Editor’s note: We talked with nurses who shared moving stories about the recruiters who helped them to celebrate National Healthcare Recruiter Day.
A nurse hired by Joshua Jones, senior corporate recruiter at DaVita Kidney Care, describes him as more than someone who connects nurses with jobs.
“Joshua Jones helped me by being so proactive and prompt in responding to my inquiries and concerns about the position I was applying for,” said Jose Angelo H. Santillan, BSN, RN-BC. “But beyond that, he made a very important impact on me as an applicant.
“Joshua made me feel so comfortable and at home, even during those first encounters. He definitely made me feel that I had a chance of getting the position,” he continued. “I now work as an acute dialysis nurse at the best hospital in Los Angeles, the UCLA Health System.”
In 1991, to commemorate the work healthcare recruiters do, Congress declared the first Tuesday of June as National Healthcare Recruiter Day, according to the National Association for Health Care Recruitment. This year’s national recognition day for healthcare recruiters falls on June 5.
Healthcare recruiters have a distinct set of skills related to their ultimate goal: to find the right jobs for the right people, while making transitions as seamless as possible.
- Screen potential job candidates
- Act as intermediaries between providers and employers
- Review job candidates’ backgrounds
- Prepare candidates for the interview process
- Be experts in networking, negotiating, problem solving and even counseling
The success with which healthcare recruiters fill positions can affect employee retention, morale and the employer’s quality, productivity and bottom line. For their work, healthcare recruiters earn an average $53,952 annually, with a minimum salary of $14,000 and maximum of $142,000, according to Indeed.com.
Honoring National Healthcare Recruiter Day
We asked nurses to help honor National Healthcare Recruiter Day by sharing their positive experiences with healthcare recruiters and offering advice for what nurse colleagues should look for in a good healthcare recruiter.
Recruiter: Theresa Mazzaro, RN, CHCR, senior talent acquisition specialist, Suburban Hospital, a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine
Tamar Melloul Epstein, BSN, RN, a labor and delivery nurse at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville, Md., said recruiter Theresa Mazzaro, RN, CHCR, helped her launch a second career to pursue her dream job.
“I had been a teacher for 22 years but wanted to become a nurse since I was 3 years old,” Epstein said. “When my children became more independent, I decided to go back to school and pursue my dream. Working with Theresa was an absolute pleasure. Theresa followed up on everything. She was prompt, thorough and a positive person when I needed it the most. Her positivity is truly one of her best qualities.”
Epstein’s advice to nurses looking for a nurse recruiter? Search for a recruiter who asks the important questions, so the recruiter can better find the right job match for an individual nurse.
“Have someone that will follow up with you, and feel like your victory is their own,” Epstein said.
Recruiter: Jessica Quezada Jackson, CHCR, HonorHealth — Talent Acquisition, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Elisa Martinez, BSN, RN, a telemetry nurse at John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital in Phoenix is just beginning her nursing career.
“Jessica has been a wonderful resource during my transition into the RN role,” she said. “As a new graduate RN, I was unsure about where to begin my job search. Jessica really took the time to get to know me, and identify what areas of healthcare I am most passionate about. She helped me with resume tips, as well as the application process for Honor Health. She asked about my career goals and helped identify my strengths.”
“Jessica took the time to invite me to a meeting held by the National Association of Hispanic Nurses: Phoenix Chapter and even sponsored my application to join the organization,” Martinez continued. “She introduced me to various healthcare managers involved in NAHN, allowing me to build that rapport I was unable to gain on my own. I am now working as a new graduate RN in the collaborative environment I hoped for!”
Martinez said an effective recruiter is someone who can identify characteristics in a candidate that directly align with an organization’s mission, vision and values.
“They can communicate with hiring managers to gauge their needs or expectations for a unit, while searching for individuals who hold those skills,” she said. “I believe a good recruiter is active in the community … and has a reputation of reliability for delivering quality candidates.”
Joseph Martinez, RN, RN care coordinator at the Heuser Family Medicine clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., said his recruiting experience was awesome because of his recruiter, Jackson, because she understands the job as well as the job candidate she recruits.
Martinez transitioned from the hospital to the community setting, and he says he’s happy in his new role. “Simply, I get to change people’s lives every day,” Martinez said. “We deal with a lot of underserved populations.”
Jackson helped to make the new job a reality by having a vision of what the community and employer need and finding the talent to meet those needs, according to Martinez.
“She’s able to fulfill the needs of an organization,” he said. “But knowing a little about me, this is also fulfilling to me as a person. Sometimes, you don’t get both.”
Recruiter: Joshua Jones, senior corporate recruiter at DaVita Kidney Care
A good recruiter will help applicants feel confident they will land the jobs they seek. This helps candidates stay motivated throughout the job hunting process.
“I believe the recruiter is a person who will welcome you into that journey the first time. If the recruiter has a warm and sunny personality, the applicant will feel more excited about that anticipated journey,” Santillan said. “Joshua definitely has a warm and sunny personality. He was kind and personable. He had a warm tone in his voice (not condescending in any way), and I can feel a smile on his face every time I connect him on the phone or via emails.”
Jones stayed connected with Santillan after he first applied with DaVita in 2017, but wasn’t quite ready to make a job change yet.
“Joshua made me feel that I could always re-apply with DaVita when the right time came for me,” Santillan said. “On that note, I think recruiters are leaders in healthcare. They put the right person in the right place at the right time.”
A bit of advice from Santillan is to treat recruiters the way you would want to be treated — with respect and professionalism from the first encounter. “The connection between you and the recruiter will be grounded upon this encounter,” he said.
Nurses also should look at the relationship as more than a short-term job placement.
“We can always look at a recruiter as someone who can mentor us into the role and will continue to support us until we can achieve our best potential in the company,” Santillan said. “If a recruiter doesn’t provide a vision for your future or hides the future away from you, then that is a bad recruiter. The connection has to feel like it’s long term.”
Happy National Healthcare Recruiter Day!
