Insights

 In the fiercely competitive landscape of healthcare recruitment, standing out at recruiting events and job fairs isn't just a goal—it's a necessity. These events are prime opportunities to connect with top-tier talent, but success requires more than just setting up a booth and handing out flyers. It demands strategic planning, innovative tactics, and a keen understanding of what prospective candidates are looking for.

Here’s how to turn your recruiting event presence into an immersive, informative, and engaging experience for healthcare talent:

1. Pre-Event Strategy: Building Anticipation

Create Buzz Before the Event

Start your outreach well before the event. Use social media, email campaigns, and your career website to announce event details. Highlight what makes your organization special—your cutting-edge technology and new devices, patient-centered care, and opportunities for professional growth. Create compelling content, such as behind-the-scenes videos, employee testimonials, and sneak peeks of what attendees can expect at your booth.

Engage Potential Candidates Early with Targeted Outreach

Leverage platforms like LinkedIn to identify and connect with potential candidates. Reach out to niche groups, alumni networks, and industry publications. Send personalized email invitations to your top prospects and newsletter subscribers encouraging them to visit your booth. Highlight the event, showcase your employer brand and the reasons people join and stay with you, and feature the types of roles you're looking to fill. You can also highlight the recruiting team that will be hosting the event, so candidates can connect with them prior.

2. Making an Impression with Booth Design and Experience

Innovative and Interactive Booth Design

Your booth is your stage—so you should make it unforgettable. Opt for a design that is not only visually appealing but also functional. Incorporate interactive elements like touchscreens showcasing your hospital’s achievements, skills quizzes, VR experiences of your facilities, or even a live video-feed of a day in the life of your healthcare staff.

Create a Comfortable and Inviting Space

Healthcare professionals are on their feet all day. Provide comfortable seating and a welcoming atmosphere where candidates can relax and have meaningful conversations. Offer refreshments and branded giveaways that are both useful and memorable.

3. Engagement Tactics: Creating Meaningful Connections

Bring Your Best Team

Staff your booth with your most passionate and knowledgeable employees. Ideally, include a mix of HR professionals and healthcare practitioners who can speak to the realities of the job. Authenticity and enthusiasm are contagious.

Wear branded shirts or scrubs that signal your team spirit, but by all means be approachable! Train your recruiters to be warm, welcoming, and genuinely interested in each candidate. Engage in conversations, and be prepared to ask questions that uncover a candidate's skills, experience, and passion for healthcare or their field specifically. This shows genuine interest and helps you identify the perfect fit.

Personalize Your Approach

Avoid the hard sell, or the one-size fits all approach – but still have a general pitch ready to go that highlights company culture and unique benefits. Take the time to listen to what candidates say and how they respond to your questions, so you can understand each candidate’s career goals and interests. Use this information to tailor your pitch, highlighting how your organization aligns with their professional aspirations. Personalization demonstrates that you value them as an individual, not just a potential hire.

4. Leveraging Technology: Streamlining Event Day Processes

Implement a Digital Check-In System

Gone are the days of paper sign-up sheets at events. Use a tablet or mobile app to capture candidate information quickly and efficiently. This not only speeds up the process but also ensures that you can easily follow up with candidates post-event. Make data collection even more seamless by integrating the data collection system or form with your applicant tracking software.

Utilize QR Codes

Place QR codes around your booth that link to job listings, application forms, and additional company information. This allows candidates to explore opportunities at their own pace and reduces wait times at your booth.

5. Post-Event Follow-Up: Keeping the Momentum Going

Prompt and Personalized Follow-Up

Follow up with candidates within 24 hours of the event. Personalize your communication, referencing specific details from your conversation. This shows that you were paying attention and that you’re genuinely interested in their career search and selection. Review collected resumes or on-site applications promptly and move strong candidates through the next phase of the application and interview process quickly.

Provide Valuable Content

Post engaging photos and videos from the event on your social channels. Highlight interesting conversations or candidate stories to keep the momentum from the event going. Send candidates you met with valuable content that reinforces why your organization is a great place to work, a personal video message from your CEO, deeper answers to questions they asked, or an invitation to a facility walk-through and meet-n-greet session with employees.

Nurture Relationships

Not every candidate will be ready to make a move immediately, nor will they all have the skills or experience for the role. Implement a nurturing campaign to keep in touch with promising candidates, providing them with regular updates about your organization and inviting them to future events. This way, you keep up with their career progression without being too pushy with open jobs.

6. Measuring Success: Analyzing and Optimizing

Track Key Metrics

Evaluate the success of your participation by tracking key metrics such as the number of leads generated, the quality of those leads, and the conversion rate from leads to hires. Use this data to refine your approach for future events.

Seek Feedback

Don’t hesitate to seek feedback from both your team and the candidates you engaged with. Understanding what worked and what didn’t can provide invaluable insights for improving your strategy.

7. Going Virtual

If the thought of planning and executing an in-person career fair is a logistical and emotional nightmare for you, consider holding a virtual career fair. Virtual events transcend geographical limitations, they provide a trove of valuable candidate data, and they are cost-effective which enables recruiters and hiring managers to connect with more qualified candidates in a shorter timeframe. Here are a few things to consider before taking the virtual leap:

• Select a user-friendly platform that best suits your team and is easy for candidates to engage with.
• Pre-event promotion and engagement is crucial to make virtual events work. It’s easier to miss a virtual meeting or multitask during one than it is for an in-person event. Your team will need to work just as hard – if not harder – to make an event like this work.
• Keep sessions engaging with Q&A, guest employee speakers, quizzes and polls, and breakout ‘rooms’ for 1:1 conversations.

Making Every Event Count

Recruiting events and job fairs are powerful tools in your recruitment arsenal and great ways to get your employer brand out in public. By combining strategic planning, innovative tactics, and a focus on meaningful engagement, you can transform these events into a steady pipeline of top-tier healthcare talent. Remember, it’s not just about filling positions; it’s about finding the right people who will thrive and grow within your organization.

With these strategies you’re not just hosting job fairs—you’re dominating them. And in the competitive world of healthcare recruitment, that can make a big difference in finding the right talent to fill your open roles.

The healthcare industry faces a looming talent shortage. As experienced professionals retire, attracting young, enthusiastic talent becomes crucial. But how do you reach a generation raised on instant gratification, social impact, and technological innovation? With the right strategies and tools, healthcare organizations can appeal to the values and aspirations of the new generation of professionals. Here, we delve into reliable and innovative recruitment strategies to entice young talent towards fulfilling careers in healthcare.

As the last Baby Boomers retire and Gen X starts to leave the workforce, Millennials and Gen Z will need to be ready to fill the great void in healthcare. A recent study by the American Hospital Association revealed that one in five healthcare positions remain unfilled in 2024, and EMSI data suggests that there will be a shortage of up to 3.2 million healthcare workers by 2026.

Never before has an entire industry faced an impending talent shortage of this impact before. But we can overcome all the doom and gloom by getting a new, young audience who is eager for success and belonging. So before diving into specific strategies, it's essential to understand what drives young professionals today. Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) prioritize:

• Purpose and Impact: They want to work in roles that make a difference.
• Work-Life Balance: Flexibility and a healthy work-life balance are critical.
• Career Development: Opportunities for growth and learning are highly valued.
• Technology: They expect modern, efficient technology in their workplaces.
• Authenticity: They value transparency and authenticity from employers.

How Employer Brand Attracts Young Talent

Establishing a strong employer brand goes a long way in conveying your company image to the world and attracting younger talent. Millennials and Gen Z value purpose-driven work and are drawn to organizations with clear missions and values. A compelling employer brand message answers the question, "Why do people work and stay here?" and aligns with the motivations of young career seekers.

Young talent wants content that gives them an authentic view of what it’s like to work in your organization, and more specifically in a field, facility, or even to the unit level. When you incorporate employer branding and messaging into your job descriptions, you have a powerful tool that attracts, engages, informs, and converts – so much more than your ATS job description alone.

