As Millennials make up a growing share of the physician workforce, adapting your physician recruitment strategies to meet their preferences is more critical than ever. One key insight? Millennials are digital natives, and their career decisions are strongly influenced by what they see on social platforms.

If your organization isn’t actively engaging this audience where they spend time online, you're missing a valuable opportunity to connect with qualified candidates.

Why Social Media Matters in Healthcare Recruitment

Millennials are highly active on digital platforms, with most engaging across multiple social channels daily. Before applying to a job or scheduling an interview, they’re likely to research your organization's online presence - from career pages and employee testimonials to social posts and video content.

For physician recruiters, sourcing specialists, and recruitment marketing teams, social media is not just a branding tool - it’s a front-line strategy for sourcing physicians effectively.

YouTube^*

YouTube is the hottest ticket for reaching and recruiting Millennials. 94% of Millennials endorse using the platform, making it the most popular for this demographic. YouTube is also the highest trafficked amongst all generations 49 years and younger, boasting numbers that exceed Facebook use.

Because YouTube has such a high engagement rate among Millennials, utilizing your channel to share videos about the culture, benefits, and available positions is an opportunity that should not be missed. YouTube offers advertising options so that you can be sure you are reaching Millennial physicians who are likely looking for new positions.

Snapchat^*

Younger Millennials use Snapchat more than any other generation. 78% endorse using Snapchat, often several times a day.

Older Millennials rank second in the use of this platform, with more than half endorsing use of Snapchat.

Instagram*

Younger Millennials report the highest use of Instagram amongst those surveyed. 71% of this age group endorse using this social media platform. Older Millennials also report high use of Instagram, with over half endorsing regular use.

Physician recruiting strategies on Instagram are often geared towards determining whether the position is an ideal cultural match. This works in two ways:

1. Potential employees are able to research your company to determine whether the values expressed match their personal preferences and expectations.
2. Physician recruiters are able to review a potential employee's public profile to assess whether that person will be a good match for the current team.

X (FKA Twitter)^*

Millennials are the largest group of Twitter users. Approximately 40% of Millennials endorse using the platform. Twitter offers both Organic and Paid Advertising physician recruiting opportunities. While Twitter does not have the long sessions that occur on YouTube and Facebook, it can be a great place to build brand awareness among Millennial physicians so that they are aware of your opportunities when they are ready to seek employment.

Facebook*

Recent findings suggest that Facebook use amongst Millennials has declined but continues to be high, with 80% of Millennials endorsing its use. Your physician recruiting strategies should include a mix of Organic and Paid Social content that targets potential employees and exposes them to the job offerings that are available as well as incentives such as benefits and cultural factors.

LinkedIn^*

LinkedIn continues to be an effective way to reach prospective hires, with 50% of college educated Americans endorsing use of its platform. Recent benchmarks indicate that 90?percent of physicians use Facebook, and 70?percent use LinkedIn; among those on Facebook, 70?percent log in daily, with half using it multiple times per day (“2024 AAPPR Benchmarking Report”)—making it a high-engagement recruitment channel.

Recruiting Millennials Through Advertising

Millennials are also breaking the mold when it comes to advertising. Unlike other generations, Millennials are more likely to sit through paid advertisements if the content is free (2). Free content appears to be the driving force for their acceptance of this media intrusion. An important caveat to this finding is that, although they will sit through paid advertising, they are more likely to be engaged during that time in alternate social media use (2).

Your physician recruiting strategies must be geared towards the platforms on which Millennials spend the majority of their time in order to effectively target them with new employment opportunities. For this highly social generation, social media recruitment strategies must continue to be refined and expanded.

Article originally published 5/26/2020. Updated 4/15/2025.

Laura Kleffner is the VP of Marketing Operations at PracticeMatch.

She has been with PracticeMatch since 2014. Laura is responsible for the PracticeMatch marketing strategy to reach physicians as well as healthcare organizations with a need for physician recruitment resources.