February 2 is that most treasured holiday of all...Groundhog Day. Everyone can’t wait for the little furry groundhog to pop out and let us know if we can soon start storing our winter clothes and breaking out the flip-flops.
Many times we do not realize we have fallen into a routine until it is too late. The mundane tasks we perform daily are the ones that can be easily put on autopilot and glazed over. We have all heard the definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.” This quote has been attributed to a few famous individuals—Einstein, Twain, Franklin as well as others. Regardless of the origin, the meaning is true. Why do we continue to do the same things and expect different outcomes?
This can be helpful to remember for physician recruiters, too. Are you using the same job posting, the same email, the same verbiage as you did years ago? Physician recruiting is harder now than it was even five years ago. What worked yesterday won’t always work as well today. Think about how life in general has changed. We no longer listen to our music on Walkmans or CDs. We no longer make the trek to Blockbuster for movies; we can stream them right in our own homes. Technology has changed, candidate expectations has changed, the resources we use to recruit have changed. Reusing your job postings from 2013? That’s doing the same thing over and over without recognizing that change my yield different—better—results.
As Phil relived the same day, he learned that if he changed, it could make things better. He learned to play the piano, he fell in love, and he even managed to get the women he fell in love with to fall in love with him. If he had continued to do the same thing day after day, the cycle would not have been broken. He made the decision to change and adapt. You can do the same. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post titled “7 in ‘17”. I gave seven simple tips to get out of the rut and update some overdue items to help impact better recruitment results.
This is a good time to take inventory of everything in your life, not just your recruiting material. Are there other things you could change or new things you are willing to try?
