Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Schultz, cyber team chief
LinkedIn Proves to be Effective in Recruiting Medical Personnel
By Gini Sinclair, USAREC, Medical Recruiting Brigade
June 30, 2014
After a four-month experiment with the website LinkedIn, Medical Recruiting Brigade Commander Col. Karrie Fristoe made the decision to devote five recruiters to the management of social media and the Internet for recruiting healthcare providers for the Army.
During the initial LinkedIn experiment, 16 recruiters from the five battalions within MRB, were assigned to recruit using the website. The recruiting process included online job postings as well as the ability to access the website’s database of healthcare providers. Job postings offered cyber visitors the chance to apply for a variety of positions. The the applicant’s information was then forwarded to a recruiter.
When job postings were first published to the web, the LinkedIn system would automatically send the announcements to individuals deemed qualified based on their LinkedIn homepage. Recruiters could also search online for LinkedIn members who fit the profile of medical professionals needed for the Army. Once identified as possible applicants the recruiters were able to send online messages within the LinkedIn system.
This pilot was conducted last year. The second phase of the program went into effect in December 2013 with a new contract on LinkedIn as well as several other websites devoted to medical personnel. The new LinkedIn effort called for five recruiters (one from each battalion) known collectively as the MRB Cyber Recruiting Team. The team worked under the direction of Lt. Col. (Dr.) Thomas Hustead, Medical Corps liaison at MRB, and Sgt. Maj. Daniel Murphy, national physician recruiting sergeant major, MRB.
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Schultz, 1st Medical Recruiting Battalion, acts as one of the cyber recruiters as well as team chief. They combined their experiences with website recruiting to develop an initial list of sites the CRT could utilize to contact prospects. Along with LinkedIn, the CRT has access to job postings and data research on LeapDoctor.com, DocCafe.com, PhysicianJobBoard.Com, MDJobSite.com, and HealthECareers.com.
In a different Internet recruiting venue, CRT members participate in virtual career fairs. MRB has organized and executed several virtual career fairs over the last year. Both Murphy and Schultz have researched and participated in virtual career fairs conducted by other organizations for healthcare workers to expand the recruiting market. Schultz said he asked team members to continue to look for other opportunities as they go through their recruiting duties on the various websites.
Schultz was part of the initial test of the LinkedIn website and was familiar with the system.
“Many of us were already using our private LinkedIn accounts,” he said. “It didn’t give us the access to search the database for potential applicants, but it did let us send messages and network to some extent.
“Once we set up the career page on LinkedIn and started posting jobs it made a big difference,” Schultz added. “I saw more international leads, with people from as far away as Saudi Arabia and Germany. We also received a greater cross-section of undergraduates to retirees and those fresh out of residency.”
Schultz stated the leads appeared to be more qualified and suggested it might be due to the ability to provide more information to the candidate through the website. As the team chief, Schultz spends time reviewing the applicants information before sending the contact information to the local recruiter.
“I make sure they hit all the requirements,” Schultz said. “I request an updated curriculum vitae – a short account of a person’s career and qualifications (CV), and look up their licensing status. By the time I send a lead out it’s qualified and workable.”
Since August 2013, cyber recruiters have contacted more than 25,000 people and have sent the names of 45 potential applicants to local recruiters. Once the applicant has been referred to the local recruiter, the work begins. Recruiters assist with filling out the application and collecting the required documentation for education, background and physical conditions. Applications are then sent to the Health Services Directorate where they are reviewed by specialists checking for education, mental, moral and physical qualifications.
“Once we have approved the package here,” said Kenneth Buckey, operations specialist, Health Services Directorate, “they have to go before a board. The board, which is is unique to each of the six corps within the U.S. Army Medical Department, usually meets monthly. Generally the process of approving the applicant can be done in 30 days, but we have had some that go through the system in 10 days.”
Like Schultz, Murphy was part of the initial test program for the cyber recruiters with LinkedIn. Murphy was the non-commissioned officer in charge of the program and acted as one of the recruiters at that time. As the NCOIC, Murphy spent time training the cyber recruiters in the nuances of recruiting by social media.
“Because MRB is so dispersed, we had to do all of the training virtually,” Murphy explained. “This was a different type of recruiting than what we are used to. Cyber recruiting is a more passive recruiting environment; most of us are used to walking around hospitals all day trying to talk to people.”
Murphy said he believes the use of Internet assets is a benefit to MRB.
“We have recruiters who send out as many as a 1,000 InMails (LinkedIn messages),” Murphy said. “But the benefit is not in the number sent out, but rather the ability we have to tailor the message to the specific individuals.
“With the Cyber Recruiting Team, recruiters are dedicated full time to using online assets,” Murphy added. “They are tasked with finding the most challenging specialists focusing full time on things such as the job boards, blogs and professional sites for medical personnel.”
“The CRT doesn’t expect to reach all of the more than 900 million monthly users on Facebook or the more than 645 million on Twitter,” Schultz said. “We are dedicated to learning to use the World Wide Web to provide information about career opportunities in the Army to healthcare providers.”
“This generation is comfortable with cyber,” said Fristoe, “and we need to move to where we can capitalize on potential prospects.”
