4 Things Physician Recruiters Should Put in Job Descriptions-But Don’t

As the key to attracting to physician candidates, good job descriptions are a requirement for any recruiter looking to fill a need. When done correctly, a good job description can draw the potential candidate in, target your ideal candidate, and sell  your organization’s brand. As such a versatile piece of content, it would make sense that physician recruiters would make sure to get them right. But all too often, recruiters will fail to put in information that could pull their ideal candidate off the fence and onto their team.

Below are four things that physician recruiters should make sure to put in their job descriptions – and how to include them the right way.

1. A description of the ideal candidate

How does a candidate looking at your job description know if they’d be the right fit? Aside from years of experience and board certification, few job descriptions paint a picture for physicians about what kind of candidate would excel in the position. Use your comprehensive candidate profile to describe what qualities a successful candidate would have.

Some examples include:

• Personal and Professional traits (i.e.- efficient, outgoing, team player, etc)
• Skills (i.e.- languages spoken, ability to build a patient panel from the ground up, experience with certain equipment/procedures)
• Practice Style (i.e.- several short patient encounters v.s. longer patient encounters)

2. Opportunities for growth

Like many candidates in other fields, physicians are attracted to positions that will provide them with opportunities for professional growth. To play on this, make sure to include and emphasize professional development opportunities in the position as well as any potential leadership roles that could evolve from it. Opportunities such as mentorship, committee participation, CME allowance, and leadership tracks should be placed front and center in the job description.

3. Real expectations

Some recruiters will try to sugar coat the less appealing aspects of a position. Whether it’s weekend hours, a difficult call schedule, or a lack of access to state-of-the-art equipment, these things need to be laid out in the job description. Doing so will keep candidates for which these things are deal breakers from applying to your position, saving you both time and energy in your search for the right candidate.

4. Community descriptions

The candidate that joins your team should be one that will love the community you’re in. Two of the biggest factors in a physician’s job search are the location and lifestyle of the practice. Because of this, you want to make sure to provide comprehensive community descriptions when possible, including information on and links to activities, attractions, schools, and entertainment in the area.

Key take aways:

• Detail why a candidate should select your opportunity over others by including development opportunities, community information, and what makes your organization stand out
• Let the candidate see if they’d be a good match for your opportunity by detailing the kind of candidate you’re looking for. This will cause candidates who are not a good fit not to apply and encourage those who would be a good match to reach out
• Don’t sugar coat what’s expected! Give a clear, honest description of what the expectations of the position are