Australasian Dentist Issue 92

CATEGORY 126 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST COLUMNISTS Pam McKean By Pam McKean, Director, AB Dental & Medical employment Agency I t is that time of year where new graduates are entering the market for the first time, probably in the most unique job seeking conditions for as long as I can remember. It was only a few years back where the mantra was that it would be tough to get a job and competition would be stiff. While some of that still rings true today, candidates are more focused on finding the best opportunity, feeling that they have a bit more bargaining power than graduates of the not-so-distant past. There’s just one thing: not all graduates are created equal. The best graduates have top marks, outstanding interview performances, the skills your practice needs, and are likely to have experience in the dental industry previously. They also tend to know they are top graduates: they’ve worked hard for it, and they can afford to be picky when it comes to the job they choose. So how to you attract the best of the bunch? If you’re aiming to recruit them to your business, you’ll need to make a special effort. Like many practices, one aspect of your growth strategy is to have fresh graduates on board to help you grow your business. By recruiting a new graduate you are gaining an affordable employee with passion and enthusiasm about what they do, equipped with up to date education, who is excited about their first job and ready to absorb every bit of information they can. But in today’s job seeker’s market, practices need to demonstrate to recent grads why their business is the one to go with over the many other choices out there, especially with so many points of difference between private and corporate companies. And as today’s graduates are often looking for more in their careers and expect more from their job, employers need to be proactive in making sure they stand out from the crowd. In a recent survey with new gradates we’ve spoken to, we asked what the main motivators were when choosing a practice to work at. Here are some tips on what the main motivators are when it comes to choosing a job. Communicate Your Purpose and Value, and be Authentic Today’s job candidates can be more selective because they have more information and are paying attention to the details. The onus is now on you to communicate a compelling message and value and is no longer on candidates to prove their skills. Communicate your organisation’s purpose and demonstrate how employees are achieving that purpose. Leverage these examples in how the company tells its story. Also, employers would do well to remember that one doesn’t become a top graduate without developing critical thinking skills and a curious mind. As such, graduates will, quite naturally, feel suspicious of recruitment efforts that offer a vision of employment that seems too good to be true or appears to omit critical information about what life on the job actually involves. We know from experience that job seekers are eager to gain a clear perspective of what their day-to-day activities will look like if they choose one employer over another. One of the main reasons why new hires leave a job is misrepresentation of the role, something which is easily avoidable. The only way for them to make an assessment is to acquire trustworthy information from prospective employers. So, be open with top candidates: in turn, they will be open with you. Provide More Than Just a Pay cheque Recent graduates look for more than a pay cheque from employers. While money is important, it’s often secondary to what they really seek—a fulfilling career. To attract and retain this workforce, you should consider what’s important to them: social and environmental commitments, well- defined learning and development plans, and flexible work arrangements. High-performing graduates have a strong sense of purpose and a clear idea of what they want their future to look like. It’s a well-known fact that most graduates don’t see themselves working for their first employer for longer than 5 years. This would suggest that, if you hope to recruit top graduates and then retain them over the long term, it’s not enough to sell them on the job you’ve advertised alone. Instead, you should present graduates with a career path. Where will they be in six months, or one year, or even five years? Take the time to consider how the job you offer will provide them with an opportunity to accomplish their short- and long-term goals. In this way, you’ll connect meaningfully with graduates who hope to build a lasting relationship with your practice. The key here of course, is delivering on this promise. This suggests that making a substantial investment in providing the skills and training required to help graduates to progress in their careers will help you stand out even further. Embrace social media as a marketing tool to attract candidates, not just patients While social media is no longer new, there are still many practices that haven’t embraced it. Employers should have a presence on the social media sites and develop a social recruiting strategy. Relying solely on job postings will only reach a small portion of the new grad talent pool. Also, applications should be optimised for mobile devices, as fewer young people own desktop computers Use your culture to excite prospective new graduates While to some degree culture is determined by existing employees and their personalities, like any relationships, culture needs to be fostered and it needs work. Ask yourself what sort of culture you want and what you want to achieve by that. As it’s such a hot topic these days, you will need to be able to articulate and describe your culture during an interview. I probably would have struggled with this 10 years ago, but now I could easily discuss our culture, giving the interviewee a good idea of how they may fit into it. Most employees who The rules of attraction How to attract and hire the best graduates