Canadian placement agencies specializing in health care are experts at recruiting in this sector. On the basis of this experience, many gave us their recommendations for candidates and their vision of the market.
EXPERIENCE ABOVE ALL!
Canadian placement agencies specializing in health care look mainly at the professional experience of candidates. When they receive a CV, recruiters obviously look at the applicant’s education: a university degree is universally recognized and will quickly open doors to all kinds of positions. Furthermore, Ontario recognizes only university degrees for the practice of health care professions. Recruiters pay even more attention to professional experience, however—the hospitals the person has worked in, the number of beds and how long the person worked there.
To get a good rating, a candidate should not have changed hospitals too often, and the period between jobs must not have been too long. Chances of finding a hospital job after six months of inactivity dwindle. Similarly, the work environment counts for a lot, with hospital experience much more highly valued than work in a retirement home, for example.
PITFALLS TO AVOID
There are other pitfalls to be avoided at any cost. While it is very common in some CVs to see references to unrelated jobs, specialized placement agencies are not interested in an applicant’s fast food industry or switchboard experience.
In addition, it is not uncommon for applicants to comment on hospital policies during an interview. This topic has no business being discussed unless the candidate is invited to do so.
VICIOUS HEALTH CARE CYCLE
The job market for health care professionals currently seems to be victim to a vicious cycle. Tight hospital budgets do not promote quality working conditions and salaries. Many hospitals are required to resort to part-time staff, despite their shortage of personnel, with the number of positions much fewer than their needs. Some health care professionals therefore decide to recycle themselves or work abroad, while others go through a placement agency to find work.