feel like I've met the entire class. They're always really involved, really engaged. We host a lot of them from here (at externship) so it's awesome to meet them, see them get placed and then see them become dental assistants with us.
What are the top three things you look for in new hires?
Be punctual. That's No. 1, especially in the dental world. We need to be on time, we need to be early. Someone with a great attitude and someone that's humble, that's good with coaching. That's actually a huge one in the dental world, being open to coaching, taking constructive criticism. That's super important.
What's the best thing about being a dental assistant?
The best thing in my mind about being a dental assistant is whenever I have a patient come in and I can change the way that they feel and give their confidence back. Honestly, it gives me the chills right now just talking about it, but just seeing that transition of giving that confidence back to the patient that maybe didn't have it before is the ultimate feeling.
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