Your employer brand should reflect your values and what makes your workplace unique. Focus messaging on current employee experiences, and the meaningful impact of a career with you on patients and the community. Utilize testimonials and employee spotlights on your social media sites to acknowledge the work of current employees and show potential ones what it might be like to work alongside them. Produce videos that showcase your workplace culture, including interviews with employees and highlights of company events & achievements.

You have so many ways to demonstrate that you care beyond the walls of your facility and showcase what you do for your employees when they are not in scrubs. Your employer brand messaging bears the burden of articulating those efforts and appealing to the desire of young talent for purpose, integrity, and authenticity in the employers they consider.

Authentic Storytelling

Authentic content and storytelling are crucial in attracting young talent. The story of what makes each employee choose you and the reasons they stay with you are at the heart of your employer value proposition. And when those stories are told through the voices of your employees, they connect to candidates in a personal way and draw them into thinking about how they can make an impact on the community and do life changing work like the person they just heard from. This can be achieved through:

• Videos of every community event, hiring event, employee appreciation event, and internal event that involves an employee and a patient in a positive way.
• Patient Stories: Share real stories from patients who have benefited from the care provided by your organization and specific teams. These stories can be shared on social media, your website, and during recruitment events. Let them express their gratitude and highlight the positive impact your employee had on their lives.
• Day in the Life Showcase: Create a video series showcasing a typical day for different healthcare roles – a nurse navigating a busy shift, a lab technician conducting vital tests, or a physical therapist guiding a patient's recovery.
• Employee Spotlights: Interview your young healthcare professionals and let them share their career journeys, motivations, and what excites them about working at your company in a specific facility/unit and the impact of their work in their personal life. Ask them to tell stories about what family members feel about their career choice.
• Employee-Generated Content - Encourage your employees to create and share content about their experiences on their personal social networks for visibility and use on your recruitment and internal channels.
• Blog Posts and Articles: Feature blog posts written by employees about their roles, career journeys, and personal experiences in healthcare. Encourage them to post on LinkedIn for reach.
• Social Media Takeovers: Allow employees to take over your social media channels for a day to share their work experiences and insights.

And of course, all of these stories should be told on your job descriptions. The skills required, daily responsibilities of the role, and generic list of benefits are no longer enough to attract talent and differentiate your organization from your competition. If your story is not being told, candidates will not know what makes your company the right career choice for them.

Flexible & Diverse Career Paths

Flexible working hours and schedules, remote work options, and part-time or ‘fractional’ opportunities are no longer an extra in terms of benefits, but are now a priority for young career seekers. The pandemic and rising gas and energy prices have helped this become more of the norm, and even as the debate on ‘return-to-work’ rages, organizations will absolutely need to continue to consider this in terms of attracting and retaining talent.

Generous paid time off policies, childcare support, same-day pay for hourly workers, and even gym memberships and personal trainers are benefits that healthcare organizations are using to attract talent and differentiate themselves. This is driving not only younger, but also more diverse talent who are benefiting from these unique perks of employment at local hospitals and facilities and that are often the main reason people make a decision to join.

The ability to move up or laterally within an organization is also highly important, and helps you to retain more talent by giving your seasoned employees opportunities to learn something new, while filling their roles with new talent. You’ll get a better ROI and enjoy higher retention rates when you hire internally for more experienced roles.

A Clearly Defined Role

Candidates want to know what they’re getting into before applying, but the expectation of what a role may entail is often not the reality of the role, especially in healthcare. Be sure the information you include on your job descriptions is an accurate representation of what candidates will do on a day-to-day basis and what you expect of them prior to applying. This is one way for the ‘wrong-fit’ candidates to self-select themselves out of the application process, freeing time for recruiters and hiring managers to focus on the right talent.

When it comes to salary and benefit transparency – be transparent. And stick to that throughout the interview and selection process. Knowing the perks, training, and advancement opportunities for a role up front helps your team become more efficient and inspires more candidate trust.

Remember that it’s okay to be clear on what you expect from candidates – during the process and as they become employees. The right candidates should understand that they are being invited to apply if they are the right fit for the role. Young adults who are now at the start of their careers are more aware than any other generations of the competition for talent and the clarity they expect when making huge life choices.

Competitive Salary, Benefits, Transparency, and Integrity

Millennials and Gen Z care a lot about workplace culture, sometimes more than they do about salary when making a career decision. That doesn’t mean they don’t care what they get paid, but they do expect salary transparency and won’t undersell themselves. A competitive salary shows candidates you know what they’re worth, and a great culture is what cultivates when you continue to recognize the value of your people.

Paid leave, retirement plans, health insurance, debt relief for student loans in certain positions, flex time, remote work for some roles, and childcare reimbursement are all important benefits these generations consider. For roles with unique bonus opportunities or compensation structures, candidates will give extra thought and care as they consider the job at your organization over another.

Millennials and Gen Z are looking for you to back up your promises. They know what an employer brand is, and they will look to see that the image you project is backed up in practice. These generations are tech savvy, information-driven, and they will do their research. They also value consistency and follow through. Call back and update candidates on the interview process; don’t leave them hanging. If candidates feel prioritized and cared for from the beginning, they can trust that your branding is built around real values that you aim to emulate in all aspects of the business.

A Workplace that Talent Craves and Thrives In

The new generation of healthcare workers wants to feel like they are making a difference, and know that their employer prioritizes that as well. They are often thought of as rejecting the “old” ways, but in fact they are eager to learn and thrive on challenge and opportunity. They look for ways to move up or take on new roles within the workplace, and value mentorship as a way to learn more about the company and feel connected to a unified purpose. Hospitals and healthcare providers that succeed at recruiting and retaining talent like this have a better chance of connecting more experienced employees with early careerists in a structured environment. This is not only good for young talent but will help build trust and morale for everyone on your team. Solid coaching, training, and inter-generational bonding helps you retain talented candidates and improve work performance.

You want to create and nurture a culture that encourages fresh ideas and embraces new technologies, workplace innovation, creativity, and self-awareness. Let young people know their input is valued and their internal wellness is supported. Many healthcare organizations are now employing wellness coordinators who operate exclusively as support for employees going through emotional, social, and family challenges of all kinds. Ten years ago, a position like this would be considered unnecessary, but now is a crucial resource ensuring the well-being of thousands of healthcare workers across the industry.

Personalize the Experience

Even now that you know what Millennial and Gen Z generations prioritize in terms of career choices, you are ultimately looking for an individual with unique strengths and experience all their own. If you focus on the characteristics that you are looking for in a candidate that make them a unique fit for the role, they will be able to envision themselves in the role rather than trying to connect your requirements to their skills. The search now becomes more about fit than requirements, and that’s important to young career seekers.

Once candidates can make the connection to a role that says, "That sounds like me" and continue to engage with you or give you data directly – you can now personalize every communication going forward. Targeted ads that include their name and desired role or career path, personalized career site pages with the types of info you know they are interested in, and related content served on other sites they visit are common ways to use technology to personalize the candidate experience for the talent you are trying to convert.

Leverage Technology

Leveraging technology is crucial for attracting young talent like Millennials and Gen Z to healthcare roles. Virtual career fairs provide a dynamic platform for showcasing opportunities, allowing candidates to interact and interview with employers from anywhere. Generative AI can craft personalized job recommendations and enhance job descriptions, making the job search process more relevant and engaging for younger job seekers. Chatbots offer 24/7 assistance, answering queries instantly and guiding candidates through the application process. Predictive analytics can identify trends in candidate behavior, helping recruiters tailor their strategies to attract the best talent. It can also identify candidates who are likely to succeed and stay with your organization long-term.

Mobile-friendly interfaces are essential, as Millennials and Gen Z predominantly use smartphones for job searches. Ensuring that job applications and career sites are optimized for mobile devices increases accessibility and conversion. Accessibility features, such as screen reader compatibility and simplified navigation, ensure that all candidates, including those with disabilities, can access job opportunities. By using AI-driven insights, recruiters can create targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with younger audiences.

