How to Get Hired at Waypoints
- January 18, 2023
If you’re reading this blog, perhaps you’ve already looked into applying to work with us here at Waypoints via Indeed, LinkedIn, our Facebook page, or even elsewhere on our website. RBT and BCBA jobs are widely available in Michigan and throughout the country, so on behalf of everyone at our company, I’m honored that you’re looking into what we have to offer for employment.
The links above describe the basics of job requirements at Waypoints, and those requirements tend to be pretty similar across all companies offering applied behavior analysis (ABA) services. To become a behavior technician, applicants must be a minimum of 18 years of age and have a high school diploma or equivalent. Clinicians must ultimately become Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), which requires completion of a master’s degree, but we also support clinicians-in-training who are completing their fieldwork for certification or starting out as Qualified Behavioral Health Providers (QBHPs). Those are a lot of acronyms! You can learn more about different potential careers in ABA in an earlier blog post, How to Become and ABA Practitioner.
In this post, though, I will focus on the full process of applying for employment at Waypoints in particular, step by step. And anyone taking the initiative to read this in preparation for an interview is already impressing us!
The Application Process
The first step, of course, is simply to send in an application. As someone who had to drop off resumes and applications in person back in the day, I’m pleased that sites like Indeed make this process much easier. Indeed will even create a resume for you based on your input, if you don’t already have one written.
While it’s always great to see past experience that would indicate readiness to work in the field of behavior analysis, or even more generally to work one-on-one with children and adolescents, a specific kind of employment history is not required. We are confident that the training we provide before any employee work with clients will prepare you well.
Perhaps you have volunteer or familial experience or feel that an applied behavior analysis job would be right for you based on something you’ve read, watched, or heard. No matter what draws you to apply for a position at Waypoints, we want to know about it! In your resume (and possibly a cover letter if you choose to include one), try to highlight what made the position interesting to you, as well as what you think might make you a good fit for the position.
If you’re not entirely sure whether Waypoints would in fact be the right employer for you, that’s okay too, and it’s something that can be investigated further in your interview!
After you apply, keep an eye on your email inbox for the invitation to schedule an interview time. Since we work with clients in their homes and do not have a central office location, everyone on the Waypoints team predominantly communicates with each other online. Promptly and professionally responding to emails is an easy way to stand out right away.
The Interview Process
Needless to say, attending the scheduled interview on time and well-prepared is always appreciated! In addition to online communication, we rely heavily on our employees referring to their schedules and calendars regularly, so this is another opportunity to demonstrate that skillset to us. And good news – by reading this blog you’re well on your way to being thoroughly prepared for the actual interview questions!
Naturally, specific questions will vary based on the position applied for and how the conversation between interviewer and applicant progresses, but we generally like to cover five major topics:
- Professional communication: Are you prepared to respond promptly and clearly via email and phone? Are you comfortable speaking with coworkers and clients face-to-face?
- Knowledge of and experience with behavior analysis:
- While extensive knowledge is not required for new behavior technicians, we’re always interested to hear what you know about ABA! And hey, our other blog posts aren’t a bad place to start. One of our fantastic technicians even wrote a walkthrough of typical sessions here at Waypoints that can help you become more familiar with on-the-job expectations.
- Clinician applicants discussing this topic can show us whether we have shared beliefs and values with regards to ABA being a skill-building tool and the importance of celebrating neurodiversity.
- Self-advocacy: Do you take the initiative to ask questions and request support that you need?
- Responsiveness to feedback: How do you prefer to receive feedback from supervisors? How do you respond to critical feedback, or feedback that you disagree with?
- Time management and organization: How do you maintain a good work/life balance? Will you be able to meet clients’ needs, without sacrificing your own?
If after the first interview we agree that we’d be a good fit for each other, we will then schedule a brief follow-up interview to give you the opportunity to meet more of the Waypoints team and ask any additional questions that may occur to you. This is an important chance for you to ensure that we will meet your needs in terms of workload, schedule, career goals, and company culture.
Career Paths
In order to determine whether we will be a good fit for your career goals, you might need to reflect on what exactly those goals are and what your options are!
While we don’t necessarily expect employees to stay working with us here at Waypoints forever, we want to make sure that the time you DO spend with us is rewarding and beneficial to you in the future. In addition to providing support for clinicians-in-training, we also provide diverse opportunities for our BCBAs to collect research data, present at conferences or in professional development workshops for fellow employees, and of course develop their supervisory and training repertoires.
Technicians also have a variety of options for growth within Waypoints. Before onboarding, all technicians must complete a 40-hour training to help set a foundation for understanding the science of behavior analysis and common applied procedures. That’s a common requirement within the field, so if you’ve already done this, you’re unlikely to need to complete it again! The next steps from there, though, are flexible.
To obtain the Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) credential, employees must then complete an on-the-job competency assessment and pass a certification exam. However, certification is not required for employment; as noted earlier in this post, we’re confident that our training will prepare all employees to work equally well with clients, regardless of whether they then choose to become RBTs. There are several career paths available within Waypoints, certified or not!
You may choose to take on more of an administrative role over time, helping out with creation of training and program materials or translating documents into clients’ preferred languages. You may also wish to grow into a training role yourself, teaching new technicians to work effectively with their clients and providing valuable feedback. If you would like to become a BCBA someday, you could work closely with our clinicians during fieldwork to learn the ropes of assessment, data analysis, and program development, and see firsthand what all goes into BCBA jobs.
Next Steps
I believe we have a lot to offer here at Waypoints, as a behavior analyst-run company that is dedicated to being client- and employee-focused. If we’ve caught your eye as a potential employer, you can learn more about our mission and values on our website at https://waypoints.life/mission-and-values/, and our rigorous clinical and professional standards in this blog post.
Getting started in a career at Waypoints begins with being responsive via email, attending interviews and meetings on time, answering questions honestly, demonstrating investment in care and support for clients, and asking us questions to show that you’re truly considering whether we would be a good fit for you. Seriously, be sure to interview us as much as we’re interviewing you! If you’re interested, check out our available positions on Indeed. And if you’d like to learn more first, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us through our website at https://waypoints.life/careers/.
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Get in Touch With Waypoints
Whether you’re looking for diagnostic testing, one-on-one in-home ABA therapy and skill-building resources, or simply want to learn more about our unique approach, please don’t hesitate to reach out! (We love getting mail.)
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