Which of these 2 candidates would you choose for GP receptionist job?

[CheesySprouts]

In a very large and very busy surgery with complex and challenging patient demographic.

Candidate A:
Early-mid 50s
NHS experience albeit not in GP surgery
Very very nervous in interview (although self aware of this and assured she enjoys a laugh with colleagues etc once feels more at ease)
Seems quiet/meek (concerned might be overwhelmed by the role)
Life experience is a plus

Candidate B:
Early 20s
No direct experience but transferable customer service skills
Enthusiastic/bright/actively seeking role in NHS as wants rewarding job involving helping people.
Lack of life experience. Poss wee bit idealistic (might also be overwhelmed by role)

A or B?

We have a lovely middle aged receptionist at my surgery. She’s quiet, polite, calm, reassuring and great at her job. We also have a younger, confident one, who’s intolerant, snappy and has zero customer facing skills.

Id go for A, she may have been overwhelmed by the interview if she hasn’t had one for a long time. She is more likely to stick around and have more empathy and she has NHS experience.

A 100%
Life experience will trump nerves which she will get over

B
this is a customer service role and she’s got the relevant experience

I'm a GP reg. I'd pick B. Younger brains are better at the IT side of things and getting tasks done.

A

Overwhelmed by what? The last time I went in, I booked via the app and saw a nurse for a smear test. I checked in on a screen - no person interaction. I didn't see anybody but a couple of gp's typing away with their door open. (I don't live rural.)

B

You get too much crap as a GP receptionist to be meek.

A. Quiet might not mean meek. She might be more likely to stay too, it's shit money and hard work dealing with people not at their best. B will most likely want career progression if she's young.

A every time.

I think most people feel more comfortable with an older female receptionist in a GP surgery, particularly older patients and I expect you have a fair few of those unless you mainly work with uni students.

She is also looking for a job to do that's not just a stop on the way to a better job, so once she's trained up she is more likely to stay for years if she works out.

Stereotypical ageist crap

You do realise that IT/computer stuff will have been used by candidate A for at least the last 30 years don’t you? It’s not some newfangled thing. 🙄

I'd say B.
Enthusiastic and wanting a career in NHS sounds promising to me and I like to nurture and encourage young people.

Seriously...this isn't a good idea OP. you need to decide

B.

Yeah this. Candidate B will be the best IMO. No shadow of a doubt. Candidate A sounds very unsuitable. As sammycrisp says, you have to be tough to be a GP Receptionist.

I can't believe so many posters are picking Candidate A, and wonder if it's so they don't appear ageist.

.

Don't roll your eyes at me, I'll keep waiting longer 😉

I did reception work at a very very GP surgery.

They need to have really good attention to details and organisation skills. Especially when dealing with multiple prescription requests!

Probably my most stressful job EVER.

Is that so...
I speak as I find.

B. If a person hasn’t managed to learn to control their interview nerves by the age of 50, I’d worry they didn’t have the resilience for an emotionally-taxing public-facing role.

Pull them both in for second interviews.
Candidate A should be a bit more confident knowing they've got through to a second round but if they're still really meek perhaps they aren't ready to hit the ground running.
Candidate B can be given some aptitude tests and scenarios to run through to see how they would handle an NHS role.
I think if A shines more in the second interview they are clearly more qualified, plus B still gets some additional experience to help with NHS interviews if that's what they want long term.

Has A worked in a receptionist/people facing role before? If so, I’d say A.

Having said that, we’ve had a mixture of young receptionists at our gp, some are good, and some aren’t.

I'm an NHS receptionist. If they both have the essential skills for the job you need to decide based on the answers they gave to your interview questions. You cannot decide based on age.

B provided you have an experienced team already in role to train, supervise and support.

But how did they score in interview? Did they deadheat?

Totally agree - hope neither of the candidates are on here!

You should also decide who will fit in with the current staff in the team.