Technology also allows for more efficient data management, enabling recruiters to track and analyze candidate interactions and preferences. Virtual reality (VR) can be used to give potential hires a realistic preview of the work environment, enhancing their interest and commitment. Automated scheduling and screening tools streamline the interview process, reducing the time between application and hiring. Integrating social media platforms with recruitment strategies can amplify reach and attract passive candidates.

Gamification of the recruitment process can make applying for jobs more engaging for younger candidates. Using data analytics to refine job descriptions ensures they are appealing and relevant to the target demographic. With technology, healthcare organizations can build stronger employer brands that resonate with the values and expectations of Millennials and Gen Z. Ultimately, embracing these technological advancements can lead to a more efficient, engaging, and inclusive recruitment process, attracting the best young talent to the healthcare industry.

Be Where Young Adults Are – Social Sites

To attract young talent, you need to engage with young audiences where they are – Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Use these platforms for career fairs, behind-the-scenes glimpses of your facility, and Q&A sessions with healthcare professionals and recruiters.

Instagram: Create engaging content that showcases day-to-day life in your organization, highlights employee achievements, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at healthcare roles. A consistent approach will reap the most benefit long term on social, and Instagram is a great example of community building and storytelling.

TikTok: Over a third of young adults in the US use TikTok daily. It’s a fun, engaging, and captivating platform with lots of opportunity for content creators to test their branding and marketing abilities. No other platform has been proven to grow audiences faster or bigger, so this absolutely needs to be a consideration when building a social strategy.

YouTube: It’s owned by Google and is considered the #2 most used search engine in the world. All your long-form videos should be hosted and optimized here, then edited into short-form content for other social platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

LinkedIn: This is the fastest growing career platform for Millennials and Gen Z. Use LinkedIn to share job postings, company updates, and articles relevant to the healthcare industry. Engage with potential candidates through direct messaging and networking. Encourage your managers to update their profiles and share jobs across their networks.

Gamification

Gamification can make the recruitment process more engaging and appealing to younger candidates. Skills and knowledge assessments can be gamified and scored, with leaderboards and virtual swag awards to nurture a culture of friendly competition among candidates. The results of these games can provide insights into candidate’s capabilities and strengths while at the same time giving candidates a taste of what working in different healthcare roles could be like.

Elegant & Integrated Applicant Tracking System

Your ATS used to only have the responsibility of collecting candidate data, fairly. Now, it is responsible for attracting candidates (if they sell you on SEO which most ATSs fail miserably on), informing candidates about the requirements and skills needed for the job, and ensuring that they convert into applicants (just to name a few). As we’ve preached before (OPTIMIZING HEALTHCARE JOB DESCRIPTIONS), your job description may be your only opportunity to connect with talent, so you’ve got to make it the best experience within your recruitment arsenal and ensure the entrance into your ATS is seamless.

Smart candidates will not go through a disconnected, cumbersome, redundant apply process in its entirety. It’s a window into how the company manages their business and their people. A user-friendly interface, a clear process that doesn’t repeat steps and requirements, and one that transitions seamlessly from your career site or media from a brand and messaging perspective will increase your application conversion rates. Young talent views the approach to technology and content marketing as one that is understood or not understood.

Tracking and tagging the actions taken (and not taken) in your ATS will also be essential in understanding applicant behavior and optimizing your application process. Integration and data sharing with your media and destination partners becomes even more of a challenge as first-party data replaces cookie-based tracking. So, the more data you collect from candidates will help you connect with them in the future.

Partnerships: Reaching Young Talent Before They Choose Career Paths

Build relationships with local high schools, universities, colleges, and vocational schools with healthcare programs. Offer internship opportunities, participate in career fairs, and guest lecture to educate students about the diverse career paths available within healthcare. Consider a similar recruitment approach that the military takes before young adults are even eligible for serving – cast a wide net for branding and visibility and then use high-touch recruiter tools and tactics to develop and forge connections with potential candidates so when they are ready to make a career decision, they consider you a top company to join.

Investing in Young Talent Today

Attracting young talent to healthcare roles requires a multifaceted approach that combines showcasing the impact and purpose of healthcare careers with innovative recruitment techniques and the use of modern technology. By understanding the values and expectations of young professionals, leveraging social media, offering flexible career paths, and providing authentic content and storytelling, healthcare organizations can successfully attract and retain the next generation of healthcare professionals. Young professionals are not just looking for a job; they're seeking a career path that aligns with their values and allows them to make a real difference.

Investing in these strategies not only helps fill crucial open roles now but also ensures that the healthcare industry thrives with passionate, dedicated, and skilled professionals. As the landscape of work and technology evolves, staying adaptable and forward-thinking will be key to engaging and inspiring young talent in healthcare.

 In today’s competitive healthcare landscape, attracting talent is a constant challenge. A recent study by the American Hospital Association revealed that one in five healthcare positions remain unfilled, and EMSI data suggests that there will be a shortage of up to 3.2 million healthcare workers by 2026. Through all of this, your job description will prove to be the greatest tool in your recruitment arsenal.

Look at every job description as a strategic marketing tool that is often the first and only chance your company has to make an impression on a job seeker or passive candidate. Your job description is more than a list of responsibilities, skills, and qualifications – it has the responsibility of attracting, engaging, and converting qualified talent and telling a story about what makes your organization unique, how it supports employees, and what makes people stay.

Most importantly, optimized job descriptions can significantly improve your visibility in search engine results, attracting a wider pool of qualified candidates. In this guide, we’ll dive into the things you need to consider as you create job descriptions that will:

• Attract and engage job seekers and passive candidates
• Give them the information they need to make a smart career choice
• Showcase why people want to work for you, why people stay, and what makes you unique
• Encourage users to take action and ensure a positive experience throughout their journey with you

Craft Compelling Content

There is no doubt that job seekers want clear, concise, engaging, and actionable content. You can minimize the bland tone on the job responsibilities, qualifications, and required skills and focus on language that excites and elevates. You want job seekers to be able to visualize themselves not only in the role itself but at your company in a positive way, and not just to align their skills to your requirements. Remember that your active audience is likely scanning multiple job listings so you need to make the role at your company stand out. Some ways to craft compelling job descriptions are:

• Tailor the tone and language to the type of candidate you are looking for
• Use strong verbs, aspirational situations, and examples of growth potential
• Include visuals and infographics to engage and inform visually, as opposed to text-only
• Answer the question, "Why should I work here over your competitor?"
• Embed YouTube videos that are optimized for SEO (more on that later) and specific to roles
• Feature news, employee stories & awards, community events – dynamic content is good for SEO and gives users a reason to come back to your job and reconsider taking action
• Include relevant industry and job category stories
• Segment your job descriptions for different candidate personas such as new graduates or experienced professionals, and use unique messaging and appropriate profiles and testimonials
• Let candidates know what makes a strong candidate for the role and what characteristics do not

Deliver Your Employer Brand Messaging

If you don’t have an employer brand or strategic messaging, that’s another story…or maybe a lack of story. Your job descriptions are your most visible and abundant asset, and they need to be considered the first and, perhaps, only visibility a candidate will have into working at your company. They are your best opportunity to deliver and articulate the reasons why a candidate should consider a career with you. When considering how your job descriptions should be formatted, the key is to use branded templates that include design and messaging options for the headers, footers, side-bars, and section elements. Check out our previous blog post about building and activating your Employer Brand.

You should design, build, and optimize your job descriptions as if they were a freestanding microsite or landing page. A single-page destination that hooks candidates with a compelling statement and showcases your company’s voice and values that encompass your Employer Brand and EVP.

