So, you’re working with a healthcare recruiter, but now you’re probably wondering how you can get the most out of your experience. If you’re at the point of contacting a recruiter, you’re likely trying to kick your healthcare job search into overdrive. Recruiters have (or should have) a deep knowledge of the healthcare industry, available job openings,and insight into current hiring trends and salaries for the positions you’re qualified for. Check out our previous blog on the 3 challenges facing healthcare recruiters in 2016.
While this may be true, simply using a recruiter doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the job of your dreams. We want to help understand how to determine whether working with a recruiter on your next healthcare job search is the right move for you. Additionally, we show you how to forge a mutually beneficial relationship with a recruiter, if you decide you want to work with one.
- Decide whether working with a healthcare recruiter could benefit you
- Do your research
- Make it easy for recruiters to find you
- Be honest
- Send your resume
Decide whether working with a healthcare recruiter could benefit you
Depending on the job you’re looking for, working with a recruiter may or may not be beneficial. If you’re looking for a basic staff-level position in a clinical or hospital setting, working with a recruiter may not be as helpful as if you’re seeking a position in healthcare management, administration, healthcare IT, pharmaceutical sales or medical-device sales, according to a Monster.com article. Although healthcare recruiters commonly fill executive level roles, you don’t necessarily need extensive experience in healthcare to warrant using a healthcare recruiter. Recruiters work with candidates of varying experience levels. As long as you have the right experience credentials (such as a BA, MBA, or technology or scientific master’s degree).All recruiters are NOT created equal; do your research and choose carefully
To expand opportunities, make sure it’s easy for recruiters to find you
There are hundreds of other qualified candidates out there, making yourself as visible as possible to recruiters is beneficial because it makes it easier to find you. As the primary social network used by recruiters, it’s important to start by building out a robust LinkedIn profile with a detailed account of your experience, attributes, awards and recognition and personal biography. With a strong profile, it’s easier for recruiters to figure out if you’re the right fit for a position they are looking to fill.
Be Honest
It’s best to be upfront about your job searching efforts, goals and results. Both you and your recruiter stand to benefit from you being placed in a new career. Misleading your recruiter, or worse, lying to your recruiter about your experience or job searching efforts won’t enhance your chances of landing that new position. Instead, it may erode the trust that’s necessary for you and your recruiter to have a good relationship. When working with a recruiter, it’s wise to be forthright about your requirements, preferences, for example, in terms of salary or location preferences. After an interview, you should also provide feedback to your recruiter –good or bad. This will help them understand how to move forward in the recruiting process and will also help them in screening other opportunities for you in the future.Send your resume, no matter what
If you are contacted by a recruiter or if a recruiter contacts you, it’s a good idea to send a resume. Even if you aren’t interested in the current position they are trying to fill, sending your resume increases the chance that you’ll be contacted again. You may also have specialized experience or an interesting aspect to your resume that isn’t immediately noticeable to a recruiter. Sending your resume can shine a spotlight on your strengths and clarify to a recruiter what type of role you would best fit into.Is your organization in need of a new Healthcare hire?
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Taking these tips into account next time you work with a recruiter will likely enhance the process on both ends. The recruiter-candidate relationship is one that requires honesty, trust and general nurturing to be beneficial to either party. Simply contacting a recruiter without providing additional information about your experience or expertise isn’t helpful to the recruiter, who needs extensive background information to determine if you could be the right fit for a role that likely has fairly specific and, possibly, complex requirements. Hopefully the next time your work with a recruiter, you’ll be better prepared to take advantage of the opportunity after learning about these tips.
