Healthcare recruiters know all too well how difficult it can be to fill positions in today’s healthcare environment.
With increased competition for talent and pressure to fill positions faster, finding new ways to attract and leverage the interest of job seekers is vital. According to the 2023 The Future of Recruiting report published by LinkedIn, “…the future of recruiting will be more favorable to candidates and employees (as opposed to employers) over the next five years.” With that in mind, it becomes imperative that Talent Acquisition teams execute modern recruitment strategies that make their brand stand out and engage job seekers. As the percentage of next-generation healthcare professionals grows, understanding how to redesign the hiring process of years past is essential to overcoming today’s unique recruitment challenges.
The practice of sending automated rejection letters to applicants, for example, may be viewed negatively by some. According to Zippia, applicants submit, on average, “…21 to 80 job applications to get one job offer.” Being on the receiving end of rejection of any kind is never easy for anyone but imagine the impact of that many rejections. No matter how nicely phrased, receiving a rejection letter can also lead to a sense of discouragement. A blog by Joblist indicates “On average, job seekers started losing confidence in themselves after five rejections”, leading to just over ⅓ choosing to stop looking for a job altogether.
The impressions that rejection letters create can also hurt an organization’s ability to build and maintain a relationship with applicants. Building strong relationships with active and passive candidates is a crucial component of talent acquisition. Oftentimes, when applicants receive a rejection, they feel as though the company is not interested in them or not taking the time to evaluate and understand their skills and experiences. This limits recruiters from leveraging the interest of candidates and redirecting them to more appropriate job opportunities within the organization. Without a pool of quality talent that has been actively nurtured and cultivated, meeting hiring goals becomes difficult. Recruiters can easily miss out on potential talent that could have been a great fit for another position.
Talent Acquisition Process
Developing a talent acquisition process that seeks to find the right job for each candidate and the right candidate for each job will maximize the interest of job seekers and help fill more positions. It will also lead to fewer rejections as a result of mismatched skills or unclear job descriptions. Successful talent acquisition is an exquisite matchmaking process for both the job seeker and the Talent Acquisition team. The best process should include:
- A modern, easy-to-use career site that allows job seekers to easily self-qualify for the right roles based on their interests and skills
- Standardized job postings to engage the best candidates and to ensure content is clear, consistent, and always on-brand
- Fully assessing and understanding a candidate’s skills and career goals to continue engagement and build a quality pool of talent to source from
- A formal recycling process for candidates who were not selected for their first choice position that recommends other current or future relevant opportunities (Prolucent parses and standardizes resume data so TA teams can easily match applicants that are a fit for an open role. Read more here.)
- An understanding of why candidates reject job offers and why hiring managers turn down candidates
- A warm and supportive process during recruitment as well as onboarding so that once a job offer is accepted, the new employee has routine contact with a designated person
By adopting processes designed to build relationships with job seekers and understand their career interests and goals, recruiters can create a more positive recruitment experience. Continued engagement and communication with applicants can lead to more easily recognizing and offering alternative positions if the one they applied for was filled or a better match is identified. And, rather than feeling rejected or disappointed that they were not selected for the applied role, job seekers can feel encouraged and motivated by the organization’s interest in working with them to find a good fit. Offering alternative positions can open the door to new job opportunities that they may not have considered before – rather than closing the door with rejection. Ultimately, leveraging the interest of job seekers and building relationships with applicants saves time, fills more positions faster, and creates a win-win for both recruiters and applicants.
Make a Good Impression
As mentioned in a previous blog, how an applicant perceives your company and brand is greatly impacted by their experience throughout the hiring process – from their initial job search all the way through to a job offer or rejection letter. When job seekers have a more positive recruitment experience, it helps to build goodwill between recruiters and applicants and fosters a positive reputation of the hiring organization in the marketplace.