Enhance Search Engine Visibility

SEO is still be most powerful and cost-effective way to ensure your job descriptions get the visibility they require on search engines. With Google and Microsoft making significant algorithm updates, search enhancements, and adding AI-generated results at the top of page one, it’s more important than ever to keep up with the changing landscape and requirements for optimized content of all types. To ensure your job descriptions are optimized for search, consider:

• Ensuring your job titles are simple and descriptive – no more than 3-4 words max
• Identifying keywords specific to your roles and integrating them into your job description summary and strategically throughout
• Optimizing URLs, meta descriptions, alt text, and schema data – YES, this is still important
• Using a tool like web.dev to analyze page speed and performance
• Adding dynamic content like a blog or social feed to show search engines that your job content is always updating
• Showcasing credibility from 3rd party content like award sites, PR stories, and review sites helps give your job content more authority
• Formalizing site maps, job category and location mapping, and standardizing evergreen type positions
• Developing FAQs and rich snippets based on common questions candidates and applicants ask – often FAQs are added to SERPs (search engine results pages) as "People also ask" highlighted content that may supersede static page content – today, AI generated results provide quick and relevant information in the first position on most Google SERPs
• Conducting deep search analysis of your jobs and content as compared to your competitors to discover the greatest opportunities to win the search battle
• INSIGHT – The way we’ve been using search engines has already started to shift - from accessing a dedicated search site like Google, to now searching via our preferred social network where we spend the most time – so now, many SEO techniques can be repurposed for individual social networks where active and passive candidates spend most of their time

Prioritize the User Experience & Accessibility

Enhancing job descriptions by focusing on mobile responsiveness, readability, and accessibility ensures a broader reach and better candidate engagement. Visually appealing layouts and strategic content placement, like moving company details to the bottom, make job posts more effective. Utilizing tools like heatmapping to optimize these elements further refines the user experience, attracting high-quality applicants.

• Mobile + Responsive - Ensuring job descriptions are mobile-friendly and responsive means they can be easily accessed and read on various devices, including smartphones and tablets. With a significant portion of job seekers using mobile devices to search for jobs, a responsive design ensures a seamless user experience, reduces bounce rates, and increases the likelihood of applications. Mobile-friendly job descriptions also enhance the company's professional image and cater to on-the-go candidates, increasing overall reach and engagement. It’s also crucial that you use the same considerations for the entire ATS application process for all roles.
• Readability - High readability ensures that job descriptions are easily understood by a diverse audience. Using clear, concise language, bullet points, and short paragraphs helps to communicate the role's requirements and responsibilities effectively. This not only attracts the right candidates but also reduces the risk of misinterpretation and applicant drop-off. Improved readability can also positively impact SEO.
• Accessibility - Making job descriptions accessible means ensuring they are usable by all individuals, including those with disabilities. This involves using appropriate color contrast, alternative text for images, and ensuring compatibility with screen readers. Accessible job descriptions broaden the talent pool by reaching a wider audience, demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion, and comply with legal standards, thereby enhancing the company's reputation and potentially avoiding legal issues.
• Visual Appeal - Visually appealing job descriptions capture the attention of potential candidates and make a positive first impression. Using a clean layout, relevant images, and company or employer branding elements can make the job posting more engaging. This not only helps to attract high-quality applicants but also reflects well on the company's brand, making it stand out in a competitive job market.
• Move the "About Our Company" summary to the bottom of the job description - Placing a concise 2-3 sentence summary of the job at the top of the job description immediately informs candidates about the role, capturing their interest right away. This approach prioritizes the candidate’s need for quick, relevant information, making the job description more candidate-centric. Moving the detailed company information to the bottom ensures that interested candidates can still learn about the company, but only after they have been hooked by the specifics of the role itself.
• Application Process - Clearly outlining the application process in job descriptions provides candidates with a clear understanding of what to expect and how to apply. This reduces confusion and frustration, leading to a higher completion rate of applications. Details such as application deadlines, required documents, and the steps involved in the hiring process also convey transparency and professionalism, enhancing the candidate experience and potentially increasing the quality of applications.
• Heatmapping - Using heatmapping tools to analyze how candidates interact with job descriptions provides valuable insights into which sections draw the most attention and which are overlooked. This data allows for the optimization of job postings by rearranging content, improving readability, and ensuring that critical information is prominently displayed. Heatmapping can help to refine the job description to maximize engagement and effectiveness, leading to better-informed candidates and a higher quality applicant pool.

Personalize Content with First-Party Data

Collecting first-party data from job seekers is crucial for enhancing your recruitment process. When candidates visit job descriptions, sign up for job alerts and enter your CRM, or apply in your ATS, they provide valuable insights into their preferences and behavior. This data allows you to personalize content, making job descriptions more relevant to individual candidates. It also allows for personalized remarketing strategies that bring candidates back to the job after an initial interaction or a visit that didn’t result in an action.

Personalized job descriptions can highlight roles that match the candidate's skills, interests, and location, even specific accomplishments in their resume increasing engagement and application rates. Furthermore, tailored job alerts keep candidates informed about opportunities that fit their profiles. This targeted approach not only attracts higher-quality applicants but also fosters a positive employer brand. Ultimately, leveraging first-party data ensures a more efficient and effective hiring process, benefiting both recruiters and job seekers.

Incorporate Employee Videos, Testimonials, and Employee Generated Content

Providing authentic content about your employees’ experiences is the best way for you to connect with your target audience on job descriptions. You want a candidate to be able to envision themself in that workplace, working with that team, and growing like the person whose profile indicates a path similar to theirs. Personal stories resonate and provide deeper insight into your organization than what job description text can do. Here are some ways we can help you do it:

• Produce employee video testimonials (with planned scripts) for three people of different experience levels in your highest need job types and place on appropriate jobs. Things to focus on:
  • Why did you choose us, and what makes you stay?
  • Can you tell a story about what made you realize you’d have a great career here?
  • How does the company support you professionally and personally?
  • How have you grown here, and what’s in your future?
• Ask the questions above on your employee surveys (you’re conducting employee surveys at least twice a year, right?) – those are your testimonials along with your best Glassdoor reviews
• Create a theme for Employee Generated Content and encourage your employees to use their social network of choice to post content about working here - then, you can share and repost on your channels
• Create unit walkthrough videos (scripted) with a host so candidates can get a sense of the work environment and the team – place videos on jobs in those units
• When creating videos, make sure you have strong calls-to-action, like: "Want to work with Nicole?", ‘Ready to carve your own path at ___?’, or ‘If this sounds like you, connect with us here.’
• Break up the videos into smaller pieces so you can get more content out of them
• You don’t need to use overproduced, professionally shot videos – people are used to watching video on their phones, and most authentic content is created on them as well – we can help you select the right technology partner for this type of content

Leverage Company Reviews and Employee Insights

You can showcase what current and former employees have to say about your company by integrating or hardcoding Glassdoor and Indeed reviews on to your job descriptions, relevant to the job type and location of the role. This gives a first-person view of what it’s like to start at, work at, and leave your company. While lackluster or negative reviews can’t be removed on these platforms, the more positive reviews you get can certainly help to improve your ratings and move the neutral or negative reviews down. Data shows that candidates are likely going to review these sites anyway, so you may as well be proactive and add reviews to your jobs. If you’re reluctant to integrate all reviews, you can hardcode the positive ones only. We always encourage healthcare organizations to solicit their employees directly to give positive reviews of working there.

Another way to show what your employees think about working at your company is to display the results of your employee engagement, satisfaction, and wellness surveys or any other surveys you use to gauge the employee experience. This data is best conveyed in an infographic style that’s engaging and dynamic.

Highlight Location Information

Every job description should include information about the physical location of the job, specific to the requisition. Jobs in multiple locations that use a single Requisition ID will need to accommodate all locations, but in general, we don’t recommend bundling jobs by location. Detailed location information is important for candidates and search engines. Here are some ways to highlight your locations in unique ways:

• Showcase awards, innovation, and technology specific to the location or facility
• Introduce leadership, clinical and unit teams, and service employees
• Include content that highlights community support, local event participation and sponsorship, and how you foster a collaborative and inclusive culture that focuses on giving back
• Show benefits, local amenities, lifestyle, and maps specific to the area
• Show Chamber of Commerce links or content specific to the city you’re hiring in. If applicable, show information on relocation assistance and how you help to ensure a smooth transition from another facility.

