How to Drive Candidate Engagement with High Quality Job Posts

The first step in making a quality hire is getting candidates to respond to your posting. Even the most desirable position in a high-ranking healthcare facility remains vacant if no one responds to the ad. Hiring has become customer (applicant) centric in today’s challenging market. Drawing candidates to your institution means treating them as customers from the first point of contact — the job posting — through the last interview.

Creating postings that generate engagement means reviewing the content from the applicant’s point of view. Engaged candidates want to apply immediately — and if possible, schedule an interview on the spot. Driving that response requires a thorough review of your postings: what’s attracting talent, and what’s turning them away. 

Content that attracts or detracts

Opening your posting with an exhaustive list of ‘you must have’ requirements, or even posting the entire job description, is a surefire way to get an applicant to move on to the next posting. Ads that run so long you have to set aside half an hour to read through them are not engaging candidates; they’re turning them away.

Clinicians know what’s required for the job with regard to qualifications, licensure and certifications. They generally know what’s required on the job as well. A listing of the day-to-day and occasional duties is overkill. They know what the position will entail; what they don’t know is why they want to work for your institution rather than another. 

The job title typically attracts the right candidates for your position. If your institution uses job title language other than the norm internally, make sure to use standard job titles in your posting. You can explain the differing titles much later in the hiring process. 

Why work with us?

Qualified candidates know what they have to offer; their question is what do you provide. Start your postings with why they want to work with (not for) your institution. Your mission, vision, and commitment to community are a great opening, but follow quickly with the value you place on staff. A message that clearly outlines your dedication to the work and your workforce can help build engagement immediately. 

Flex your flexibility

If possible, outline your facility’s flexibility. In an industry that runs 24/7 you have the option to meet the scheduling needs of nearly any practitioner. Even if you’re looking to fill specific shifts, having qualified candidates on deck for future openings is a bit of extra recruitment bang for your buck.

In today’s difficult market, shift from ‘required’ to ‘preferred but flexible for the right candidate.’ Three year’s experience may have been standard procedure in the past; in an applicant market it’s a pipe dream. Qualifications are necessary; years on the job may be arbitrary. 

Respect their time 

Let candidates know you know they’re busy professionals and they can apply quickly and easily. Streamline the application process as much as possible to make it seamless and fast to apply. If you don’t take applications by smartphone or text, you’re missing out on quality candidates. Optimize your website, career and social media pages to accept applications with as few clicks as possible. If you’re still asking for a resume and requiring a job seeker to fill out an application, consider that candidate lost.

Enable your application process to screen the candidate’s qualifications quickly and, if they meet your basic criteria, move them directly to an interview scheduling platform. Automating this process not only saves time for your recruitment staff, if provides the candidate with instant gratification. When they’re on the books for an interview, the engagement process continues. 

Follow up immediately

Whenever an application is received or an interview is scheduled, send a quick message in response. If they’re scheduled for an interview, let them know you’re eager to meet them and talk about all the things your facility has to offer. 

If they’ve completed an application, follow up with a request for an interview. A sense of urgency builds engagement. Send a text or make a phone call to get the fastest response; emails are easily overlooked or set aside.  Your message to the candidate is you’re impressed with their qualifications and want to meet as soon as possible. Responsiveness builds excitement for joining your staff of professionals.

Post in the right places

Job postings in enormous, anonymous job boards are not the market for clinicians. These are specialized professionals who know the best place to find a new challenge is within their community. Look for places to post your vacancies where top talent in those disciplines frequent. Generic job boards are for generic candidates; you want quality talent, not large quantities of applicants.

Engaging job seekers at the posting stage is critical to the recruitment process. The more candidates your postings attract, the higher chance you’ll have to make an effective hire. Review your postings from the applicant’s point of view. If the ad doesn’t make you want to apply today, it’s not making anyone else want to apply either.