The Next Six Months in Healthcare Recruitment & Executive Search: What’s Changing and What You Need to Do Now
The healthcare hiring landscape is evolving rapidly, and both hospitals and candidates must act now to stay competitive. With 25% of the workforce—from clinical staff to finance professionals—leaving the industry, the stakes are high. Uncertainty around reimbursement, regulatory changes from Washington, D.C., and shifting hospital needs make recruitment and retention a critical, no-nonsense conversation. Hospitals must take a bold, strategic, and pragmatic approach to securing the talent they need.
Whether you’re running a hospital or planning your next executive move- Let’s have the conversation.
1. Hospitals: Think 12 Months Ahead in Executive Search
Hiring an executive? Start today.
If your hospital will need a CEO, CFO, CNO, or any key leader in the next year, don’t wait until there’s a crisis. Executive search isn’t a DIY project. The market is flooded with what looks like strong candidates—HR departments may feel confident—but the reality is:
➡️ The usual applicants aren’t always the right hires.
➡️ Top-tier leaders aren’t actively applying—they’re recruited. Great C-Suite candidates often want to be represented by a firm and have a partner to navigate a move in tandem with their future employer.
➡️ A search firm partnership is the only way to access a fresh, high-caliber candidate pool and know more about the candidate than what a resume shares.
Waiting until a leadership gap disrupts operations? That’s a multi-million-dollar mistake. Start now.
2. C-Suite Candidates: Be Ready to Pivot & Relocate
If you’re looking for a C-level move, get real about:
What you actually want in a job and culture.
Where you’re willing to go. (No more “I’ll think about relocation” after an offer.)
The financials. Research taxes, housing, and cost of living before the first interview.
A lower salary in the right city can mean more take-home pay than a higher salary in a high-tax state.
Smart candidates run the numbers, lock in their location flexibility, and move fast.
3. Licensed Staff Positions: Get Real Conversations Going
From RNs to Dietary Services, hospitals need to ditch corporate fluff and get to real-world conversations:
💬 Who’s influencing department morale?
💬 What’s the internal chatter about pay, schedules, and conditions?
💬 What changes are needed—and what won’t change, no matter how loud the complaints?
Either fix the problems or be transparent about what’s non-negotiable. Ignoring workforce realities is why turnover keeps climbing.
4. Streamline the Hiring Process: Red Carpet, Not Red Tape
Healthcare hiring should be seamless and lightning-fast. If your hiring process drags beyond two weeks, you’ve already lost top candidates.
Here’s what works:
A frictionless application experience – Make it mobile-friendly and simple.
Clear, constant communication – No more black holes.
A Recruitment Ambassador approach—Every candidate should have a dedicated point of contact, one who returns calls the same business day. Why? First, Fast and Kind is the absolutely free and best recruitment practice a hospital can leverage.
Make it easy for clinical and medical staff to apply, interview, and get hired (or declined) ASAP. Speed wins.
5. Ghosting is a Two-Way Street
There’s endless talk about candidates being ghosted by employers—and most of it is true and heartbreaking, especially for great candidates who need to work and provide. A job search when you need a job can be a soul-crushing experience. However, when it comes to ghosting, especially within the healthcare candidate pool, Candidates ghost employers just as often.
Candidates: If you apply and get contacted, you have 24 hours to respond. Period. If you can’t reply in a day, you’re not serious. Surgeon in a trauma case? Fine. Text back when you’re available.
Hospitals: Never end an interview without stating the next step. No more radio silence. If a candidate isn’t moving forward, have a clear, honest, timely process to let them know.
Many hospitals fear backlash (the post that goes viral) from giving real reasons for disqualifying candidates. Maybe:
Their references weren’t great.
They wanted too much money.
They just weren’t a fit. (Overtalked, under-talked, didn’t provide direct answers to questions, leadership style is abrasive, they don’t know their numbers, etc.)
But instead of transparency, HR dodges the conversation, leaving candidates in limbo. It’s unkind to the candidate. Hospitals risk damaging their reputation within the hiring network by failing to inform candidates when they are no longer being considered for a position.
Here’s the solution: Set clear hiring expectations from day one. Make decisions fast. Communicate them faster.
The Takeaway: The Future is Strategic, Not Reactive
Over the next six months:
Hospitals need to think ahead, move fast, and be transparent.
Candidates need to be flexible, responsive, and financially smart.
The healthcare job market is changing—those who adapt now will lead the industry forward.
And for the executive search market and the billionaire staffing firms dominating healthcare recruitment?
We need to do better.
There are 4,259 acute care hospitals in the U.S. today. Of the top five staffing firms, the top three rake in billions annually—yet the hiring process has never been more inefficient, expensive, and chaotic.
Since 2020, healthcare recruitment has turned into a noisy, messy battlefield, with startups and legacy firms fighting for market share. Hospitals that want to work with firms or need to —Be upfront about what you need, your budget and your expectations. Focus on finding the right partners for your hospital and take action. When the hospital, candidate, and hiring strategies align, the opportunities are endless.
As of January 2025, the American Hospital Association (AHA) reports 6,093 hospitals in the U.S., employing 5.6 million healthcare professionals (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2025). The U.S. hospital services market hit $1.4 trillion in 2024, with projections to reach $2.05 trillion by 2030.
This industry needs every RN, physician, Revenue Cycle Manager, and, yes, recruitment and search partner working smarter, better, and faster.
Hire wisely, find the right partners, and build the workforce that will sustain and grow healthcare in the future.
Nicole Barbano, Founder and Principal - Hunter Ambrose Int.