Create Calls-to-Action that Convert

Learn More, Click Here, Submit, and Apply Now are all generic, uncreative ways to ask a user to take action. Consider these rules for selecting the right words on button labels and links to encourage users to get to know you in greater detail, connect with you, or to start an application:

• Use action verbs that tells users exactly what they can do by clicking – "Read more about Nursing at ABC Healthcare" and "Start Your Application" are strong
• Highlight what users can gain by taking action – be persuasive
• Use precise diction and context so your request is not misinterpreted – don’t say "Apply" if it’s not the start of an application; create urgency when needed with words like "Instant" or "Today"
• Personalize action with "You" and "Your"
• Spark interest and curiosity with words like "Discover" or "Explore"
• Contrast button colors and fonts to make them stand out, and use hover states
• A/B Test different styles and text to gauge performance (make sure you test on mobile devices)

Inspire Your Output with AI

Notice how we didn’t advise you to use AI to write your job descriptions, only to inspire. Not only will candidates know if you do, but Google and Bing (whose desktop market share is at an all-time high at almost 18%) will penalize you for it. And the bot versus bot war between corporate hiring software using AI to qualify candidates and job applicants robo-applying to hundreds of jobs in seconds with a few clicks is not one we want you to start on another front. Here are a few ways AI can help to enhance your job descriptions:

• Optimize for Keyword Matching - AI can analyze successful past hires and job postings to identify keywords that resonate with top candidates. It can then suggest incorporating those keywords naturally into the job title, description, and technical data.
• Remove Unnecessary Jargon - AI can identify overly technical language that might deter qualified candidates. It can suggest simpler phrasing that conveys the same information but increases readability for a wider audience.
• Personalize Based on Role, Department, or Unit - AI can analyze departmental needs and responsibilities based on the data you put into the model. It can then tailor descriptions within the same field (nursing, physical therapy, IT) to highlight specific content or career paths relevant to each position.
• A/B Test - AI can analyze candidate behavior on career websites. It can then suggest A/B testing different versions of the job description to see which one attracts the most qualified applicants.
• Generate Action Verbs - AI can analyze successful job postings that converted job seekers to applicants and applicants to employees and identify strong action verbs that helped. It can then suggest where to add those verbs to ensure a better chance of conversion.
• Generate Data-Driven Salary Ranges (if your policy allows) - AI can analyze market data and internal salary structures to suggest competitive and realistic salary ranges for each position. This fosters transparency and attracts qualified candidates who understand the compensation.
• Create Video Snippets - AI can analyze existing company long-form videos and create short, scripted video snippets showcasing the work environment and team culture. Integrating these snippets into the job description can provide a more engaging and informative experience for potential applicants. These short-form videos can also be used for social posts and answers to FAQs.

Common Mistakes When Crafting Job Descriptions

We see clients make these mistakes often, so be aware that they can individually and collectively have a great effect on job visibility, engagement, and conversion:

• Writing job titles for recruiters to find on your career site (job titles including complicated job titles, requisition number unit number, facility name) – your audience is candidates, not recruiters
• Including city name, roman numerals, hours, dashes or other special characters, or internal codes in the job title – you don’t need all these terms in your job title since they are in other parts of the job description or only for an internal audience
• Not leveraging ATS flexibility in terms of brand, design, content, and personalization if it’s available to you
• Generic responsibilities – if the responsibilities sound like they can be applied to any healthcare organization, they need to be enhanced - use this opportunity to tell a story about the role
• Making job descriptions too short or too long – optimal word count is 400
• Internal language – don’t assume applicants know your internal acronyms and vocabulary - avoid using language only your employees understand without giving an explanation
• Jargon overload – keep it clear and concise, avoid terms that may confuse candidates
• Unrealistic expectations – be honest about the responsibilities and expectations
• One-size-fits-all approach – don’t add videos, profiles, other content that’s not right for a specific role just because you have it - tailor your job descriptions to the specific job, audience, and location
• Not tagging and measuring how your job descriptions are performing so you can optimize as needed

By following these steps, you can craft healthcare job descriptions that attract top talent in a competitive market. It requires a holistic approach that combines SEO, authentic content, UX, personalization, multimedia, reviews, insight, and facility and community information. Remember, a well-written description is an investment in your employer brand. It showcases your commitment to a positive work environment, professional growth, and ultimately, the delivery of exceptional patient care.

 The healthcare industry evolves quickly, and healthcare workers remain one of the most important workforce in our society. Doctors, nurses, technicians, and support staff are essential in keeping our healthcare system running smoothly, and our need for these professionals will rise sharply in the next 3 to 5 years. Investing in the talent you have now will help you stay focused and optimistic about how your company can lead the way for new hiring challenges the industry will face.

Here we’ll explore ways to recognize, reward and compensate your greatest asset, foster a supportive workplace culture, and encourage your employees to do good things for their communities and themselves.

RECOGNITION AND REWARDS

Caregiver of the Month – This is the simplest and most effective way to acknowledge outstanding employee performance company-wide. A program like this can boost morale throughout the organization and for individuals whose efforts and accomplishments often go unnoticed. It’s important to devise a strategy that includes eligibility, determination, and recognition and to ensure the program is served regularly. You don’t want employees wondering "Where did that Employee of the Month program go?"!

Peer-to-Peer Recognition – By giving your staff a chance to nominate each other for awards and recognition, you’re enabling them to be a part of retaining talent while they strengthen bonds with their colleagues. You can add a simple form to a page on your intranet that gets approved and added to social sites and internal newsletters, and even gamify and monetize submissions and votes. There is great joy and appreciation when you read your company newsletter and see that one of your fellow employees said something nice about you.

Social Media Recognition and Stories -  You can feature employee contributions and achievements on your company’s social channels to showcase your organization as an employer of choice. It’s an effective employer brand tactic that gives an authentic view into what it’s like to work for your company. Even if you can’t think of any other content to curate on a regular basis or decide on the particulars of an employee recognition program of any kind – this is the simplest and most visible approach to take.

Merchandise – The great thing about giving your employees exclusive clothing, gear, and accessories as rewards is that you gain so much back in terms of brand awareness. The visibility, the first-hand experience, and the pride of showing off your brand to colleagues and everyone else goes a long way when the item is useful and high quality. Hoodies, custom sneakers, water bottles, and power banks are in demand swag right now. But you don’t have to spend a lot to have your brand in front of your staff all the time.

Role Promotions – As you think about hiring needs for the upcoming year, think about who you can promote internally first and then fill the role they left. Sure, that sounds like Hiring Manager 101, but when you have a role-based hiring plan up front and even let employees who are eligible for promotions know about future hiring needs, you set them up to strive to attain the elevated role. You absolutely want your most experienced staff to have grown with and adapted to your organization, so promotions in lieu of hiring externally save you time and money and boost loyalty.

Flexible Work Options – When you give your role eligible employees options such as working from home (corporate-based positions), flexible scheduling, part-time work, and role-sharing, you enable them to have better work-life balance leading to increased job satisfaction and retention. Arrangements like this can also help reduce burnout and work-related anxiety. Policies have drastically changed pre- and post- COVID, and it’s okay to be trying to figure out what’s best for your employees and the success of your organization at the same time.

REFERRAL PROGRAMS

Technology – An (1) easy to use website or app, that’s (2) elegant on any device, with (3) engaging and action-oriented content, and (4) built for both internal and external referrals are key elements of referral technology that’s built for success. Eliminate extra paths and complicated rules for making a referral and meeting the requirements by partnering with a company who specializes in referral technology. Employees should be able to refer someone to a job from any work or personal device within a few clicks, allowing hiring teams to understand the data behind all referrals. Using technology to match employees to referrals, administer payouts, and to create an environment of competition is a healthy way to engage your work force.

