Medical Candidate Market: Spring Update

Spring is approaching and with it brings increasing recruitment activity. There is however a need to discuss a pressing issue that has emerged in our currently buoyant candidate market, particularly within the healthcare sector. As you are likely aware, the demand for skilled professionals remains high, and my experience this year is that employers are taking a more hands-on approach to managing the recruitment for their practice. Despite increased numbers of job seekers, and widespread reporting of higher than usual rates of applications, it seems that numerous practices are still struggling to appoint the right candidate. This raises a pertinent question for me: Why does this continue to be a challenge?

One significant factor that contributes to this difficulty is the halo effect. This cognitive bias occurs when an interviewer allows their overall impression of a candidate—whether positive or negative—to influence their judgment of specific attributes or experiences (some call this ‘gut feel’ and it is very, very unreliable). This effect can lead to an overly favorable or unfavorable assessment that is not entirely based on the candidate’s qualifications, competencies and suitability for the role and your practice.

It’s no surprise that a thorough recruitment process that covers all areas of objective assessment, validation and verification is essential, yet it requires considerable time and expertise. Interviewing itself is a skill that can greatly impact the outcome of the hiring process. I understand the temptation to quickly reach the end of your recruitment process, extend an offer to a candidate who seems to tick the boxes and return to your primary responsibilities— patient care, consulting and operating. This is, afterall, your area of expertise.

I am commonly engaged to assist practice principals when their own process has failed, often more than once. Johnson Recruitment offers tailored options to provide you with the right level of support in the areas of the recruitment process where time, expertise, and other competing priorities prevent you from managing the full recruitment cycle yourself. We call this an ‘unbundled’ process. It’s effective and an incredible budget saver!  I welcome the opportunity to discuss how a relationship with a specialist healthcare recruitment partner can save you valuable time and money before you embark upon your next recruitment process.

All the best for the spring season ahead.

To find more about the state of the medical recruitment market, please reach out to me, Simonne Sigston, on 0472 511 579 or simonne@johnsonrecruitment.com.au.

Insights from Johnson Recruitment

Johnson Recruitment is an independent recruitment and consulting firm specialising in the Community Services, Social Purpose, Health and Medical sectors, as well as in the recruitment of Practice Managers and support staff, across all sectors. Contact us on 03 9946 7320 or info@johnsonrecruitment.com.au to learn more about how we can assist you with a vacancy or new role today. Follow our LinkedIn and Facebook pages for more information and to keep up to date with the latest jobs, events and career advice.