Summer Must-Reads for Every Physician Recruiter

Heading to the beach this summer? If you want to improve your recruiting game while you bask in the sun, here are a few must-read suggestions from Team PhysEmp.

1. To Sell Is Human – Daniel Pink
Let’s face it, recruiting is selling. You’re selling the job, the medical facility, the community, the coworkers. But you’re not alone. In this book, Dan Pink explains how everyone—from parents and teachers to artists and lawyers—is selling one thing or another, all day long! ​To Sell is Human ​explores the art of persuasion and how to improve your sales skills, whether you’re selling a job to a prospective physician candidate or a plate full of vegetables to your kids.

Pink pulls on science and statistics, giving you hard and fast suggestions to improve your selling game. And as Al Gore’s former chief speechwriter and the author of five books on business and management, he’s got the experience to back his words. The book also profiles some of the world’s top salespeople, so you’re bound to pick up some good tips.

2. Rework: Change The Way You Work Forever – Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
This is a great book to read if you’re ready to go it alone as a recruiter, or, if you simply want to freshen your approach to your workday. ​​According to the authors of ​Rework​, there has never been a better time to be in business—and, by extension, recruiting. Tools and technology that used to be out of reach are now at your fingertips. You can work faster and better than ever. So why are we all still working crazy hours and wasting time in endless meetings and conference calls? Maybe it’s time to rework your workday.

More reasons to read this book: It ​was written by the founders of web application company 37 Signals. (We use and love Basecamp, the company’s project management software, here at PhysEmp.com!) Also, marketing maven Seth Godin thinks you should read this book. So you probably should.

3. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference – Malcolm Gladwell
The illustration on the cover of this book says it all: the tiny little match that, when struck, could cause a spark that has the potential to spread like wildfire. Ideas, trends, and social behaviors are just like that, argues author Malcolm Gladwell. And he can tell you why some things tip the scale and others don’t.

For a physician recruiter, it’s a wonderful read that will give you insights into the tipping point with your marketing materials. Is your marketing “sticky?” Don’t know what that means? Read the book and find out. 😉

10-Minute Recruiting Reads

​If you’re looking to step up your recruiting game but don’t have time for a whole book, feel free to download a few free whitepapers from PhysEmp.

• Recruiting in a Digital World—This whitepaper lets you know what physicians are doing online and how to connect with them. Download your free copy.
• How to Write Effective Physician Recruiting Ads—A few pointers on writing compelling ads that get physicians clicking through and contacting you. Download your free copy.

… And a Few Books That Will Blow Your Mind

If you’re not in the mood for sales, recruiting, and marketing reads per se, we have some suggestions for you too. These books, simply put, will shake up your understanding and change the way you see the world. We think they’ll blow your mind (or at least, change the way you think).

1. The Shallows—What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains — Nicholas Carr

Is the Internet changing the way you think? Absolutely, says Nicholas Carr in this thought-provoking read. Our brains are constantly changing and adapting, a scientific fact that’s called neuroplasticity. In this way, your usage of the Internet is actually modifying the physical composition your brain!

Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? You’ll have to read the book and decide. But here’s a sneak peek inside: Carr explains how the printed book serves to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought. In stark contrast, the Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources. Its ethic is that of the industrialist, an ethic of speed and efficiency, of optimized production and consumption—and now the Net is remaking us in its own image. We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection.

2. Sapiens—A Brief History of Humankind—Yuval Noah Harari
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution. This international bestseller explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” In Sapiens, Dr. Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical—and sometimes devastating—breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural, and Scientific Revolutions.