Kerry Kennedy, Regional Manager of Recruitment & Workforce Planning, Horizon Health Network

Recruitment, often referred to as talent acquisition in the Human Resources (HR) world, is a function of HR that involves bringing people outside of the organization in.

Successful and sustainable recruitment at Horizon is vitally important, as our dedicated employees provide safe and quality patient care to New Brunswickers ever day; without them, there would be no health care services.

Health careers are vast and complex. Some are very recognizable, like nursing, while others may be less well known, such as medical device reprocessing. Both careers are critical when a patient requires a lifesaving surgery.

The hiring market today is not the same as it was 25 years ago. With a more transient workforce we are responding to a candidate-driven market that is highly competitive and that has evolved significantly with technology.

Years ago people scoured the local newspaper looking for job advertisements, but now potential employees have the convenience of looking for jobs online. Social media, especially, has created a platform that can entice individuals to check out opportunities based on their online profile.

Horizon's Talent Acquisition Strategy is candidate-focused. The recruitment initiatives currently in motion are responsive to the hiring market and are driven by a positive candidate experience for all. 

Early relationships are key to success! 

We start to engage students early through career awareness events, such asTake Our Kids to Work Day, high school co-op programs, college and university presentations and job shadowing. We encourage students to start thinking very early about a career in health care.

Potential candidates are unaware of the variety of careers available within Horizon that are a good fit for all interests and talent.  Hundreds of career choices are available to choose from, including non-clinical (administrative support, trades, finance, environmental services, etc.) and clinical roles (lab technician, physiotherapist, registered nurse, etc.).

Horizon is always seeking the right people for the right role who share our common purpose- providing safe and quality patient care.

To me, a successful recruitment matches a candidate with a job and provides a positive candidate experience.  It also means that we have increased our candidate pool for future consideration.

Candidates who are positively engaged will share their experience, maintain interest with the potential employer and promote as an employer of choice. We strive to achieve this with each candidate interaction.

You can visit Horizon's career website for current opportunities and follow Horizon's social media channels to learn more about the variety of careers and recruitment events.