Archives for September 2014

De Vore Recruiting, a nationwide healthcare staffing agency, prides itself on having a vast network of resources from which to cull the best and brightest professionals for nursing home jobs and nursing employment. From job boards to passive recruiting, our healthcare recruiters find the right people to fill management and director positions for healthcare facilities.

Increasingly, companies are turning to social media to aid their searches, as talent can be found anywhere, even less conventional places. And in our case, we’re usually looking for currently employed individuals to make the transition to a new position that requires their experience and skill level.

Recruiters can utilize their individual networks on Facebook, which probably consists of a lot of healthcare professionals already, to send out job postings with links to the job listing. The recruiting company’s Facebook page is also a good resource for any current job opportunities.

Individual Facebook posts can be highlighted on a Facebook page. In other words, they can be seen by a greater targeted audience for a fee. Facebook itself will walk you through the process when you choose to promote a post.

Recruiters can add a “Jobs” tab to their company Facebook page to highlight all of the available career positions recruiters are looking to fill. There are multiple applications you can use to create a customized job board on your Facebook page. Candidates can also submit resumes through the app or be redirected to a recruiter’s website. In our case, potential candidates can upload their resume here on our website.

To stay in touch with De Vore Recruiting and some of the best director-level positions available nationwide, connect with our Twitter, Facebook and Google+ pages.

Though based in Sherman Oaks, Calif., De Vore places professionals in hard-to-fill positions across the U.S. We welcome you to call us at 877-411-4358 to see how you might fit into one of our current or future job openings. Sign up for our newsletter to stay abreast of the latest developments in the healthcare industry.

At De Vore Recruiting —one of the top healthcare recruiters operating nationwide— we find the most qualified nursing and healthcare professionals to fill the important public service positions that are so vital to our nation’s wellbeing.

Of course, to discover the best, you have to help us by being the best “you” via our phone and video interviews.

We believe in the authentic self.

We find not only the skilled professionals with solid experience, but also the compassionate, vocational workers with the personalities that would complement their possible future workplace.

Generally speaking, those fairly common sense interview tips that you can find everywhere on the internet, like hereand here, also apply to a healthcare-specific interview. But there are a few things we, as healthcare recruiting specialists, look for in particular to ensure that we find the right fit for a healthcare facility.

Whether you’ve received a call from one of our healthcare recruiters, or you are gearing up for a slew of interviews in your new job search, here are a few things to keep in mind as you attend your healthcare interview:

Consideration No. 1: Genuinely enjoy the process

Interviewing is typically seen as a nerve-wracking, rather contrived process. You have a lot of interest in a new position. And you have to sell yourself — a you-in-a-stiff-new-business-suit-and-acutely-aware-of-your-hand-movements self. It can feel unnatural, and a lot is at stake. Also, you never really know what’s going to happen entirely, do you?

But what if it wasn’t like that? What if it could be fun?

At De Vore, we’re looking for the natural, friendly, easy-to-talk-to candidate. If you can keep nerves hidden and come off as a stress- and negativity-free interviewee, you have a good chance of getting De Vore’s stamp of approval.

It can seem simple enough — throw in a bit of witty humor, relax and maintain a friendly, approachable demeanor. But this is usually pretty difficult for a lot of people. While we can coach potential candidates with the right experience to a certain extent, you have to exhibit a healthy spark of this ability to start. That friendliness also will need to stay consistent throughout our two phone or video interviews, as well as the two to five interviews you will complete with the healthcare facility. Ultimately, just be you … the best you.

Consideration No. 2: When we ask you why you want this new healthcare position,

have a thoughtful answer prepared.

“I need a job as soon as possible.” “I was looking for a higher-paying position.” These responses actually still occur with some frequency, believe it or not. What are we looking for?

“I believe in my abilities and experience to help elevate the quality of (specific healthcare facility).

My goal will be to raise (facility)’s current 3-star ranking to 5 stars.”

Better answers also include that you’re looking for improved quality of life (i.e. shorter commute, more challenges). Maybe you want to express how you want to work for a company whose values and goals align better with yours. Perhaps you’re not happy with the quality of care being offered at your current facility.

We want to know your motivation for a career change, because we eventually have to sell that change to employers.

With the healthcare field especially, candidates should emphasis their compassion and earnestness in helping people and contributing to a greater good. We’re not looking to discuss how your goal was a higher salary.

Consideration No. 3: Provide good eye contact even when doing a Skype/video interview.

It’s important to looks us in the eye, even if it’s via the lens of your PC’s webcam. We’re looking to build a level of confidence with you. And that’s hard to establish when you seem distracted.

If you have an in-person interview, shake our hand firmly while maintaining eye contact. “Limp fish” handshakes are not a good start.

Consideration No. 4: Keep negativity to a minimum.

Try not to disparage your current employer. Merely state that it is not the right fit. Harping on negatives always comes off poorly to healthcare recruiters. Think carefully about how you’re phrasing any thoughts that may need to touch on sensitive topics.

Consideration No. 5: Be current.

Technology is a huge part of the healthcare field. Demonstrate that you’re aware of its importance and have a good handle on the latest technological processes aiding your particular healthcare industry.

