The coronavirus pandemic has already brought a lot of changes to the healthcare recruiting landscape. With major conferences cancelling their in-person events, how can clinicians and recruiters remain connected? That's where virtual recruiting comes in.

Connecting virtually with potential candidates can be done in a number of ways; the technology and tools we have at our disposal provide an opportunity to maintain relationships and interactions despite our limitations for gathering in person right now. Virtual career events or fairs are one highly effective way to continue to interact with candidates right now.

It’s a big undertaking to host a career event, but with the growing complexity of today’s world, we have to adapt new ways of accomplishing our recruiting goals. “The bottom line is that virtual career fairs and events, fully-remote recruiting, more personalized career paths, and greater insights into candidate experiences are quickly becoming the new normal in a post-COVID-19 world,” per Forbes Magazine.

Given today’s circumstances, virtual career fairs are not only safer than in-person career fairs but they’re also more effective, according to some doctors. “In-person career fairs can be expensive due to travel, time away from work, and other resources you have to commit for marketing and swag, says Dr. John Sullivan. Plus, because of the high volume of applicants, in-person fairs can put a strain on your hiring process, limiting your ability to find the right candidate in the stack.” A number of organizations in the medical community are now hosting virtual conferences and career fairs. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) both recently hosted virtual fairs of their own. The Telehealth20 Value Based Care Summit is also going virtual in June. Most 2020 medical conferences are being canceled and rescheduled as virtual meetings, too. You can refer your physician candidates to a list of medical meetings here.

Some doctors like Dr. John Sullivan even goes as far as to say that traditional job fairs “actually stink as a hiring source.” His arguments include his opinion that no one is actually hired at career fairs, hidden costs often arise, and the time and location doesn’t often fit candidates’ needs. Conversely, virtual career fairs have a lot of advantages: “Because they don’t require a physical set up, virtual job fairs can be held whenever you have a talent shortage. They are electronic, so applications can be accepted instantly, and only pre-screened individuals can be allowed to move on to interviews. They also leave the powerful branding message that your company utilizes the best technologies.” The bottom line? You don’t have to lose the human connection when you go virtual.

You can still assess facial expressions, voice inflection, and the level of a candidate’s engagement virtually - you don’t need to be “in person” to be personal. In fact, we’ve seen that candidates are appreciative that recruiters are showing concern for clinician health and safety. What’s more, it’s appealing to  candidates to be able to interview from a place that’s convenient for them.

The good news, according to Becker’s Hospital Review, is that the healthcare industry is responding well to the monumental changes due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need for policymakers and healthcare providers to prepare a coordinated response to avoid overwhelming healthcare resources during future public health crises. In recent months, health providers have demonstrated tremendous agility and innovation in responding to the crisis.”

Doximity has responded to the pandemic with a number of tools for healthcare providers and recruiters. 

• We launched a COVID-19 specific newsroom for clinicians to access timely medical updates, while privately sharing new research, treatment, and best practices.  
• The Doximity Newsfeed has seen a 60% increase in usage during the last few months.  
• Doximity Dialer enables care teams to use convenient and familiar technology to reach patients without worrying about the loss of privacy in the age of COVID-19. Ali Khan, MD, MPP, recently tweeted: @doximity is saving our butts right now w/the Dialer feature. 
• We’re also offering the ability to post free COVID-19-related job opportunities on Doximity to address the surge in healthcare capacity. 

How has your recruiting changed because of COVID-19? We offer 6 tips for recruiting during the pandemic here.