What Can a Recruiter Do for You?
Leveraging other people's time & expertise in your job search.
When it comes to work in the medical field, you could use common web tools like LinkedIn, Monster, and Indeed. You could try to make contact on your own and do your own research. You could… but do you want to?
For a field as specialized as healthcare, you may find that a recruiting firm will save you time and provide you with high-quality opportunities you wouldn’t have found on your own. Their experience in the field means that they know the industry and the employment environment, and they’re available to put their experience and industry insight to work for you.
Who do Healthcare Recruiters work for?
Healthcare recruiting companies have one goal: to get the best people into the best jobs. That means they work with both employers and job candidates, acting as matchmakers and bringing opportunities to their clients.
Healthcare organizations. If your organization is looking to fill specialized positions, a recruiter or “headhunter” is a must. When you work with a skilled firm, the most difficult part of the hiring process — finding the right candidates — is done for you according to your specific needs and specifications.
If you have an in-house HR team dedicated to hiring, you may still find it valuable to work with the right recruiting firm. HR may be overloaded by the constant need for nursing staff, administrative support, and other high-staff volume areas of the organization. For positions where you’re seeking a single high-level team member, the recruiting firm can provide expert support when your internal team lacks the resources.
Healthcare and executive job seekers. If you’re in the market for a new position—or even if you could be in the future—it pays to have the right recruiting firm backing you up. You’ll get access to job openings you may not find on your own, and their significant knowledge of the industry will help you get your foot in the door. Don’t let your CV end up buried in a sea of papers on someone else’s desk. A skilled and resourceful recruiter has the tools and experience to facilitate the process by bringing your background and experience to the top of the pile. Submit your resume today!
And what if you’re happy where you are, at least for the moment, but you have goals and a career path in mind or you would be open to new opportunities? It can be beneficial to develop a relationship with a recruiting firm now, when you have the time to really consider your options and your wishes.
Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next role, a recruiting firm has something to offer you. When you become part of our conversation, you’ll be front of mind when the next stellar candidate or exciting position becomes available.
How does the Recruiter get paid?
In exchange for the work they do seeking out opportunities, keeping up to date, and contacting employees and employers, not to mention all of the administrative and project planning aspects of a search, recruiters receive payment for their services.
There are two types of recruiting arrangement that are common in industries such as healthcare: contingency recruiting and retainers.
Contingency Recruiting
In a contingency arrangement, you don’t pay anything up front. Instead, the recruiter is paid only when a candidate is hired to fill a vacancy. Contingency recruiters may have a wide network of clients, and they work on a per-project basis to get the right person hired.
The recruiting firm negotiates pay for the candidate, and their fee comes as a percentage of the first year’s salary (and may be in the 12.5-15% range). The employee pays nothing out of pocket. In this case, as always, the organization is incentivized to offer a lower pay rate and the employee, as always, is incentivized to seek a higher rate. Because the payment is a commission on the salary, the recruiting firm’s financial incentive is to negotiate a higher pay rate.
When employed by a healthcare organization, however, the recruiter critically needs to have a positive ongoing relationship with the organization, which may cancel out the financial benefit of the arrangement to the employee.
Retainer-based Arrangements
Retained recruiters tend to have longer-term relationships with their clients, and their sole goal is to make sure the client is satisfied with the hiring. For this standing relationship, they receive a fee up front and again when an employment agreement is signed.
With a retainer, there is less of an incentive to find a match quickly.
As an employee, you may look to a contingency recruitment firm when you are actively seeking new employment. When you work with a retainer-based recruiting firm, on the other hand, you will be waiting for the recruiters to come to you when they have a high-potential positions to fill for their client.
This may be a worthwhile arrangement for higher-income leaders and executives who have an ambitious career path or who are open to outstanding offers to hire them away from their current organization.
Why is a Recruiter the right choice for you?
A recruiting firm takes the search for the right employee or employer to a professional level. They have the resources to find the best candidates and the best open positions. You may particularly benefit from a healthcare recruiting firm if:
There are two types of recruiting arrangement that are common in industries such as healthcare: contingency recruiting and retainers.
You don’t have time. The search process can be laborious. If you are an employer tasked with filing a vacancy or creating a new position in addition to your regular responsibilities, bringing in the experts will save you many hours. If you’re currently employed in a demanding role while looking for new opportunities, you will also benefit from outsourcing the hard work of the search.
You’re skilled… just not at this. Higher-level positions are often very specialized. If you are extremely good at your job, but employment matchmaking is not your area, it makes sense to offload the work so you can spend your time on your highest-value activities.
You’re going places. The most prestigious positions are not often filled through classified ads and resumes. If your organization is looking to find the best in the country to lead a department, or if you’re highly sought after in your field, you need a higher level of service.
You want to be ready. It’s not too early to talk to a recruiting firm. The best decisions are made when the timing is not rushed, and sometimes the best opportunities appear just before you’re ready to look for them.
Think of a recruiting firm as you would a real estate firm. Yes, you could do much of what they do for yourself, but would you really want to? With their connections, sources, and expertise, a dedicated firm can do a better job with less effort, making it well worth the price.
Who doesn’t need a recruiting firm?
Recruiters can offer big benefits in the healthcare industry, but they’re not for everyone. If the following points describe you, you can skip the extra support for now.
You don’t need a recruiter if you don’t care. It doesn’t really matter to you if you get the vacancy filled, and you don’t particularly care who fills it. Or you’re not all that motivated to find a new job. Or you want a job, but any job will do. Recruiters are for people who take the job seriously.
You don’t need a recruiter if the work is done. You already know who you want to hire, and they want to work for you. Or you know which job you want and you already have your foot in the door. If all that’s left is to sign on the line, you don’t need a recruiter.
You shouldn’t work with a recruiter if you want to be anonymous. You’d rather throw resumes into the void or put up a vague listing on a job site. When you work with a recruiter, you’ll be more than just a number, an all-but-nameless application, or an employer. You’ll have an advocate who really knows you and what you’re looking for.
Don’t work with a recruiter if you’re not going to cooperate. You’ll need to tell your recruiter how much you REALLY make, or how much you’re really willing to pay the new hire. They’ll ask for information that will help them build their big-picture knowledge of the industry. You’ve got to explain your unique situation so they don’t just have to guess what you want.
Recruiting firms want to work with organizations and employees who want to work with them. The most value will come from the relationship you build.
How to Find a Recruiting Firm?
You can start by reaching out to us at Genesis Healthcare Consultants. Contact us to set up a time to talk about what you need and what we can do for you. Or call us at (239) 244-9511. We look forward to discussing what you are looking for in a candidate or a facility.