Financial Rewards – By strategically offering financial compensation for referring talent, companies can attract top performers who already have a light connection to you. It’s an incentive for the employee to make the referral, and for the candidate to leverage their connection to the employee. Referred employees stay at organizations longer, make better employees, and when you offer money to turn your employees into recruiters, you are empowering them to be gatekeepers of your brand, fostering a culture of inclusivity and ownership.

Gamification – A fun and engaging way to increase participation in employee referral programs is to incorporate a gaming component. By adding things like leaderboards that track and highlight referrals on your intranet or referral site to awarding badges for milestones, a friendly competitive spirit is ignited. The program becomes a talking point among your teams, and when you add elements like posters in common areas and visibility on employee newsletters, you can be sure you’ll reach all your employees and drive first time and repeat participation.

EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY

Social Media Recognition – Just like an employee may follow your social media accounts and engage with and share your content, you can do the same for them. When your team members post about their positive work experiences or a milestone they achieved, it becomes an opportunity to tell that story to your followers. It’s an authentic, unscripted view into the connection between employee and company that can serve as a component of your employer brand and help attract candidates.

Employee Ambassadors – You can identify passionate brand advocates and empower them to share their stories at industry events, community gatherings, and hiring fairs. They don’t need to be a part of your recruiting team, just positive caregivers and non-clinical staff who love working with you, or industry influencers who work at your company whose networks may intersect with the talent you are trying to reach. These folks can facilitate and participate in panel discussions and podcasts, give facility tours to prospective candidates, and serve as the "faces" of your employer brand and recruitment efforts.

Employee Generated Content (EGC) Programs – There are several ways to get employees involved in content creation for your organization. For example, you can encourage your clinical and non-clinical employees to explain their roles, comment on why they love working for you, and highlight the work culture you nurture on their own personal social media accounts and on LIVE sessions – managed by you - on your owned social media platforms. With EGC, you gain credibility, engage employees, deliver fresh perspectives, even combat negative reviews by presenting a first-person view into life at your company. All of this progress can improve brand trust and application rates when candidates see, hear, and feel the true voice of your organization.

RETENTION

Competitive Pay and Benefits – Pay and benefits should be reviewed regularly to ensure your compensation packages are competitive within your local market. Often times, compensation review can give insight into the reasons talent may be leaving as well why talent stays. A 4% raise can be worth more but cost less to you from a recruitment perspective than paying new talent a signing bonus or offering a higher salary or hourly amount because you are desperate to fill an open role.

Career Pathing and Professional Development – Providing clear pathways for individual career advancement and the resources to get your employees to where they want to be professionally are likely the most underused tactics to retain talent. By investing in your staff’s growth, you are sending the message that you value them and want them to stay. When you offer opportunities to learn about advancements in the field, promote skill certification, and even pay for classes to help advance one’s knowledge in their specialty, you help motivate employees to stay committed to you, even as the competition for their skills and experience intensifies.

Work/Life Balance – This is a direct reflection of company culture more so than the implementation of flexible work options. To recognize that your staff are people with full lives outside of their career is at the core of employee support, leads to better decision making, and can ultimately improve patient care. The last thing you want is for your employees to burn out or to think that the grass may be greener with your competitor because of a more robust work/life balance promise.

Internal Surveys and Exit Questionnaires – Anonymous surveys are important tools to gauge employee sentiment. Through gathering honest feedback, organizations can learn what is working, what’s not, and what employees want in the future leading to decisions that can boost morale and job satisfaction. Doing this regularly (we recommend every 6 months) shows employees that their voices are valued, strengthening their commitment to the company. You can also build dynamic surveys on your internal portals to engage employees regarding current events, programs, and input on company decisions that affect them directly. Speaking with an exiting employee or offering them an unrequired exit survey can also provide valuable data and insight into changes that may be necessary.

Mentorship Programs – Assigning your new and junior level staff to experienced employees to act as mentors can help facilitate knowledge transfer, encourage new and deeper skill development, and maintain an environment of inclusivity and support. Mentors can strengthen their leadership abilities and gain fresh perspectives from younger colleagues while continuing to learn about the changing healthcare landscape and the expectations that candidates have when considering a career in healthcare.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND SUPPORT

Volunteer Programs – When you offer ways for employees to volunteer, you create a number of positive benefits. Giving employees paid time off during working hours makes it easy for them to dedicate their time to causes they feel strongly about, building a stronger connection to the company’s social responsibility initiatives. This increase in engagement can lead to higher productivity and a better overall work environment.

Matching Donations – This is an easy way to double the impact of employees’ donations to charities that are important to them, and shows the company’s commitment to supporting the positive change these contributions can deliver.

Event Sponsorships – Hosting and sponsoring community events enhance your company’s reputation and gives your brand ambassadors an opportunity to shine. And this is not just about supporting local charities and participating in 5K runs. You should encourage parents to attend Career Day at their kids’ schools. You can sponsor the popsicle stand at the summer fair or help build a new playground. Co-branding on a healthy food truck at a local music festival is also a fantastic way to introduce your brand to a younger audience. There are so many more ways to participate in community events than there are reasons not to!

MENTAL, PHYSICAL, AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Employee Assistance Programs – EAPs are a vital benefit to healthcare workers, offering confidential mental health resources, counseling, and support programs during challenging times in their lives. The demanding nature of working in this industry can lead to stress, anxiety, and burnout and exacerbates work/life balance struggles. You are in the business of healthcare, and caring for the health of your employees should be of the highest importance. By supporting your employee’s mental, emotional, and spiritual health, EAPs are an effective measure to create and nurture a positive work experience and improve patient care.

Mental Health Days – As part of an effective EAP, allowing your employees to take paid days off to take care of their mental well-being is a generous and caring approach to recognizing their contributions to your company. No matter the industry - but healthcare in particular - there are days when caregivers just need to be the recipients of care, or simply disconnect temporarily and recharge. This gives them the fuel they need to come back stronger and with greater clarity and focus the next day.

Mindfulness Training and Stress Reduction – Workshops focusing on stress management and mindfulness are relatively new to the healthcare industry, gaining popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Programs like these help healthcare workers cope with the common and also uncommon workplace stressors – those in and out of their control. By providing these resources in a team setting, employees also learn how to rely on each other to get through difficult situations.

Gym Memberships and Dieticians – By offering these benefits, companies can improve employee health leading to increased energy and stamina, better focus, and higher productivity. Employees who learn to eat well – at work and at home – and who are in good physical shape have more confidence, manage stress better, and are able to take on new projects more effectively. There is no question that good physical health (including getting proper sleep) is a key factor in overall happiness and living a longer life.

Nurturing your greatest asset is about fostering a supportive, giving, and empathetic work culture where employees feel recognized, valued, and empowered. While some of these programs can be easily executed, some may be more difficult to implement. We can help you navigate the right approach and ensure your company prioritizes the health and well-being of your staff, cultivates an environment where talent wants to stay, and drives employer brand and hiring success.

 Healthcare organizations often focus their talent attraction strategies on tried-and-true external tactics like job board postings and sponsorships, niche site display advertising, and whatever their greatest competitor is doing to poach their talent. Yet more often than not, the hidden possibilities of what an organization owns and earns by reputation are overlooked because of a lack of resources and expertise, and the urgency with which talent for high volume roles is needed. It’s easy to rely on paid media to get applications, but content remains king and authenticity is the great differentiator.

Our approach to attracting healthcare talent is to start by leveraging and nurturing the channels you own, supported by the reputation and influence you earn in the community and industry, and boosted with media that’s trackable and actionable. Here are 24 tactics we’ve deployed for healthcare companies and how we’ve considered them as part of overall recruitment strategies.

OWNED MEDIA

Engaging & Optimized Website Content – Your career website is the undisputed core of your talent acquisition and recruitment marketing strategy and can be used not only as a destination but also to attract talent through SEO best practices and content that gives an authentic view of what it’s like to work for your organization. Employee testimonials, robust job descriptions, and powerful creative and messaging are a magnet for healthcare professionals looking for the right opportunities.

