Are job boards headed for extinction? If you listen to the rumors, they certainly are. You might even think their eminent death is drawing near, but then again, those same rumors have circulated on and off since 2011 and jobs boards are still alive and doing well. Although it doesn’t appear that job boards are going anywhere soon, if you are a healthcare job board or career center manager, there are some changes in how today’s healthcare professionals look for jobs that you really need to know about.

According to a 2013 AMN Healthcare survey, the number of clinicians using social media for job hunting opportunities has increased 42-percent since AMN’s first survey, which took place in 2010. While this may at first seem rather discouraging, consider that managers could simply put a spin on this and actually use social media to draw healthcare professionals to their job board.

As an example, Social Talent states that as job candidates become more connected on social media they are using the networks they develop to not only search out job ads, but to pass on employment opportunities to other friends and colleagues. For the savvy job board manager, establishing a presence on social media may not only help to get the word out about the job board itself, but could also help managers connect into these networks, making it more beneficial for everyone.

To do this successfully, however, takes time and the proper technique. Managers need to make an actual connection with job candidates rather than simply post a bunch of job ads, which social media users would simply consider spam. Instead, managers need to engage users first while also working to entertain and educate them. Those seeking jobs in the healthcare industry will then not only come willingly to your job board, but will also share the content that you have posted.

SEE ALSO: Will Mobile Optimization of Your Site Help Job Board Traffic?

Think Mobile

The other way that healthcare professionals are searching for jobs is through the use of their mobile devices. Interestingly, AMN Healthcare states that physicians are the ones most likely to use mobile devices to job hunt, while pharmacists are most likely to enlist social media as their first choice.

Since competition is often stiff for many of these types of jobs, many candidates now receive alerts on their phones to notify them of potential job matches. Setting up your job board to post these alerts can help to ensure that those seeking healthcare jobs know when to stop by your job board first.

One word of caution, however, if you are looking to draw candidates in to view your job board through a mobile device, you first need to ensure that your job board is actually mobile ready. This doesn’t simply mean that you can view the job board on a mobile device, but rather that the job board is easy to navigate, easy to read, and easy to use whenever it is viewed on a smartphone or tablet.