The new year is quickly approaching, meaning final year residents will soon be embarking on their last semester of training and preparing to join the workforce. While this is an exciting time for graduating residents and physician recruiters alike, recruiters are facing a more challenging and competitive landscape to reach this group than ever before. 

Yes, there’s a desperate fight for the best millennial physicians out there but there’s also a catch: millennials “are perhaps the most sophisticated, in-demand job-seeker around,” says Chesney Fowler, MD, who wrote a manifesto for recruiting millennial physicians on KevinMD.com.

Millennial physicians aren’t changing everything about recruiting, but they are definitely disrupting it. Writing for Inc. Magazine J.T. O’Donnell calls millennials ‘Sophisticated Job Seekers’ who are “worse than Purple Squirrels (those elusive candidates who have all the skills and experience you need for them to hit the ground running). The way they see it, they don’t want to work for you, they want to work with you. They believe they are a business of one who has the right to find the right partner (a.k.a. ideal employer).”

A lot has been written about this sheltered generation, but millennials are not as different as you think. They just work a little differently than older generations: this new generation has a different set of values. PwC’s Next Gen study reports: “Millennials value greater flexibility, appreciation, team collaboration and global opportunities.”

Millennial physicians may question why things are the way they are or always have been, but this generation of doctors is headed in the right direction. They want more input and feedback, and they want the opportunity to contribute. Recruiting millennial physicians is as simple as this: understand they’re coming from a different place and offer them what they want.

Use these 8 dynamic tips to recruit millennial physicians:

1. Technology is a given

Millennials are digital natives. Technology shapes their work, but more importantly the very idea of this connectivity shapes their mindset. Millennial physicians often meet with patients with their laptop or smartphone in hand and think nothing of it. Older physicians balk at the notion, but millennial physicians are bringing new ideas to patient care and more. Since millennials are all over social media, make sure you have a social recruiting strategy in place to get them where they're already spending time. 

2. Don’t fence them in

Millennial physicians typically think their career is a long, flexible path that allows them to acquire new skills along the way. They want to grow as a physician and a person, and they believe work training and development is part of that flexible career path.

3. Solo work doesn’t work for them

Connectivity is a way of life, so millennials physicians are highly team-oriented. They also embrace diversity – which means they want to collaborate and exchange ideas on every level.

4. Ch-ch-ch-changes are required

Millennial physicians want change, they want gratification, and they want it now. They grew up with constant shifts so they’re not used to things remaining stagnant. They’re not just early adopters: they embrace and absorb new technology and ideas.

5. Tell them how they’re doing

Millennial physicians are driven by goals and metrics, and feedback is essential. If you’re not telling them how they’re doing they often assume they’re doing something wrong. Millennial physicians also think goals should be set in a variety of arenas, from job satisfaction to patient engagement.

6. Work and life are the same thing

Having a work/life balance isn’t just about working hours and playing hours. Millennial physicians want to contribute at work and grow as human beings. They don’t mind working, but they value not being on call 24/7, flexible vacation time, and other perks. For physician recruiters, that means learning a millennial candidate’s professional and personal goals.

7. Benefits are important to them 

Today, job perks are becoming a large part of office culture, with many companies treating employees to not only a flexible work schedule, but office excursions, complimentary meals/snacks, free company swag, etc. When recruiting millennial doctors, remember that many of their peers likely get to enjoy such perks, and millennial physicians seek a comparable level of tight company culture and support. Always be honest, of course, but remember to bring the best of your company perks to light!

8. They’re out to change the world

Working fewer hours doesn’t mean millennials are slackers. Millennial physicians want to do meaningful work. When they’re not working a shift, many of them are doing great things for society – often combining patient care with policy work. Amy Ho, for example, combines her career and her passion. She practices emergency medicine and serves on the board of directors for the American Medical Association’s Action Committee.

Millennials are now the largest (and newest) generation in the workforce and they’re already shaping how many of us work. Thanks to this generation of physicians, medical staffs are seeing major trends, like doctors working fewer hours and more work in teams. It’s not a bad thing; it’s just a different thing. Understand where millennial physicians are coming from and what they want – and you’ll know how to recruit them.

To learn more about recruiting millennial doctors online using social recruiting techniques, check out this helpful guide.