October 22, 2024
Episode 87:
5 Strategies to Get the Right Applicants for the Job
In this episode, I share 5 strategies to get the right applicants for the job.
Show Notes
Welcome back to the Designer Practice Podcast and I’m your host Kayla Das.
If you’ve ever tried to hire in your private practice, you know all too well that the process can feel daunting and sometimes even downright discouraging, especially if you don’t land a successful applicant on the first try.
Throughout my career, I’ve hired a lot of people and although I’ve certainly made mistakes along the way, I’ve learned a few things to help me land the right applicants.
So, in this episode, I’ll share with you five strategies to get the right applicants for the job.
Advertise Your Job Posting in the Right Places
The first strategy is to advertise your job posting in the right places. This might seem like a no brainer, but it’s not uncommon to see job postings in, well, not the wrong places, but the less helpful places.
Let me give you an example of what I mean. Job sites such as Indeed are great sites when searching for a common everyday position. For example, if you’re looking for an administrative assistant, job sites are a great place to advertise your posting. However, if you’re looking to hire someone for a highly specialized job, such as a therapist who has training in a specific modality and you want to hire them on an independent contractor basis, a job site might not be the best place to advertise, especially if you intend for it to be the only place that you’ll advertise. This is because although individuals who have high level of training and skills may be searching on job sites, you’re more likely to find the right candidate by posting somewhere that has a higher traffic of the right type of professionals.
So going back to my example, if you are looking to hire a therapist with a specific level of education, let’s say in EMDR, you are, looking to hire them on an independent contractor basis, it would be better to advertise through professional associations, such as the Canadian Association of Social Workers, or Canadian Psychological Association, or other provincial level associations in the province that you’re located.
Also, if there are specific job sites that are more relevant for helping professionals or therapists, posting on them can help you land the right applicants better than posting on traditional generic job sites. And again, this is because you’re much more likely to find more professionals who have the skills that you’re looking for through these avenues than on traditional job sites.
So, you might be thinking to yourself, can I still advertise through job sites if I advertise on association sites? You certainly can because it is possible that the right applicants are searching on job sites as well. However, it’s important to be prepared for two things.
When you post on job sites, you will definitely have hundreds of applicants from individuals who do not have the qualifications for the position. For example, even though you might clearly state on your job posting that you’re looking for someone with a master’s level of education in a therapy field with a specialization in EMDR, you will get resumes from people who are not reviewing the job posting and simply posting to every job that they see in hopes that something will land. So, you will be spending a little bit more time going through applications to ensure that the applicants meet even the basic level of education needed for the position.
The second thing to be prepared for is that most people searching through job sites are expecting to be hired as an employee and may have very limited if no knowledge about what the roles and expectations are of being an independent contractor. Even though when you post on association websites this could also be true of therapists searching there, you’re much more likely to find individuals who understand what being an independent contractor means. And even then, as we’re going to discuss in point two, you’re going to also be transparent on what that means as well.
So, ensure that you’re strategic about where you advertise your posting, so that you are much more likely to find the right applicants for the job, while decreasing the amount of time that you spend sifting through irrelevant and unhelpful applications.
Be Transparent in Your Job Postings
The next strategy is being transparent in your job postings. When you write a job posting, it should be clear and transparent and explain the job duties, special skills, or trainings required for the job, the pay rate or pay split, whether it’s part time or full time, and if you’re looking for an independent contractor, be specific about that and briefly explain what an independent contractor is and what it looks like in your practice. As I mentioned earlier, not everyone understands of what it means to be an independent contractor.
For instance, some applicants may think that they are applying as an employee and assume that it will be steady income, that they will receive health benefits, that they’ll be contributing to employment insurance and CPP, which isn’t the case for independent contractors. So by briefly explaining the differences, you can weed out any applicants that would eventually turn your offer down due to differing job expectations and benefits.
If you’d like to learn more about each job structure, I have a podcast episode, episode 38, that explains the differences between an employee and independent contractor, so you can determine which is best for you and your practice. I’ll link the episode down in the show notes.
Be Competitive (Beyond Pay)
Thirdly, be competitive beyond just pay. If you can afford to pay top dollar, of course, feel free to go ahead and do that. However, realistically, not every practice can afford to give competitive pay initially. But fortunately, there are other types of benefits that you could provide to new hires so that you’re competitive beyond just the pay. For example, you could provide free-to-use office space, built in and free clinical supervision, offer an educational account, or any other benefit that your practice can realistically provide.
