In Switzerland, people working in healthcare professions actively search for a new job far less frequently than those in most other industries. This is mainly due to the severe shortage of skilled healthcare professionals.
Healthcare institutions, hospitals and Spitex organizations have been under pressure for years to fill open positions. At the same time, the number of qualified applications often falls short of expectations. The reason is not necessarily a poor job advertisement or a lack of visibility. Rather, the healthcare labor market has fundamentally changed.
Active job seekers are the exception in healthcare
Healthcare professions have been among the occupations with the most severe skills shortages in Switzerland for years. As a result, the labor market is highly competitive. Numerous vacancies compete for a limited number of qualified professionals.
This has a direct impact on candidate behavior. Many healthcare professionals do not need to actively search for a new position. They are regularly approached by employers, receive recommendations through their network, or move directly to another employer.
In addition, many professionals remain in the healthcare sector despite the demanding working conditions. Instead of leaving the profession, they often change employers or move internally, frequently without ever actively searching on job portals.
For employers, this means: Those who rely solely on traditional job advertisements reach only a small portion of the available talent pool.
The real target group is passive candidates
While active job seekers are consciously looking for a new position, passive candidates are generally open to changing jobs but are not actively searching.
In healthcare, this group represents a large share of the available talent pool. Many healthcare professionals are not fully satisfied with their current employer but would only consider changing jobs if they became aware of an attractive opportunity. This is exactly why publishing vacancies on job portals alone is often not enough. Successful healthcare recruiting today means reaching candidates where they already spend their time – for example on social media, through personal networks or via targeted employer branding activities. Learn here why 75–85% of Swiss healthcare professionals start their job search on Google rather than on traditional job portals.
Why social recruiting works particularly well in healthcare
Since passive candidates are not actively searching for jobs, employers need to become visible before a concrete desire to change jobs even arises. Social media recruiting offers the ideal conditions for this. Instead of waiting for healthcare professionals to search for vacancies, employers can continuously present their employer brand and promote open positions to the right audience.
Authentic employee insights, short videos from everyday working life and success stories from the team create attention and trust. At the same time, vacancies can be shown precisely to the people whose professional background makes them suitable for the position.
This transforms passive reach into active talent acquisition.
Successful healthcare recruiting requires more than job advertisements
The best results are usually achieved by combining several measures:
Targeted social recruiting campaigns
A strong employer brand
Employee referrals
Simplified application processes
Visibility on Google for Jobs and relevant platforms
Direct outreach to potential candidates
The key is to keep barriers for interested candidates as low as possible. Especially in healthcare, complex application processes often cause potential candidates to drop out. Learn here why simple application processes are becoming increasingly successful.
Conclusion
In healthcare professions, fewer people actively search for a new job than the average across other industries. Instead, passive candidates dominate and need to be actively approached. This makes healthcare recruiting particularly challenging: Employers need to focus more on active sourcing, a strong employer brand, Google for Jobs and direct outreach instead of simply waiting for incoming applications.
Companies that want to successfully recruit healthcare professionals today should therefore not focus exclusively on active job seekers. The greater opportunity lies with passive candidates. The most successful employers maintain continuous visibility, build trust and reach potential candidates before they even start looking for a new job.
Through targeted job ads, employer branding content and simplified application processes, healthcare professionals can be reached exactly where they spend their time every day. At the same time, digital application channels make it easy for interested candidates to get in touch with employers quickly and conveniently.
This is exactly what two.jobs specializes in. Through social media recruiting, targeted job ads, employer branding and simplified application processes, we already help more than 900 companies successfully reach passive candidates and fill vacancies faster.
Would you like to discover the untapped potential in your healthcare recruiting? Schedule a non-binding consultation with us. Together, we will analyze your current situation and show you concrete ways to attract more qualified healthcare professionals.