For more information visit www.goarmy.com/amedd and find a health care recruiter located near you.
By Gini Sinclair, USAREC, Medical Recruiting Brigade
June 30, 2014
After a four-month experiment with the website LinkedIn, Medical Recruiting Brigade Commander Col. Karrie Fristoe made the decision to devote five recruiters to the management of social media and the Internet for recruiting healthcare providers for the Army.
During the initial LinkedIn experiment, 16 recruiters from the five battalions within MRB, were assigned to recruit using the website. The recruiting process included online job postings as well as the ability to access the website’s database of healthcare providers. Job postings offered cyber visitors the chance to apply for a variety of positions. The the applicant’s information was then forwarded to a recruiter.
When job postings were first published to the web, the LinkedIn system would automatically send the announcements to individuals deemed qualified based on their LinkedIn homepage. Recruiters could also search online for LinkedIn members who fit the profile of medical professionals needed for the Army. Once identified as possible applicants the recruiters were able to send online messages within the LinkedIn system.
This pilot was conducted last year. The second phase of the program went into effect in December 2013 with a new contract on LinkedIn as well as several other websites devoted to medical personnel. The new LinkedIn effort called for five recruiters (one from each battalion) known collectively as the MRB Cyber Recruiting Team. The team worked under the direction of Lt. Col. (Dr.) Thomas Hustead, Medical Corps liaison at MRB, and Sgt. Maj. Daniel Murphy, national physician recruiting sergeant major, MRB.
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Schultz, 1st Medical Recruiting Battalion, acts as one of the cyber recruiters as well as team chief. They combined their experiences with website recruiting to develop an initial list of sites the CRT could utilize to contact prospects. Along with LinkedIn, the CRT has access to job postings and data research on LeapDoctor.com, DocCafe.com, PhysicianJobBoard.Com, MDJobSite.com, and HealthECareers.com.
In a different Internet recruiting venue, CRT members participate in virtual career fairs. MRB has organized and executed several virtual career fairs over the last year. Both Murphy and Schultz have researched and participated in virtual career fairs conducted by other organizations for healthcare workers to expand the recruiting market. Schultz said he asked team members to continue to look for other opportunities as they go through their recruiting duties on the various websites.
Schultz was part of the initial test of the LinkedIn website and was familiar with the system.
“Many of us were already using our private LinkedIn accounts,” he said. “It didn’t give us the access to search the database for potential applicants, but it did let us send messages and network to some extent.
“Once we set up the career page on LinkedIn and started posting jobs it made a big difference,” Schultz added. “I saw more international leads, with people from as far away as Saudi Arabia and Germany. We also received a greater cross-section of undergraduates to retirees and those fresh out of residency.”
Schultz stated the leads appeared to be more qualified and suggested it might be due to the ability to provide more information to the candidate through the website. As the team chief, Schultz spends time reviewing the applicants information before sending the contact information to the local recruiter.
“I make sure they hit all the requirements,” Schultz said. “I request an updated curriculum vitae – a short account of a person’s career and qualifications (CV), and look up their licensing status. By the time I send a lead out it’s qualified and workable.”
Since August 2013, cyber recruiters have contacted more than 25,000 people and have sent the names of 45 potential applicants to local recruiters. Once the applicant has been referred to the local recruiter, the work begins. Recruiters assist with filling out the application and collecting the required documentation for education, background and physical conditions. Applications are then sent to the Health Services Directorate where they are reviewed by specialists checking for education, mental, moral and physical qualifications.
“Once we have approved the package here,” said Kenneth Buckey, operations specialist, Health Services Directorate, “they have to go before a board. The board, which is is unique to each of the six corps within the U.S. Army Medical Department, usually meets monthly. Generally the process of approving the applicant can be done in 30 days, but we have had some that go through the system in 10 days.”
Like Schultz, Murphy was part of the initial test program for the cyber recruiters with LinkedIn. Murphy was the non-commissioned officer in charge of the program and acted as one of the recruiters at that time. As the NCOIC, Murphy spent time training the cyber recruiters in the nuances of recruiting by social media.
“Because MRB is so dispersed, we had to do all of the training virtually,” Murphy explained. “This was a different type of recruiting than what we are used to. Cyber recruiting is a more passive recruiting environment; most of us are used to walking around hospitals all day trying to talk to people.”
Murphy said he believes the use of Internet assets is a benefit to MRB.
“We have recruiters who send out as many as a 1,000 InMails (LinkedIn messages),” Murphy said. “But the benefit is not in the number sent out, but rather the ability we have to tailor the message to the specific individuals.
“With the Cyber Recruiting Team, recruiters are dedicated full time to using online assets,” Murphy added. “They are tasked with finding the most challenging specialists focusing full time on things such as the job boards, blogs and professional sites for medical personnel.”
“The CRT doesn’t expect to reach all of the more than 900 million monthly users on Facebook or the more than 645 million on Twitter,” Schultz said. “We are dedicated to learning to use the World Wide Web to provide information about career opportunities in the Army to healthcare providers.”
“This generation is comfortable with cyber,” said Fristoe, “and we need to move to where we can capitalize on potential prospects.”
For more information visit www.goarmy.com/amedd and find a health care recruiter located near you.