Health system chief human resources officers in the top-ranked metropolitan areas for new graduate hiring are competing with other booming industries — and seeing more applicants from outside healthcare, such as tech, finance, retail and hospitality.
A recent study from payroll provider ADP determined the four best metropolitan areas for college degree holders in their 20s, based on annual wage estimates, cost of living and hiring rates: Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.; and Columbus, Ohio.
Becker’s connected with nine CHROs in the new graduate hiring hot spots to explore whether they are seeing an increase in applicants from non-traditional backgrounds and how they are attracting and retaining them.
Applicants at Tampa, Fla.-based Moffitt Cancer Center have increased by four times over each of the past four years, according to CHRO Jack McKenna. He said Tampa’s emergence as a top-tier new-grad market has changed the competitive landscape for every employer — including healthcare, which is competing directly with technology, finance and professional services for early-career talent.
CHROs pointed to a few backgrounds they are seeing in recent applicants.
“Moffitt receives a growing share of applicants from data, software, finance, communications and operations backgrounds who want their work tied to a clear mission,” Mr. McKenna said. “Cancer care is one of the few fields where a new grad in analytics, IT, supply chain or marketing can see a direct line from their work to a patient outcome, and that mission is increasing our talent pipeline.”
Birmingham, Ala.-based Encompass Health is seeing growing interest from candidates with non-traditional backgrounds, particularly for non-clinical roles that do not require a healthcare license, CHRO Tony Hernandez said. Many of the applicants come from industries like retail, hospitality and business. They tend to bring strong service and people-first skills, and their passion for helping others makes them a natural fit for patient-facing support roles, he said.
Across the hot-spot metros, CHROs described a similar pattern: Nonclinical applicants are clustering in business, administrative and operations roles.
In the Tampa Bay region, Clearwater, Fla.-based BayCare is seeing strong interest from new graduates in business and administrative roles, such as marketing, finance and information services, Chief Team Resources Officer Nikki Daily said.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Health Care is seeing a similar mix, drawing candidates in areas such as business operations, IT, finance, human resources and facilities services, CHRO Dawn Rorig said.
At Columbus, Ohio-based Mount Carmel Health System, the entry points skew slightly different: business and operations roles, as well as customer service and hospitality-facing positions such as patient access and supply chain, CHRO Amanda McCullouch said.
Why healthcare?
The pitch healthcare is making — and that new graduates are buying — comes down to two things: mission and stability.
Qiana Williams, CHRO of Birmingham, Ala.-based Baptist Health, the Alabama region of Orlando (Fla.) Health, also noted that people are increasingly recognizing health systems are made up of far more than just clinicians.
“The continued growth in healthcare-related jobs reflects that healthcare remains one of the few industries where people see long-term opportunity, meaningful work, and the chance to do something truly transformative all at once,” Ms. Williams said. “We’re also seeing new graduates who are energized by the opportunity to help reshape healthcare because they recognize the industry is ripe for innovation, operational redesign, and new ways of thinking about care delivery and the patient experience.”
Candidates from other industries are also attracted to healthcare’s “relative stability” compared to the volatility of other industries, Ms. McCullouch said.
Plus, as recent college graduates enter one of the toughest entry-level job markets in years and face uncertainty with artificial intelligence reshaping early career roles, healthcare has emerged as a possible landing spot, as it has remained largely insulated from the AI job losses facing other industries.
Retaining new graduates with non-healthcare backgrounds
To attract and retain new graduates from outside healthcare, several systems are building partnerships with schools and early-career programs that create a clear path from student to employee.
Lorina Wise, CHRO of Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Children’s Hospital, said providing clear career pathways and growth opportunities is vital to attract and retain top new graduates. The system offers events such as career fairs and experiences like mentorship and shadowing in collaboration with area schools to show upcoming graduates the opportunities available to them, Ms. Wise said.
To support new graduates at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, the system launched a pilot for rising undergraduate seniors targeting opportunities in finance, marketing, quality, supply chain, analytics and information technology, with a goal of creating a seamless transition from Ohio State student to Ohio State employee, CHRO Sarah Sherer said.
Stanford Health Care is leveraging its administrative summer internship program to attract and retain new graduates with non-healthcare backgrounds. The program offers hands-on experience in nonclinical roles while allowing students to better understand healthcare operations and the value proposition of working at an academic medical center, Ms. Rorig said.
Moffitt Cancer Center has taken a unique approach: building a workforce brand ambassador system. It allows current team members in nonclinical roles — like IT, EVS, research operations and finance — to share what their roles look like on social platforms.
“For a new grad weighing offers from a tech company and a cancer center, hearing it from a peer who took that path is far more persuasive than any recruiting campaign we could run on our own,” Mr. McKenna said.
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.