Fishing and Healthcare Job Boards

There are two important steps to maximize the ROI of a job board. First, you must post open positions, like casting a net into a sea of fishicians (physicians and advanced practice providers). This can be effective but you never know what you are going to catch. Second, you must search the database of candidates targeting your desired specialty, skill set, and licenses and then artfully casting your telephone lure trying to entice a bite. Even if you have never gone fishing you probably know there are many variables that can determine whether or not you are successful. Many of them are out of your control and you don’t know from day to day which lure you should be casting or what time of day you should even be fishing. Reaching candidates is no different. What works one day, may not work the next. One thing is for sure, whether you are fishing or calling physicians from a job board, unless you get lucky, you are going to have to cast in the same place many times before you get a bite. 

But how many times a day should you try to reach someone? How long should you try to reach them before you give up? The answers to these questions are often a matter of personal preference and comfort but just like fishermen the best recruiters understand it takes persistence and a dedicated plan to land your target. Here are my recommendations for recruiting from job boards… and fishing.

Cast your net far and wide.

Post your job and whenever possible, chum the water by email blasting your open position(s) to your target physicians. While you are waiting for a candidate to swim into your net, i.e. respond to your email or call you about your job posting, sort the database by specialty and license and start casting

Make calls.

The more calls you make the higher likelihood you get a bite. If you think 25-30 casts per day is enough to catch a fish, you will go hungry. Double that at a minimum, and if you want to be GREAT triple it!

Prepare your bait.

Type up your message in word and copy and paste it into your emails to save time typing up the same message over and over. Send emails directly from Outlook. This personal approach can be time consuming but can be effective if your bait doesn’t fall off by ending up in the provider’s junk mail folder. To combat this be sure to send emails through the job board too. Often this is helpful as providers have already “opted in” to receive emails from the job board domain. Nothing like a perfect cast that lands right in front of the fish!

Change your bait. 

Sending the same email to a provider day after day is like casting a drowned worm into a bottomless abyss. Change the subject, change the title, and change up the content. Ask yourself, “Do I have a compelling message?  Am I presenting my bait in a way that sets me apart from others fishing in the same area?  Would I take the time to read this email and would I find value?”

Have a plan. 

To create your plan ask yourself the following questions. What time of day is it best to fish? Is it the same every day? Probably not... so change it up!  With every candidate you must try them at different times of day until you make contact.

Where am I fishing? Am I targeting my catch at home, work, via mobile? The location can impact the best day and time of day to fish. If the physician is employed you probably won’t catch them at home during the week, unless they are working an alternating schedule then you might catch them at home every other week. Often we don’t know the best time without switching it up through trial and error until we make contact. Start by leaving a message, on your follow up casts you may skip the message and just see if you can catch them.

How often should I revisit the job board looking for new candidate?  The best cast into a fishing hole is almost always the first cast. You want to make every effort to be the first to attempt to reach a provider. Check the job board often for new candidate resumes and get up early to cast an email or maybe make a few casts before bed. There is nothing better than coming to the office in the morning to find a candidate waiting on your line. 

If some days you get discouraged remember it is called fishing, not catching, but you won’t catch if you don’t fish. It can be hard work, but I rarely, if ever, hear anyone complain about fishing. Make an effort to change your perspective and improve your results. They say a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work. I want to challenge you to ask why shouldn’t I have both? 

Happy Casting!