Let’s take a look at questions to ask yourself about your postings. Your answers may help you determine why you aren’t getting the responses you want.
1. Who am I really trying to recruit?
Have you ever truly asked yourself that question? I suggest answering a few questions before you write your posting: Do I want the best talent? Do I want the best fit for the opportunity and my community? Will any job seeker do? And, if you were a physician with multiple opportunities to consider, would YOU apply to your posting?
As I’ve mentioned on several PracticeLink webinars and blog posts, this is the time to think like a marketer and use the resources you already have to sell your opportunity. Use your current top physicians to help you determine what to include in your posting. Ask them what initially attracted them to your organization and community. What set you apart from others they considered? Why do they stay? What kinds of details did they look for in a job posting?
2. Is my headline inadequate?
Just like an email subject line, this is the FIRST thing the candidate will see, so grab their attention with engaging details. It must be compelling and make them want to click, read more and apply. Include information like geographic context, perks, generous salary and/or benefits, the call schedule and a unique detail that highlights your community. Beware of making it too lengthy; you want to narrow your headline down to include just enough information to make them read further.
3. Is it appealing and creative?
Remember, it’s not a classified print ad. You want your posting to be perceived as an electronic brochure. It should highlight all the reasons your organization is the best place to practice medicine and your community is the best place to live. Provide color and excitement and solid details about the specific job opportunity to make it stand out in the sea of other opportunities.
Using your PracticeLink features, you can easily make your posting creative and colorful by using logos and attractive pictures of your community and facility. YouTube videos and Slide Shows can give it that “show me rather than tell me” effect.
Although adding logos and other images may seem like a very basic way to convey your employer brand, it is also one of the most important. Logos and images are compelling and give your posting visual interest. When the candidate consistently and more frequently sees your logo within your organizational profile, on your job posting and throughout your website it is building a stronger employer brand resulting in more traffic and clicks from potential candidates. Additionally, the popularity of video is growing drastically. Adding video provides a high level of engagement and can add that extra “WOW” component.
5. Is it one-sided?
Did you list only the requirements and responsibilities of the job? If so, your posting needs to show more reciprocity. You need to include answers to what the physicians want to know, not just what you want from them. According to talent acquisition expert Peter Weddle, a job posting must convey not only the value of the job itself but also the value of your organization as a career advancement provider — in other words, your employer brand. He suggests you answer these five questions in postings to help candidates understand your organization as an employer:
- How does your organization support employees and enable them to do their best work?
- How does your organization communicate with employees and keep them informed?
- What priority does your organization give to employee development and how is it provided?
- What is your organization’s track record (i.e. is it serving customers [patients] well and will it continue to do so)?
- What are the vision and values of the organization’s leaders?
Your job postings may be the first impression a candidate has of your organization, so make it informative, positive and memorable. In the past, physician candidates have shared with me that if they view a job posting and it appears very short, too generic, one-sided, disorganized, and includes any errors in spelling or format, that it reflects poorly on that organization’s culture.
Here are a couple of additional helpful hints: 1) Always view your job posting right after you post it. You may plan to look at it later but time gets away from all of us, so do it right way! 2) Look at your competitors’ postings and grade yourself! How does yours compare? 3) Print one of your postings and a competitor’s, place yourself in the candidate’s shoes and ask yourself, “Which one would I apply to?”
After attending our webinar, “Would You Apply to Your Job Posting?” attendees receive our tip guide on creating quality job postings. You can download it here as well.