One consideration though when providing money-based incentives such as access to an educational account is to set a dollar limit on how much someone can spend per year and also provide a minimum number of hours or clients that they would need to work with before they can access the educational account. Otherwise, you may have people sign on to work with you, they’ll use the educational account and leave your agency, but which doesn’t really benefit you or your practice at all.
Personally, I like requiring a specific number of hours when providing such benefits, as it’s relevant to both employees and independent contractors that you hire in your practice. For example, if the minimum number of hours needed to access the educational account is 500 hours, then someone working full time at 40 hours per week will be able to access the account in three months. Someone working part time at, say, 20 hours per week can access the account in a little over six months. And someone who is only working sporadically, let’s say 10 hours per week, will be able to access the account a little after one year working with you.
Also, ensure that you provide a cap on the number of dollars you’re willing to pay per person per year is also important so that you’re not guaranteeing an indefinite number of dollars towards continual education. Many therapy trainings are expensive and it may not be realistic for you to pay thousands of dollars for someone to take a specific training. However, you might be able to provide a hundred dollars towards an educational program each year.
Finally, in your contracts, you should also add a line to the educational account that says “at the employee’s discretion.” Meaning that you get to approve any educational program that they want to enroll in before you commit to paying. This is because at the end of the day, you want to ensure that what you’re paying for is going to be investment in you and your practice while the person works for you.
Let me give you an example. If you hire a therapist and they want to enroll in an EMDR advanced training course, you would probably approve that as it helps you in your practice while they continue to work for you. However, if a therapist wants to enroll in a marketing program so that they can improve their own private practice, that might not be something that you’re willing to approve. So having the magic line of “at the employer’s discretion” can protect you from employees or independent contractors using the educational account frivolously.
Interview for Intrinsic Motivation vs. Experience or Skill
Next, interview applicants for intrinsic motivation over experience or skill. In other words, interview to determine if they are intrinsically motivated for the job and to work with the clients that your practice serves. Instead of hiring solely for the years of experience or number of skills or trainings that an applicant has.
Of course, there’s a baseline of education or credentialing depending on the person that you want to hire. So going back to my example, if you’re looking for a therapist to conduct EMDR therapy with clients, applicants must have an educational level to be a therapist, and they must also have some additional training or certification in EMDR so that they can conduct the work. That’s a no brainer. However, it’s common for most businesses to hire based on the years of experience, or hiring based on the number of therapeutic trainings someone has. Even if it’s not relevant to the position at hand, it just looks good.
But the unfortunate truth is, just because someone has, say, 20 years of experience in the field, or dozens of trainings, doesn’t mean that they’re intrinsically motivated to work with the clientele that your practice serves, or a good fit for working at your agency.
You can teach skill. You can provide experience. But you cannot train intrinsic motivation or manufacture fit.
You might be wondering to yourself, if people aren’t intrinsically motivated for the job, then why would anyone apply?
Well, it’s not uncommon for people to apply for jobs for extrinsic reasons, such as necessity or income. There are actually five reasons why someone might apply for a job.
First, the applicant doesn’t have employment or is in need to supplement part time employment, so they are applying to fill an employment gap.
Secondly, they have full time employment, but are extremely unhappy or burnt out at their current position, and they want to get out of the job that they’re in.
Thirdly, they apply for a position for the increase in pay, regardless if they think that they’ll like the job or not.
Next, some people enter a profession or apply for a job due to strong encouragement or pressures from others, such as family or friends.
Or, and this is what we want to see, is that they are intrinsically motivated by the work and are excited to work with the clientele regardless of the pay.
However, it’s important to acknowledge that each reason is not mutually exclusive and they can overlap. For instance, someone can be intrinsically motivated by the but also appreciate and apply for a pay raise. Or someone could have part time employment and need to supplement income with a second job but also feel burnt out and want to get out of their part time job. Or someone could feel pressure to be in a specific career by family or friends and actually enjoy and be intrinsically motivated by it as well.
So, it’s your responsibility as an employer to determine intrinsic motivation and fit as there are so many extrinsic motivators that might entice someone to apply, that might not be a fit for your organization.
