How to Use Social Media in Physician Recruitment

With the rise of social media and the increase competition among health care employers for qualified providers, using social media in physician recruitment is no longer an option. With the vast majority of physicians being passive candidates, it now falls to employers to make sure to use all the tools at their disposal to engage and recruit candidates that may not necessarily be looking for a move.

But while using social media to recruit physicians has become necessary, many employers and recruiters are struggling with how to do it – and how to make sure it is effective. Below are five simple steps any recruiter or employer can follow to use social media in physician recruitment effectively.

Step 1: Create Content About Your Organization & Employees

One of the best facets of social media is it’s ability to showcase an organization’s culture, mission, and values. To capitalize on this, create engaging images, videos, and articles about your star employees, exciting developments, and company vision. It’s key to make sure to create content across the spectrum of different media in order to reach as many candidates as possible and provide them with a wide range of ways to engage with your organization.

Key Tip: Follow the 80/20 rule in terms of content. Make sure only 20% of your postings are regarding job openings, with the other 80% being posts about culture and helping candidates during their job search.

Step 2: Find Where Your Candidates Congregate

Not every organization needs to utilize every social media channel in their recruitment efforts. Find out which sites your ideal candidates congregate on (tip: this will vary based on your ideal candidate’s demographic). To do this, begin posting to and engaging on a variety of sites and then analyze where you are getting the most engagement. Many recruiters would automatically assume that Linkedin is where they should be, but that’s not always the case. Consider less conventional sites like Pinterest and Youtube, and you might be surprised. While this is a long step, it is one of the most important, especially when it comes to prioritizing tasks for a busy recruiter!

Step 3: Post Your Content at Regular Intervals

Quality candidates like consistency, and when done right, posting at regular intervals can leave prospective candidates eager to see your next update. Additionally, posting regularly can help drive engagement and traffic to your careers site as it shows how active you are on certain channels.

Step 4: Engage Your Employees

The biggest resource an organization has when it comes to using social media in physician recruitment is their existing workforce. Employees know what it’s like to be a part of your team – and if they’ve stayed on for quite some time they know better than anyone else what a great organization you are to work for! Engaging with employees on social media can help broaden your reach, as well as show that your employees truly love what they do – and where they’re doing it.

Step 5: Connect with Potential Candidates

So now you have great posts, employee buy in and engagement, but what’s next? Connecting with candidates of course! Monitor your social media pages and see who’s viewing certain posts, sharing your information, and engaging with the community you’ve built. These individuals are ideal candidates to reach out to since they’ve already had a glimpse at what your organization’s culture, mission, and values are. Connect with them through the various social platforms and open a dialogue, seeing if they (or maybe someone they know) would be interested in joining your team. Chances are the answer will be yes.

CONCLUSION:

There are plenty of examples online of companies who have ruined their reputations on social media. While this means that many organizations are hesitant to step into the fray, they shouldn’t be. When done right, using social media for physician recruitment can have a huge payoff in terms of providing a new source of candidates that already feel aligned with the type of team you hope to create. By following these steps, you can make sure that you do it right – and get the right candidates to join your team.