Hospitals and other healthcare facilities looking to hire more doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals may want to add Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Twitter to their recruitment efforts.
A survey from AMN Healthcare, a San Diego-based recruitment firm, finds that people employed in healthcare have increased their use of social media to look for jobs, apply for new positions and network with colleagues.
Just a few years ago job seekers might have relied on informal get-togethers to glean information about potential job openings. While personal networking is still important, social media makes “the cocktail party very large and very private,” Ralph Henderson, president of healthcare staffing at AMN, told HealthLeaders Media.
According to the survey, healthcare professionals spent more time on social media sites and/or mobile devices in 2011 compared to 2010, and reported receiving more job interviews, job offers, and new positions through the use of mobile job alerts.
Some 31% of the 2,790 survey respondents used social media in their job search versus 21% in the 2010 survey. Of those 11% received a job interview compared with 6% in 2010; 9% received a job offer compared with 5% in 2010, and 6% secured a job through social media versus 3% in 2010.
Advancements in social media, such as mobile job alerts, have helped increase usage and success, explains Henderson. “The tools and opportunities available through LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter are very different now from just a few years ago.”
He adds that social media is a great way for hospitals and other healthcare facilities to appeal to the passive job seeker such as the healthcare professional who is happy in their job but would make an employment move if the right position presented itself.
Among the key 2011 survey findings:
- Nearly 50% of all respondents report that they use social media for professional networking versus 37% in 2010.
- Allied professionals (36%) and nurses (33%) are the most frequent users of social media for job searches followed by pharmacists (29%) and physicians (23%).
- Some 41% of responding physicians have used mobile devices or tablets like iPads to search for employment or healthcare-related content
- Three out of four respondents named Facebook as their favorite site for job seeking opportunities.
About 53% of the survey respondents work in hospitals. Nurses account for 31% of the respondents, allied professionals (26%), physicians (23%) and pharmacists (9%).
One surprising statistic about the respondents: 60% were more than 40 years old. That means social media appeals to mid-level healthcare professionals as well as younger works just beginning their careers.
Margaret Dick Tocknell is a reporter/editor with HealthLeaders Media.