And when I say we want to determine intrinsic motivation, I don’t just mean intrinsic motivation to be a therapist, although that’s of course part of it. But intrinsic motivation to be an independent contractor, to work with the clients that you serve, to work with the modalities that you’re hiring them for. Because I don’t know about you, but I love collecting knowledge, and honestly, I collect degrees, diplomas, and certificates like they’re badges of honor. But it doesn’t mean that I enjoy or even align with all of them.
So going back to our example, you could be interviewing a therapist with extensive training in EMDR, but it’s possible that the applicant doesn’t align with the approach, but instead took the training for external reasons, such as gaining continuing education credits, to be more employable through additional training, or they could be like me and take trainings as if they’re a collector’s item.
So, all I’m saying is, don’t just assume that because someone is a therapist and they have experience working with a particular population or have a training in a specific modality that they are intrinsically motivated to conduct the work, or that they’re a fit for your practice. So incorporate questions in the interview process to focus specifically on pulling out intrinsic motivators, as it can help you get the right applicant the first time. And also, it can help develop a positive work culture in your practice.
Repost the Job Posting (If Necessary)
Finally, repost the job posting if necessary. It’s common to not find the right applicant the first time around. So, by reposting your job posting, you’re opening up the job for a new round of potential employees or independent contractors.
Although having to repost a position can feel disheartening as you’ve spent so much time going through resumes, interviewing candidates, and in some cases, even getting ready to give an offer when you either realize that the person is not a fit, or they turned your offer down.
If this is you, I want to reframe this situation for you. I want you to think about it this way. Everything happens for a reason, and it’s so much better to repost a position and eventually find the right person for the job, then it is to hire someone who might not be a fit for your practice and leave shortly thereafter.
When you’re looking to get the right applicants for the job, this doesn’t mean you’re going to find them immediately. Sometimes it takes time and patience, but they are out there somewhere. Remember, not finding the right fit the first time around isn’t the reflection on you or your practice.
And this brings me to one more point about how to get the right applicants for the job. If you’re looking for a highly skilled or niched individual, such as an EMDR therapist, for example. It’s also possible that there is a supply-demand issue, which makes it even harder to find the right applicant.
For example, if there is a low supply of EMDR therapists seeking independent contractor work, yet a high demand of therapists with the skills, it could take even more time and effort to find this person.
But what if you were willing to train someone who is a good fit for your practice? What if you invested in someone who is intrinsically motivated to build these skills, to work with the clientele that your practice serves, and who’s a fit for your practice, but they might not yet have the experience or training? Remember what I said before, you can give experience, you can teach skill, but you cannot train intrinsic motivation or create a good fit.
So, if you found someone through the interview process who is motivated to do the work, who wants to build the skills, and overall is a great fit, you can ask yourself, do I have the capacity to invest in this individual?
I know when I first started my career how hard it was to find a job. Everybody wants the most years of experience or the top trainings, but not willing to give a newbie a chance. Even though I was highly motivated and overall, a very hard worker, and I still am by the way, it’s not until someone is willing to take a chance on you, do you get your big break. And if you think someone is worth taking a chance on and you have the capacity to support that individual in building their skills. Why couldn’t you?
Sometimes the employee or independent contractor just doesn’t exist yet or is not in the job market at this time. But what if you created that individual, gave someone a chance, they might just come back and help you a hundred times over for your effort.
Conclusion
So, let’s recap the five strategies to get the right applicant for the job.
One, advertise your job posting in the right places.
Two, be transparent in your job posting.
Three, be competitive beyond just pay.
Four, interview for intrinsic motivation versus experience or skill.
And five, repost the job posting if needed.
Thank you for tuning in to today’s episode and if you like this episode or the Designer Practice Podcast overall, I would really appreciate if you could share the podcast with a colleague so they can benefit from these episodes as well. The more people listen the merrier.
Until next time. Bye for now.
Podcast Links
Episode 38, Employee vs. Independent Contractor: Which is best for you and your practice? kayladas.com/episode38
Free Boosting Business Community: facebook.com/groups/exclusiveprivatepracticecommunity
Canadian Clinical Supervision Therapist Directory Waitlist: canadianclinicalsupervision.ca
Credits & Disclaimers
Music by ItsWatR from Pixabay
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