To find your next new physician hire, you first have to let them know about the practice opportunities you have. Today, the most efficient way to do that is through online job boards.

The internet is one of the first places residents and physicians turn for information about career opportunities. Once there, they may hunt for openings in particular regions or cities, check out jobs in specific health care systems or practices or by specialty, or search for private practice opportunities. 

So what can you do to connect with physicians, making the best use of your recruiting budget to identify and land a qualified new hire?

You'll want to post on job boards, obviously, because that’s where physicians are looking for their next career move. But different job boards use different payment models. Some use CPC (cost per click), others CPA (cost per apply) or CPH (cost per hire), and others still charge by job slot. Your choice of payment model can affect your budget, potentially leaving you with a surplus or suddenly scrambling for funds mid-year.

And since the typical health care organization performs 40 searches a year, according to the 2017 ASPR In-House Physician Recruitment Benchmarking Report, fees can quickly add up—and budgeting is crucial.

Here’s what you need to know about each cost model.

CPC (cost per click)

When you pay per click, you pay every time a potential candidate clicks on a link to your job announcement. The cost per click may be relatively small—usually pennies—but your bill can grow quickly if you operate in a popular city or hospital. You also end up paying for clicks from candidates that might not meet your hiring criteria.

CPA (cost per apply)

When you only pay when a candidate applies for your job, the cost per application is higher than per click, but you’ve filtered out the candidates who aren’t really interested. That will save you some money in the long run. However, you can end up overpaying if you receive more applications than expected. The key with a CPA model is to take down the posting once the job is filled in order to manage your budget. 

CPH (cost per hire)

Paying only when you hire a physician is more expensive, but then you’re only paying for results; if you don’t get any applicants, you pay nothing. No matter what kind of payment strategy your physician recruitment system uses, calculating the cost per apply or cost per hire can be valuable as a way to benchmark the tools in your recruitment toolbox.

Cost by job slot

By essentially locking in one fee to cover all your available opportunities, physician recruitment platforms that charge by job slot are the most budget friendly.

According to Sal Trifilio of Recruitics, “When optimized and managed properly, job slots typically produce a higher volume of applicants, at a much lower cost-per-applicant, making them significantly more valuable to HR and talent acquisition professionals.” 

A flat job slot fee also allows you to effectively plan your budget without fear of encountering a fee when your job posting is successful, or spending your precious time bidding on keywords or monitoring a fluctuating spend.