As with any interview in any industry, it’s important to:

• Come prepared and well-rested.
• Research the facility to which you are applying in order to show awareness of their needs. How equipped are you to fill those needs?
• Be aware of inflections in your voice during phone interviews.
• Be prepared to answer specific questions regarding facility ratings and surveys as they relate to your current employer.
• Focus on the customer service aspect of your job.
• Not show up smelling of alcohol or cigarettes for an in-person interview.
• Not to chew gum during your interviewing with the hiring manager.
• Arrive early for a scheduled in-person interview.
• Avoid wearing perfume or cologne, especially heavy amounts, as either can be a scent that might not be appealing to your hiring manager. She/he also could be allergic.
• Be patient with the hiring process.
• Show appreciation to your recruiter for her/his time and send a thank-you note.

To submit your resume as a potential candidate for current or future job openings through De Vore, click here. View the latest career opportunities through De Vore here.

Our healthcare recruiters are excited to speak with you. You’ll hear the smile in our voice. We honestly hope to hear yours, too.

This year’s autumnal equinox, or first day of the fall season, begins at 7:20 p.m. PDT on Sept. 22. (If you’re curious, you can find a converter here for when it will occur in your area.) And the onset of cooler temperatures means various things depending on who you ask: a new school year, Sunday Night Football, the early onset of the flu season.

For healthcare facilities, the fall and winter months typically yield more patient visits thanks to flu outbreaks and exacerbated respiratory issues, especially in the elderly population. And by extension, these facilities often need to bulk up their staff to accommodate seasonal needs.

Dr. Heather Wick, M.D., is a senior recruiter with De Vore Recruiting, a healthcare staffing agency that fills management-level positions via direct recruiting. In her 2.5 years with the company, Dr. Wick has noticed an increase in placement needs in the fall and winter months.

“Summer tends to be the slower season,” she said. “My first seven placements (with De Vore) were in the winter of (November) 2012 to (March) 2013.”

With more reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid coming in during these seasons, facilities are able to hire recruiters to manage the often detailed and time-consuming process of finding skilled candidates for hard-to-fill managerial positions.

Dr. Wick, a graduate of Dartmouth College and Albany Medical College, encourages professionals who may be looking to take advantage of the busier healthcare hiring season to polish their resumes in preparation.

“Everyone should always have an updated resume on hand,” she said.

As a recruiter for director-level positions, Dr. Wick is looking for candidates with compatible skills.

“They have to have experience already in the job that I’m trying to fill. I don’t think I’ve ever filled a job with someone who hasn’t had that job before,” she said.

Dr. Wick also looks for candidates with work histories that display stability and longevity. “Our favorite candidates have been at day jobs for 3 to 5 years and have a solid history of not leaving their positions (too early),” she said. “A superstar will stay at the same job for seven to 10 years.

In her experience, filling these positions can take as little as two weeks to upwards of two months.

To submit your information and/or resume as a potential candidate for current or future job openings through De Vore, click here. View the latest career opportunities through De Vore here.

It’s a sobering fact: One bad hire can cost a company an average of 30 percent of the new employee’s first-year earnings, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There’s a loss in productivity as the new employee acclimates to a new working environment, not to mention the costs involved with training.

Sherman Oaks, Cali.,-based De Vore Recruiting — where healthcare recruiting specialists seek out passive job seekers to fill skilled, typically director-level positions for healthcare facilities — shoulders the burdensome weight of the challenging hiring process.

“We try to eliminate falloff, which is a big deal,” De Vore’s president Sean De Vore said recently.

One bad hire in the nursing field can be detrimental to a healthcare facility’s score in Medicare’s 5-star quality rating system. Negative surveys regarding a new hire can affect the score, which is visible for consumers’ benefit. Facilities also can be fined by their respective state as a result of a poor survey.

“When we try to find people, we make sure that those people are going to help that survey process,” De Vore said.

To minimize the pitfalls involved in hiring, De Vore’s healthcare staffing agency thoroughly vets candidates, focusing often on their soft skills. Making sure a company and a potential new employee are the right match, or entering into the “right marriage” together, as De Vore puts it, is of utmost importance.

“We’re like a matchmaker in that sense,” said De Vore, whose company searches for the best match, not the most available-right-now. “We shake the leaves out of the tree instead of shake (just for) something to come loose.”

When finding the right candidates for those challenging job openings within the healthcare industry, De Vore attempts to:

-Make sure the candidate is going to stick, which is important for all parties involved. “So what we do is we talk to them about their goals,” De Vore said. “Everyone says they’re looking for a long-term job, but are they willing to make at least a 1- to 2-year — hopefully 2 years, at least — commitment? So we talk about stability and why it’s important.”

-Match personalities between the company and future employee. Many times, the employer doesn’t have time to explore the personalities of their clients to ensure compatibility within the facility’s work culture. As a third party, De Vore Recruiting is able to delve into the other side of each candidate in addition to their skill set and experience.

-Determine where each potential new hire is at in her or his career, and how that relates to the needs of an open management position. “We really want to figure out what the candidate is comfortable doing. I don’t want them to go beyond their reach,” De Vore said.

While a lot of companies, no matter the industry, prefer pleasant and outgoing hires, De Vore said his healthcare recruiters make sure to listen closely to each facility’s particular requirements.

“Different facilities have different needs,” De Vore said. “We look for the right personality.”