Having skilled, dedicated neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) is essential to ensuring quality outcomes in any neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Yet, connecting with top talent isn’t always easy, especially amid healthcare staffing shortages. Fortunately, there are several ways you can improve your NNP outreach. Here are a few strategies to try.
How to Boost Your NNP Outreach
1. Send Event Invitations
If your organization will be attending a career fair, conference, or other networking event, send messages to candidates letting them know you’ll be there. Better yet, offer an RSVP or meeting request directly in your message. Be sure to include details like your booth number or where to find you at the event, as well as a link for registration for attendees’ convenience.
2. Make Personal Connections
One way to garner interest from candidates is to make a personal connection. For example, if you notice that they attended the same medical school or completed the same residency program as one of your staff members, you might consider using that as an icebreaker. These professional connections can help candidates relate to you better, which could result in more responses.
3. Target NNP Program Directors
If you’re looking to recruit new graduate NNPs, consider reaching out to NNP program directors. Ask them to share information about your openings with students in their programs, which could help to ensure that your hospital gets noticed.
4. Build Your Pipeline Now
Part of successful healthcare recruiting is looking into the future to anticipate upcoming needs. Even if your NICU is fairly well-staffed at the moment, be sure to consider how your needs may change over time. For example, if you have several NNPs who will be retiring or if the population is increasing steadily in your area, start sourcing right away so you’ll be ready to address gaps when the time comes.
By building up your pipeline, nurturing professional relationships, and focusing on networking now, you’ll be better able to meet your talent needs later on. It’s also a good idea to keep qualified candidates whose timing may not have aligned with your needs in your pipeline.
5. Follow Up Again
You likely already know to follow up with candidates after you first reach out to them. Yet, we recommend that instead of just following up once, you reach out again a bit later (after a month or so) with a simple, direct message. By this point, it’s possible that their professional lives have changed, and they may be considering new career opportunities. Even if they’re not interested, you could also ask for a referral.
At Ensearch, we know that attracting the best NNPs is no easy feat, even with these and other strategies. To simplify your recruiting efforts, allow our specialists to match your facility with the best possible NNP for your open positions. Get started with our no-cost Comparative Needs Analysis today. We’ll create a customized search plan that meets the unique needs of your hospital or practice.
