My experience in healthcare recruiting comes from staff leasing and in my work as the head doctor in a healthcare center. I have also made hundreds of work contracts mainly in general healthcare but also in emergency duty.
From our first contact with a doctor, it often took 9-12 months until a work contract was finally signed. During this time, we were actively contacting them a number of times. This was the way we were successful in recruiting doctors to so called challenging locations. Repetition and determination were very important.
People often approach changing their jobs or locations in a determined manner – decisions are never made impulsively. The person also seeks for confirmation about their plans from a variety of actors.
Deciding on whether to accept a job offer is guided by the same laws as with any other decision one makes. For instance, let us think about buying new running shoes. There are two pairs of shoes in the store shelf, a well-known brand and an unknown brand. In most cases, a person will eventually choose to purchase running shoes by a brand they know well.
Why?
Because the unknown brand will have to focus on justifying its mere existence whereas a well-known brand can focus on talking about the qualities of the actual shoe. The qualities of the unknown brand can actually be even better than the other one’s, but it will never be able to discuss them with the customer.
A known brand has been building itself for years, even decades. This has happened through continuous visibility. If no one sees you, you do not exist.
The same principle applies to changing jobs. A work opportunity needs to become familiar and visible to job seekers for a number of times. Again and again. It must create a mental image so that a job seeker will return back to it. Only once this has been achieved can an employer expect that the right applicant finds the job.
Nowadays the internet is the place where everyone goes for information. Yet, the right information about different job opportunities can be confusing for many job seekers to find. This concerns jobs in a variety of fields, not only the healthcare industry. “We have a nice team and modern facilities” is simply not enough information to base a decision on in today’s world and for today’s people!
That is why we have taken the internet to another level in the healthcare industry. It could be described as a type of quantum leap – MediMatcher!
With MediMatcher, workers can search which jobs best fit their wishes and expectations. First, a healthcare unit will get their name visible as a potential new workplace. Second, a worker or job seeker can get to know the ‘qualities’ of a workplace from their unit-specific descriptions – this creates a feeling for the job seeker about what the workplace is actually like. Third, the job seeker can return back to their searches again and again to strengthen their image about the workplace. And of course, the service is also available 24/7, whenever the person wishes to use it.
Because in the end, it all comes down to building a brand.
Pasi Kurtti
Specialist in General Medicine, Occupational Doctor
pasi.kurtti@fimnet.fi
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