Informative Blog Posts – Creating blog content is a great way to tell your stories, showcase working for your organization, and establish authority. It’s also a crucial element of informing Google that your site is continuously growing – a dynamic, content-rich destination that gives career seekers the results they are looking for when searching for jobs. Search engines and candidates alike value meaningful blog content, and creating it is one of our top strategies to establish and keep healthcare employers as part of the ever-growing conversation regarding healthcare careers.

Email Newsletters – Regular newsletters featuring job openings, company and industry news, and links to other owned content (like blog posts) are easy to create and automate through your CRM, ATS, or even your company email provider. It’s surprising that many healthcare organizations don’t take advantage of sending regular communications to career website visitors who register for your Talent Community (other than job alerts).

ATS Mining and Experience Enhancements – Speaking of your ATS, we recommend curating a list of qualified candidates who have applied to jobs in your ATS over the last 18 months but have not been hired and invite them to view and apply to available jobs again. It’s likely they have lost interest in your company or got discouraged from not being interviewed or hired for the previous role. And, an audit of your ATS process can find barriers to completion, reasons for drop-off, and functional optimizations that can increase candidate flow and qualified applicant conversions.

Social Media Profiles – It’s never too late to check social media off your list of things your organization MUST consider from a recruitment perspective. No matter your target audience, every candidate uses one or more of the big 5 – LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, and yes – TikTok. For authentic storytelling, you’ve got to be there, create, engage, and repeat. Your content and messaging are crucial here – creative storytelling is more important than the targeting itself.

Branded Content – Videos, personas, infographics, and ideal candidate profile visuals for specific roles are impactful content types to consider building to engage and convert your audiences. AI can be used here for inspiration, not final executions. Our intent when developing branded content is to create long form content that can be used and reused in different formats, lengths, and contexts to ensure maximum segmentation, visibility, and relevance.

Video Content – Video content remains the most likely to be shared of any media type and it also receives the highest engagement rates. YouTube is owned by Google and is the 2nd most visited website in the world. Now, give your employees the power to create their own video content (called user generated content or UGC) about why they chose your company and why they stay, and you have an authentic story that becomes part of your company’s DNA.

Employee Referrals – Using technology to help encourage referrals, increase visibility of referral-eligible jobs to your employees, and automate payouts and communications is a huge benefit to any organization. But really, any efforts you take at all to let your employees or candidates refer or get referred to open roles will decrease advertising spend, increase quality and likelihood of hire, boost retention rates, and reduce time-to-fill. The more strategic an employee referral program is, the better the chance of success – aiming for 35% of hires coming from referrals is a good place to start.

EARNED MEDIA

Press Releases – Announcing your hiring initiatives and milestones, educational partnerships, and innovative practices and technology from the perspective of employees can generate valuable media coverage and increase brand visibility. By collaborating with your PR and Marketing departments, you’ll become an asset to the organization rather than the department that is often the first to see reductions in budget.

Media Interviews – The opportunity to communicate your company’s employer brand story to industry publications and news outlets presents an opportunity to create new audiences at a mass scale. Your community events, facility openings, and on location hiring events should be branded and involve Talent Acquisition & Recruitment Marketing representatives who you will be proud of being the ambassadors for your employer brand.

Podcasts – Certainly one of the most popular channels for content creators right now is Podcasting. You can allow select employees to showcase company values, work/life balance, and achievements in an engaging and accessible format. Podcasts can be far reaching yet intimate in nature with video, audio, and transcribed content used together or separately and edited for many formats and lengths. A 30-minute podcast with an industry pundit and a Nurse Practitioner can generate short-form content for weeks or months.

Influencer Partnerships – Collaborating with influential people in the healthcare industry, healthcare talent acquisition, or TA software or recruitment marketing solutions can lend credibility and increase visibility with talent who value the connection to reputable individuals. We encourage not only saying yes to these opportunities when they come about, but to also seek them out actively.

Recognition & Awards – The surest way to increase your organizations’ chances of receiving industry recognition and awards is to apply to everything that is relevant to you. Best Places to Work, US News and World Report lists, and the DAISY Award are a few of the organizations that can boost employee morale, improve your reputation, and raise your NPS score to make you a more desirable company to work for.

Community & Event Sponsorships – Collaboration with schools and universities, annual 5k runs, and businesses focused on health and wellness are positive ways to strengthen ties with the community and enhance your visibility and reputation. Your employer brand can really shine here - with so much more than a logo in centerfield. Activating your employees to be the voice of your company in their communities supporting the things they believe in can improve employee retention.

Social Media Engagement – In addition to owned social media platforms, it’s important to participate in the conversation happening in your company and the healthcare industry at large. Engaging with and sharing content from others has a reciprocal effect, and it’s just a nice thing to do. Spending 20 minutes per day on the social profiles of competitors, healthcare influencers, and partners can teach you a lot and give you inspiration. This engagement also includes encouraging your employees to post positive reviews of your organization on Glassdoor and to respond to comments.

PAID MEDIA

Google Ads – This tactic will ensure you are in the top position on search engine results pages (SERPS) on Google. It’s straightforward to manage and measure, and becomes more powerful when you use the data it delivers to optimize your strategy and approach. In turn, the results of the enhancements you’ve made can increase organic search engine optimization (SEO) that will enable you to reduce your reliance on paid media.

Job Board Sponsorships – With Indeed’s ever changing rules (that’s mostly a good thing) and move to remove organic (non-paid) traffic, leading the pack of job boards will get a little more competitive for them. Programmatic job technology companies are deservingly all the rage and will remain that way. It’s imperative to set up these campaigns with expert skill and the goal of maximum exposure to qualified candidates who are actively seeking new healthcare roles.

Display Advertising – Their targeting flexibility, format options, and opportunity for creative brand messaging with imagery and video make display a strong tactic for brand awareness. But with lower conversion rates than search advertising and job boards for specific roles, a fine-tuned approach to your display spend and meticulous tracking are the ways to go.

Social Media Advertising – Like organic social and managing your own profiles, social platforms are where everyone is gathering. U.S. paid social media spend is forecasted at $83 billion in 2024, an increase of over 13% from last year. According to the 2023 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 86% of marketers said that paid social gave their business more exposure, and 76% said that it increased traffic. Content types, audience targeting, and messaging are extremely flexible with native platform search and relevance (what’s trending) being a primary focus.

Retargeting – As we move to a completely cookieless world in the coming months, it’s important to know that retargeting is still possible with zero- and first-party data – the data you collect directly from website visitors, talent network sign-ups, or ATS candidates. Personalizing experiences and using contextual advertising will be at the core of retargeting to make it effective. With first-party data you’ll be able to deliver better targeted job ads across individual platforms and convert talent that has already interacted with you.

Content Syndication – This tactic involves republishing your content on other websites in order to give your brand and the author greater reach. You’ll see this type of content often at the bottom of high traffic sites like cnn.com (see the Paid Content section). This is different from guest blogging which is creating a new piece of content specifically for one publication. There are nuances to creating and publishing syndicated content in terms of authority, linking, and SEO that can greatly affect results.

Video Advertising – YouTube and social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok make targeting, engagement, sharing, conversion, and establishing an emotional connection with your audience easy. The right format and length of your video ad can make all the difference, and it’s important to understand how the different video ad types for each channel are served, controlled by users, and measured. You only have about three seconds to capture attention, so your video ad has got to be impactful the moment it begins.

Native Advertising – Job ads that match the look, feel, and function of the media format where they appear provide a seamless experience to the user and don’t disrupt from the user’s interaction with the site they are on. Sponsored and promoted posts on Instagram and LinkedIn and recommended articles on Yahoo are examples of this tactic. Native ads are typically very polished and clearly labeled as ads, usually easily distinguishable from organic content.

