Hints for Employers
According to the PedJobs member survey completed in July, employers and job seekers alike have expectations of standard practice for submitting and getting results from a search. PedJobs compiled questions, comments, and suggestions from the survey to provide you with some helpful guidelines to aid in your search for the perfect candidate.
Your Profile
It is important to specify in your profile whether you are an employer or recruiter. *Recruiter* is appropriate for search firms who work with multiple employers, not hospitals or private practices. Those are *Employers*. Hospitals may employ staff recruiters, but they are recruiting for one employer. Employers who use advertising agencies to place their job postings for them are still *Employers*.
Confirmation of Receipt
Overwhelmingly, job seekers have requested a confirmation from employers that their application has been received. The confirmation can be an e-mail, postcard, or letter affirming that their application has been received, and that they will be contacted if their skills and qualifications meet the job requirements.
Even if you are not interested in pursuing the job seeker, a confirmation is a courtesy to the job seeker, and can decrease multiple applications from candidates that you do not plan to consider.
You may go back in your account and delete the job if it is filled while it is still posted. By doing that, you do not have applicants for a job that is not open any longer.
Job Postings
Two areas that job seekers would like employers to elaborate on are the employer profile and the job description. The more information you can provide about the job description--education, experience, and skills required--the better your pool of candidates will be. Job seekers are most interested in job features and benefits, such as type of practice, location, estimated salary, insurance, etc. Job seekers may become frustrated when there is not enough information for them to evaluate whether the job is a good fit, and qualified candidates may be lost.
Be very specific in the body of the ad on how you would like job seekers to apply for the job. If you don't accept phone calls, faxes, or mailed applications, make it clear in your job posting. You may lose valuable candidates because they are not sure how to apply for the job. PedJobs recommends instructing job seekers to apply online, for your convenience.
Location
When describing the job opening, "location" specifies where the job is actually located, not which states from which you will accept applicants. "Nationwide" means that there is a position open in every state. Unless the position is telecommuting or locum tenens, it is probably not "nationwide." One of the frequently asked job seeker questions is why they specify one state and get results that don't match. Selecting the "nationwide" option when the job is located in one state is very confusing to job seekers.
Link to Web Site
Many job seekers have requested a link to employer Web sites to be included in the job description or profile. This can be done in basic HTML. You can make sure that you include your URL in the Home Page field in Employer Information, or you can create a link in your Employer Profile field. To create a link, type
<a href="url">text to be displayed</a>
Jobs Needed
Consider posting jobs for subspecialties and med-peds. There are candidates are available, however there are few positions advertised.
There is increasing interest in resources for part-time work, volunteer work, and non-traditional employment. Consider posting jobs for those job seekers who are in the latter stages of employment, or who are taking time off to raise children or care for loved ones.
Feedback
As always, your feedback is appreciated. If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to e-mail us at anytime.
Disclaimer
These resources have not been investigated by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP takes no responsibility for these resources.