Picture this: it’s past midnight on a chilly October evening, and you’re at home scrolling on your phone. Snuggled under your favorite blanket and feeling safe, you start looking for a new healthcare job. The only illumination in the room is coming from your phone screen. Suddenly, you get the chills, because the perfect job has popped up. The pay is high, the location is the ideal commuting distance, and it’s a coveted healthcare facility that you’ve wanted to work at for a long time. As you apply, an unsettling feeling creeps up on you. You ask yourself: Is this job even real? Will you hear back, or will you get ghosted?
Harrowing hiring
Let’s face it: finding a job shouldn’t be scary. For a healthcare professional, a job can be particularly daunting. The competition for high salaries and specialized roles is formidable. Not to mention the complexity of the hiring process and the need for credentials and licensing, job hunting in healthcare is full of hurdles and unknowns.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Advancements in technology and working with the right companies and recruiters can make the experience more effective, faster, and even enjoyable.
Let’s take a look at what some of the most common scams in hiring are:
Bait and switch.
Trick:
You’ve probably already seen it – a high-paying job with a salary that seems too good to be true. Maybe it’s a Surgical Tech, OR position paying $60 an hour, which is well over what you’re currently making. Or, an RN, Oncology position at a local hospital that’s paying $4,000 a week – far above the industry average. These salaries seem too good to be true, because they are.
What’s happening behind the scenes? Most likely, agencies are listing and advertising jobs at higher rates than actually exist. Why? To get your attention, they advertise a high salary that entices you to apply, and then they build their database with your information. The job likely exists, just not at the rates advertised. But once you show interest, you’re in their system.
Treat:
Don’t let these bait and switch schemes drive you batty. First, learn how to spot overinflated jobs. Take a look at pay ranges for similar jobs in the area, and if the one you see is significantly lower or higher, that’s a red flag. Also, if you apply and a recruiter reaches out asking you about similar jobs that pay less, and they don’t mention the high-paying job or say it’s already filled, it’s likely a bait-and-switch deal. Another tactic is to work with a technology platform that lets you see jobs, including the pay and all the details, without having to provide your information.
Expired jobs
Trick:
Jobs are posted as open but are immediately filled, and the listing stays visible on the job board or career platform for weeks or even months. Even though the job has been filled, people keep applying, and the agencies or vendors working with the healthcare facility are just collecting information in the background. Why does this happen? Because their jobs are not updated in real time. Once a hospital or facility posts a job through an MSP or VMS, it is sent to hundreds of agencies, and even after it’s filled, agencies keep the job ‘open.’
Treat:
Ensure you’re using a digital job marketplace platform that updates jobs in real-time, so you’re always applying to an open job. Also, use a job search platform where you can build your profile and, using AI to match your profile to the job, will submit you automatically. Using AI auto submissions will make sure you don’t miss out on a job that the platform knows you’re looking for and are qualified to do. Real-time jobs and AI matching are keys to making sure your job search is chillingly successful.
Other job search tricks of the trade to make sure you find the job you love:
- Become eerily efficient.
Always have the documents you need handy and ready to go. When job searching, completing your application quickly is important. You don’t want to be digging around in your emails at 2:00 a.m. searching for certifications and vaccination records. Use a safe and secure online document storage platform to store your documents, so that you can easily submit them when applying to a job.
- Stay frightfully focused.
Keep your online profile up to date, maintain an up-to-date resume, ensure certifications and licenses are current, and be ready to search for and apply to jobs at all times. In the fast-paced world of healthcare, as a job seeker, you need to be prepared for anything. You don’t want to have a lapse in certifications, an outdated list of references or unexplained gaps in your resume.
- Create a web of connections.
Maintain your online search connections, but also build rapport with a recruiter. Working with an agency that has a strong digital platform plus experienced healthcare recruiters to help you find a job you love makes a huge difference. A skilled recruiter can help answer any of your questions and guide you in the application process.
Career magic
When you’re job searching in healthcare – no matter the job, specialty, or job type – you can find lots of career treats with StaffDNA®. Unlike other platforms and agencies, we never post fake or expired jobs, and we always update our jobs in real time.
If you’re a healthcare professional in nursing, allied health, therapy, advanced practice or physician, you can find jobs nationwide in our easy-to-use app. StaffDNA updates all jobs in real-time, shows pay information and job details, and will even help you calculate your benefits with our MyRate™ benefits calculator.
When it comes to helping you stay organized, DNAVault™ is a secure document storage platform you can use directly in the StaffDNA app. Keep all your credentials, licenses, vaccination records, and everything you need to submit for an open position directly in the app. You can share any document with just one click and even get notifications when documents are expiring.
Ready to stop being haunted by frustrating job boards? Join over 2 million healthcare professionals who use StaffDNA to find jobs they love. Boost your job search and get your career on track with StaffDNA today by downloading the StaffDNA app on Google Play or the App Store.
