The Career Tree Network Blog

What if there was one central resource for Healthcare career opportunities in Wisconsin?  A primary marketplace where healthcare organizations and candidates came together.  

The Internet is great, but it has also cluttered the space for information.  Let’s say that I want to find a Physical Therapist job in Wisconsin.  I might go to Google and type, “Physical Therapist Job Wisconsin“.  As a result I now have about 739,000 websites that might be valuable in my search.  This is not helpful because, (A) I now have too many choices and (B) I don’t want to visit all of these websites.  What I really want is to see a full listing of the Physical Therapist career opportunites currently open in Wisconsin.  I want to view all of the postings so that I can understand the full perspective.  And I certainly don’t have time to visit 739,000 websites.  This creates a big issue for job seekers, but it’s not their fault.     

The real issue is that Wisconsin Healthcare organizations don’t have a central resource to post their positions.  As such, each organization posts their jobs in a variety of locations.  (And those organizations with limited recruitment budgets don’t post their positions anywhere.)   

With the jobs posted in a variety of places, where should a candidate go to research open opportunities? 

So we have two big problems…Wisconsin Healthcare organization are forced to spend lots of money in recruitment advertising so that their positions are posted in a variety of locations.  And, candidates are forced to spend time sorting through thousands of websites in order to research career opportunities.  

Which brings me back to the original question…What if there was one central resource for Healthcare career opportunities in Wisconsin?  A primary marketplace where healthcare organizations and candidates came together.

A central resource would:

1.  Offer healthcare organizations both free and paid advertising options to have their positions posted.

2.  Leverage technology such as data scraping and job wrapping so that the open opportunities would be automatically pulled and posted. 

3.  Provide powerful search capabilities so that candidates could quickly explore positions.

This is the future of job boards and at Career Tree Network, we want to be apart of it.  To Be Continued…

Here are a few comments that I’ve received this week:

“My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!”

“Really interesting post, thanks! Do you mind if I publish it in my blog, with a link back to you?”

“Hi, I like your blog. This is a cool site and I wanted to post a little note to let you know, nice job! Thanks Lisa”

The only problem is that all these comments are fake.  When you leave a comment on a blog you can include a link to your website, these links will help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which helps your website appear higher on Google.  As a result, spammers have created automated systems that leave comments on blogs.  They are not real people and certainly don’t care about Healthcare recruitment in Wisconsin.

When I get the email with their “fake” comment I’m always excited.  Then a few seconds later, I realize that the comment is phony and disappointment sets in.  The idea of a real person giving a positive comment about this blog is very appealing to me.  In fact it’s what I crave…and what all of us craves! 

We want real connections with other people.  We want another people to listen and appreciate what we have to say.  If we have a question, we want to reach a knowledgeable person who can personally respond.  In many ways technology has enabled an abundance of fake connections which can be incredibly annoying.  Like when you receive a spam email message from a business owner in Kenya who wants to send you money.  Or when you call a customer service hot line and spend 30 minutes hitting buttons on your phone before a real person….in Manila, Philippines…answers the phone. 

Let’s tie this to Healthcare recruitment in Wisconsin.  Many recruiters seem to follow a transactional approach.  It might sound something like this:

“I have a position open for a Pharmacist, so I’ll post the position on a few job boards, and follow our hiring process.  On my outgoing voicemail I state that I can’t return individual calls from candidates.  I really don’t want to build relationships…I just need a qualified Pharmacist to come forward when I post the position.  Why are people so difficult?”

This sends a message to candidates that we really don’t care about them.  We only want to go through the motions to uncover a candidate who we’ll never keep in touch with once the position is filled. 

Rather, I’d encourage you to give candidates what they crave.  Listen to their career goals and take a long term perspective to build a mutual relationship.  Develop active channels to stay connected for future networking and career opportunities.  Be a recruiter and a real person…at the same time. 

On December 31, 2009, I made a prediction that on-line video would be the #1 trend in health care recruitment in 2010.  I recently came across something on YouTube that has been viewed over 6 million times since it was posted in mid-November.  It’s a video that was created by the employees of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. 

You can’t help but smile when watching the video…and I’m sure that it’s been a big boost to the organization’s recruitment efforts. (Click on the image below to watch the 3.5 minute video.)

Many organizations are starting to harness the power of social networking websites within their recruitment efforts. These companies have probably created a Twitter account and Facebook fan page and are now working to keep their pages maintained with a continual flow of content.

Smart organizations are keeping their content interesting so that the target audience stays engaged. And lazy organizations haven’t updated their account since Christmas, or use some fancy automated system that posts a cryptic update for each new job posting.

Given the work involved with using social networking websites, it’s important to build your fan base so that your efforts aren’t wasted. A good rule of thumb is that you should have four times more fans/followers than the number of employees that you have.

Example: Let’s say that Weidner Hospital has 800 employees and their Facebook fan page has 90 people. This is not good. A better number would be something closer to 3,200 or higher.

Keeping your social networking profiles updated involves the same amount of work whether you have 5 fans or 50,000 fans. You need to work on building your fan base so that your labor investment can reach a wide audience and thus increases your potential pay-off (ie: sourced candidates).

Increasing your fan base is best accomplished through a dedicated marketing effort. Ask your marketing department for help…or call Career Tree Network.

Background:
Last month I read a study which reported that 45% of employers screen social media profiles as part of their hiring process. And, 35% of those organizations have found content on social networking websites that caused them not to hire a candidate.

Click Here for a press release about the study.

With more employers using Social networking websites, it suggests that candidates need to clean up their on-line reputation. A clean profile will ensure that the picture of you doing a keg stand doesn’t cost a job offer.

In this blog post, I’d like to share how I use social networking webites for both business and personal interactions. This method might not be the holy grail…but it has worked as an effective strategy for me. Please feel free to share your strategies or thoughts in the comments section below.

In January, I made a conscious decision to start using Facebook and Twitter to enhance my professional image. Most status updates are related to my business efforts, certain pictures have been removed, and I’ve found that social networking websites have become an effective way for me to engage with both health care employers and candidates.

The Problem:
A few months after I converted “Brian Weidner” to be 100% professional, I no longer had a place to post personal updates and the pictures of me in a bathing suit with a margarita in hand. My personal interactions were suffering. Childhood friends got my business sales pitch and I become unable to take advantage of the “social” side of social networking.

The Solution:
Using a different email address, I created secondary accounts for my personal use on Facebook and Twitter. Information about this ”alias” account was shared via an email message to friends and family. I am able to use these secondary profiles as my social outlet. While Brian Weidner is attending conferences and sharing career development resources, my alias is talking about fantasy football or debating the best micro-brewery in Wisconsin.

In my opinion, the role that social networking websites play in our lives will only increase. Many organizations have jumped on the bandwagon and now include social networking as a central component of their recruitment strategy.

As such, both Human Resources professionals and candidates should consider creating an alter ego account so that their main accounts on these websites can remain as tools for professional interactions.