Recruiters: Can This be Your 19th Century?

Guest blog post by Mark H. Cohen
President of Colloquy Digital, LLC

The rise of modern medicine as we know it today is firmly rooted in the 19th Century. In the 1800s, advances in science and approach dramatically increased public health and wellbeing. Early, more rudimentary techniques—some of which were successful in treating things like infectious diseases—were replaced by actual cures. After the Civil War, medicine in the U.S. took on a major upward trajectory.

More Jobs & Fewer Physicians

In recent times, the art of physician recruiting has undergone a similar change. We’ve gone from a relatively small number of institutions that physicians can easily find and apply to, to a time where the open positions seem to outnumber the physicians available to fill them. While it may seem like physicians have a wealth of options, the truth is, amidst the vast array of choices, it’s harder than ever for physicians to find the right connection to the right job in the right place.

Enter the physician recruiter. Tirelessly networking, researching, and connecting with candidates, there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to get it all done. And even with thousands of available candidates searching for jobs daily, finding the right candidate for your opening is often a daunting task.

The Challenges of Digital Integration

Just as medicine continues to progress, so do recruiting tools and methodologies. From in-person contact, to phone, email, social media, and Skype—to name a few—the tools at your disposal are making you more efficient and effective.

This progression has its challenges, chief among them the ability to integrate digital tools and techniques into your existing, proven methodologies. So how do you address the challenge?

Digital Media—Your Top Source for Candidates

It begins with your target audience. Who are you trying to reach and where are they? You can easily answer the “who” part, and I believe I can give you some insight into the “where” part. In short: today, you can find most if not all of your best candidates online. Why? Research shows the internet touches 360 degrees of a physician’s practices and 90% of them use social media.

Assuming you know how to find them online, then what? Doesn’t it make sense that an oncologist researching therapies on a website is going to be in a different mindset than one looking for a job on LinkedIn? This is clearly a dilemma that needs addressing so you can engage them appropriately…

Finding those candidates and engaging with them is part art and part science—and I’d like to help you find the perfect balance.

May 13 Webinar: Recruiting in a Digital World

On May 13th at 2 p.m. Eastern time, I will be presenting a free, one-hour webinar sponsored by PhysEmp, and I’m inviting you to attend. In Recruiting in a Digital World, we’ll dive more deeply into what physicians are doing online, how to find them, and how to engage with them. The outcome? A better understanding of being in the right place at the right time with the right message, to make your current recruiting efforts even more effective.

So join us and ensure your recruiting efforts continue their upward trajectory in 2015.

Mark H. Cohen has gone from the mailroom of an NYC ad agency to running digital agencies and global marketing teams. Currently residing in Fairfield, IA, Mark consults with companies around the globe via his company, Colloquy Digital, LLC.