Streaming Video & Audio – With their popularity continuously increasing with promises of better viewing and listening experiences, streaming services are raising rates and adding more ads and commercials to increase revenue. This is an opportunity for healthcare organizations to increase brand awareness within younger audiences to introduce them to careers in the industry at a time when fresh talent is needed the most. The next five years will be crucial to engage and convert an entirely new generation of healthcare workers, and these platforms are where they spend much of their free time.

We can help you develop the attraction strategy that’s right for your organization. That process will likely involve shifting budget from ineffective, expensive, and immeasurable tactics to those that are just the opposite. We’ll do this with baseline data, clear goals and ROI expectations, and your desire to be innovative and enviable by your competition.

 In today's competitive job market, attracting and retaining top healthcare talent is a priority. The landscape of Talent Acquisition solutions has evolved significantly, and in this digital age, the importance of a strong employer brand cannot be overstated – it’s a powerful differentiator and has direct impact on the success of the organization.

Companies that have strong employer brands are winning in every way. Couple a strong employer brand with the current digital marketing trends, and you’ve got the competitive edge you need without the abundance of funds that some large organizations have.

However, according to Talent Acquisition leaders, financial and capital resources are the biggest barriers to building and nurturing an effective employer brand. That response is no surprise, but it goes much deeper than that. It also has a lot to do with the personnel on your team, their expertise, workloads, and available time, and how you engage and enable your employees to be part of the Talent Acquisition process.

So how do you do better without increasing headcount and budget? By understanding the following truths and considering partnerships that fit into your Talent Acquisition budget and make the assets and resources you already have more effective. Things are changing rapidly, and it's already too late if you don’t start now.

Build A Strong Employer Brand

Talent Acquisition professionals are aware that they’ll need to do more with less in 2024. And it’s no secret that employers perform better in terms of their recruitment marketing efforts when they have a strong employer brand. Better outcomes also improve the internal perception that an employer brand is working. That positive outlook further enhances your brand, incentivizes your employees to communicate it externally and stay with the organization, and impacts the bottom line in terms of less spend and time on recruiting outside talent.

Employee and candidate surveys, retention rates, Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and engagement with your brand on social are great ways to measure your brand internally and externally.

Your Employer Brand is not something you write; it’s what you are – that’s why the voice of your employees is such a crucial part of getting Employer Branding right.

Authenticity and transparency are key in shaping a compelling employer brand that resonates with prospective candidates. From your career website headlines to your calls-to-action and your job descriptions. How are you unique, and how do your employees thrive? These are the questions an effective Employer Brand should answer.

Overcome Barriers

Oftentimes, Employer Brand strategy and Recruitment Marketing are managed by different teams. HR controls day-to-day management, marketing controls design and messaging, talent acquisition controls strategy & execution, and leadership controls the budget. This synergy requires teamwork, recognition of one another’s value, and clear expectations of deliverables.

The most essential part of this alliance is securing leadership buy-in for the strategy developed. This will likely require a business case, competitive intelligence, and an ROI evaluation. A polished, business goal-oriented approach will ensure a seat at the table when budgeting decisions are made.

Job advertising is getting more competitive and expensive every year, and while metrics are abundant, recruitment marketing leaders rarely feel that paid advertising works. Indeed and LinkedIn drive the lion's share of traffic and applications to jobs, but there is so much volume on these sites it’s difficult to really stand out.

Leverage Digital Marketing Trends Skillfully

For Talent Acquisition & Recruitment Marketing professionals in 2024, it’s imperative that you understand what AI tools such as Chat GPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Bard can do and what they can’t do. AI should not be used to write your content, social posts, or job descriptions. Still, it can be used for inspiration, data benchmarking, boosting SEO performance, predictive modeling, and optimizing media buys. AI will not replace your TA team, but that team will evolve into a blend of creative and analytical thinkers using AI models to become more efficient and more quickly.

In a future "cookieless" world, zero and first-party data will be crucial, and companies need to start adapting to the new norm and get creative with tracking marketing efforts. With upcoming changes to Google and iOS to launch soon, building email and mobile # lists, conducting website and social surveys, and re-engaging networks already built are several ways to collect and leverage this type of data.

Personalization has been a strategic pillar in career website development for several years. In 2024, it will become even more prevalent. With the right tracking mechanisms and technology in place, job seekers no longer have to search for jobs, or indicate location, or select preferences. When used correctly, entire experiences can be customized to any aspect of a visitor’s characteristics, demographics, and behavior.

Prioritize The Candidate Experience

Your career website is still the core of the candidate experience – nearly 90% of job seekers will use it to learn more about working for your organization. It’s imperative that the site is branded, user-friendly, full of engaging content, including videos, informative, and integrated with your Applicant System (especially on mobile devices since that is likely where most of your traffic comes from) and that it encourages action.

High applicant drop-off in the 80-90% range for healthcare is not unusual but can be easily reduced with an ATS experience audit and restructure. Organizations can’t let the most important part of the applicant process be the very thing that alienates, discourages, or frustrates job seekers into not beginning or completing an application.

How your organization communicates with applicants post-apply is also important. Design your Thank You page to make it engaging and use it to encourage applicants to stay connected to you while you are reviewing their application. Don’t make applicants enter the same data multiple times, and ensure resume parsing is working correctly. Let your applicants know their application status at every step of the process. If your ATS does not have these capabilities, you may need to look for a new one that meets the needs of your applicants.

Recognize That Job Seekers Are In Control

Job seekers have many options to connect with companies and apply for jobs. Sometimes there are so many options, making it difficult for recruiting teams to manage and measure many sources. Healthcare companies have made changes to work practices, shifts and schedule flexibility, remote and telework jobs, and job sharing at the location and unit level to meet candidate and employee expectations and to stay ahead of competitors.

The reality is that healthcare professionals want to work for an organization based on brand recognition and experience. The requirements, responsibilities, skills, and qualifications for a similar role at one organization or another are not very different. Our research has shown that healthcare professionals, more than those in other industries, seek out specific employers and will work hard to get a job at a certain company.

The Gig Economy is prevalent in the healthcare industry, with independent clinical & non-clinical professionals monetizing their knowledge and experience in roles like Per Diem, Traveling Nurses, and Technology. This can help lower recruitment and staffing costs by giving you the flexibility to hire short-term based on specific staffing needs.

Embrace A Multi-Channel Approach

Design your multi-channel approach to Employer Branding and Recruitment Marketing in this order: Owned, Earned, and Paid. Advertise and engage on channels you OWN; then by leveraging the channels, you EARN visibility & credibility, augmented by PAID advertising when you need it. This approach relies on the least amount of external spending at the start of your journey.

Employee Referrals remain the most popular method to attract, hire, and retain healthcare talent, but many companies don’t make it easy for employees to refer the right people. 50% of hires is a good target for the total number of hires that can be attributed to an employee referral. That requires a program that is visible, accessible, and usable for every employee everywhere.

A company with a strong Employer Brand is likely to use social media, actively participating on employer review sites, and engaging on industry-specific platforms. Search Engine Marketing, Display Advertising, and In-App Advertising are also channels where organizations can attract the talent they need with precise targeting and messaging control. And, of course, for high-volume visibility and conversions, LinkedIn and Indeed job postings perform well.

Invest in Continuous Improvement

Building a strong employer brand is an ongoing journey that requires continuous improvement and adaptation. Companies must track performance metrics, solicit feedback from employees and candidates, and remain agile in response to evolving market trends and candidate preferences. Organizations that commit to innovation and continued learning are better equipped for long-term success and sustainability.

Infinitee Healthcare – Employer Branding, Amplified

We provide hospitals and healthcare systems with customized solutions and flexible strategies to help you navigate today’s complex labor market and maximize your recruitment marketing performance. Our consultative approach blends proven healthcare talent acquisition solutions with data-driven insights to build, deploy, and optimize recruitment marketing plans tailored to your specific hiring goals and challenges—fortifying your employer brand and boosting candidate volume at every level.

Contact Vince@infinitee.com for a free, high-level audit of your overall candidate experience journey. It will include insights into brand visibility, career site performance, and application conversions.