SouthWest Health Care Recruiters 11000 Candelaria Rd. NE, W-109 Albuquerque, NM 87112 Phone (505) 323-1494 or 1-800-378-0207 Fax (505) 323-1545 Email: fvigil@swhcr.com

**SouthWest Health Care Recruiters is not affiliated with Healthcare Recruiters International**

Three reasons why you may need an employment recruiter

Employers and physician practices need to find innovative, effective ways to identify and hire good people. Here are three reasons why:

1. EMPLOYERS: Please contact us at fvigil@swhcr.com to inquire about available candidates in any specialty. We will review our extensive database to see if we have a candidate who is a perfect match for your open position!

   Want ads are no longer effective. The medical professionals you want to hire are often not looking for a new job
2. Internal recruiting techniques that worked previously may not necessarily work now
3. Technology, such as the Internet, has also wrought changes, including new opportunities to recruit people

For these reasons, many practices and employers find that they can save time and find the right candidates by utilizing the services of a professional recruiting firm.

Four reasons why working with an employment recruiter can give you a competitive edge

It may be cost-effective and easier to find your candidates with a recruiter:

1. If your practice or your company is expanding rapidly, you need to find qualified personnel quickly to avoid costly delays in getting started
2. A recruiting firm can also provide the confidentiality you need
3. You avoid having to screen calls from individuals who are not really serious about what you have to offer
4. You avoid wasting time with people who you may not be serious about hiring!

A professional recruiter prescreens candidates, limits the number of people to be interviewed, minimizes exposure to sensitive information, and acts as a "gatekeeper", submitting only those candidates who meet the employer's specifications.

Choose a recruiter who specializes in your field

Generally, qualities to look for in a recruiter include: honesty, integrity, strong communications skills, attention to detail and professional presence.

Like other professions, recruitment firms specialize in certain areas, such as information technology or engineering. When dealing in the medical field (and particularly with physicians), here are five key points to keep in mind:

• You'll want a firm that has a special understanding of the medical field
• Your recruiter should know the legal and regulatory restrictions on hiring medical personnel
• Your recruiter should be familiar with employment law and contract law
• Your recruiter should ask enough information from you to truly be able to represent the opportunity you have available
• Of course, your recruiter should be willing to take the time to listen to your needs and your concerns.

All of these are important. Don't hesitate to ask the questions you feel are important. The recruiter you choose will be a reflection of your company!

Types of service you can choose

Recruiters generally offer one of three different types of service. The first is the retained search; the second is the prepaid engagement fee; and the third is the "standard contingency search".

In the Standard Contingency Search, qualified candidates are identified and presented to you for your review as they are identified. No fee is charged until you have come to an agreement with the candidate of your choice. SouthWest Health Care Recruiters works on a Contingency Basis. Therefore, you do not pay anything unless you recruit a candidate we present.

"What's in it for me?"

Good recruiters do not recruit from the market of job hoppers, shoppers or the unemployed. Instead, they look for potential candidates among employees who are happy, appreciated, and are making good money in their current positions. Recruiters seek out candidates based on their skills, desires and personality.

What is important to your candidates?

Candidates change jobs for a combination of five major reasons:

• Challenge
• Location
• Advancement Potential
• Money
• Stability of the organization.

Recruiters are in the information business, so the more information you can give them, the less time it will take to fill a position with the RIGHT candidate. Remember, your success does not mean finding A candidate...it means finding the right candidate.

Once these candidates have been identified, the recruiter must "sell" them on the opportunity of working for your company. Remember, they also want to be sure that they are making the right decision! Since the best candidates carefully evaluate every aspect of a job offer, the recruiter must be prepared to answer questions which are sometimes non-verbalized, such as, "What's in it for me?" In order to appropriately represent your company and the position you have to offer, you must present to the recruiter as many details as possible about your company and the position you have to offer.

Evaluating the position

First, provide a complete job description, including title, expertise needed, daily routine, responsibilities, career path, and a realistic salary range. Benefits are sometimes very important to candidates. Will you offer a 401(k), stock purchase options, dues, allowances, reimbursement for licensure, continuing medical education allowances, sign-on bonus payment and/or relocation assistance? Some of these are extremely important, particularly when dealing with new physicians coming out of residency.

Consider these issues about the position with your recruiter:

• What have you done to fill this position in the past, and why do you think those efforts were successful/unsuccessful?
• What happened to the last person who held the position?
• What are the hiring procedures?
• What are the procedures for giving the recruiter feedback on the résumés submitted and the face-to-face interviews?
• Is your salary competitive? Your recruiter can assist by sharing information from recent Physician salary surveys!

Honest and timely feedback will allow the recruiter to fine-tune the screening and selection process. For best results, commit to one recruiter who has the knowledge of your field, then establish a reasonable length of time to fill the position.

The final step: securing your candidate

Once you choose a candidate, a recruiter can be an effective intermediary in the offer and negotiation process. A recruiter can help reduce the chance of you being "left at the offer", which happens when the candidate is unhappy with what has been presented and decides to accept a counter-offer made by the current employer. A recruiter knows the marketplace as well as the professional, financial and personal bottom-line needs of the candidate. By being the middle person and getting information from both sides, the recruiter can preserve the relationship between the hiring authority and the candidate, which benefits both in the event they end up working together.

For more employer-specific information, contact SouthWest Health Care Recruiters.

Frank Vigil
SW Health Care Recruiters
11000 Candelaria Rd. NE, W-109
Albuquerque, NM 87112
Phone: (505) 323-1494
Toll-free: (800) 378-0207
Email: fvigil@swhcr.com
Fax: (505) 323-1545
Contact us online now!

Privacy statement: The information which parties submit for positions is entirely confidential. We will never sell your information to anyone else or use it for any other purposes, including the development of mailing lists.