Not for everyone: Why honesty wins in healthcare hiring

The healthcare industry is in the midst of a recruitment crisis—and it’s not one that can be solved with bigger signing bonuses. The issues run deep—cutting into the culture, expectations, and realities of the work itself.  

Long hours, chronic understaffing, and emotionally demanding workloads are pushing healthcare workers to their limits. Burnout is widespread. Turnover is high. And waves of early retirements are accelerating an already severe staff shortage. In the U.S. alone, the projected shortfall for registered nurses exceeds 500,000. 

The same issues persist on a global scale. The World Health Organization predicts a deficit of 11.1 million health workers by 2030—a figure that reflects not just a supply issue, but a systemic disconnect between how roles are sold and how they’re experienced on the ground.  

A 2024 survey by Mayo Clinic found that nearly half (49%) of healthcare workers reported feeling burned out. One in five experienced depression. And 41% of nurses said they plan to leave their roles within two years.  

Yet despite these stark realities, healthcare remains one of the fastest-growing job markets in the world. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry is expected to add 1.9 million new jobs to the market each year between 2021 and 2031—more than any other sector.  

This paints a complex and frustrating picture of the healthcare industry: soaring demand, yet persistent staffing gaps; competitive pay, but high turnover. 

The average healthcare recruiter today is juggling 61 open roles at a time. Offer rates are 70% higher than the global average, yet acceptance rates are 12 lower. Qualified candidates get to the offer stage—and then opt out.  

So, what's really going wrong?   

The problem isn’t about pay or perks. It’s about trust.  

There’s a growing disconnect between what organizations say about healthcare careers and what they actually are. And candidates are no longer willing to be sold a version of a job that doesn’t hold up.  

It’s time for a different approach—one rooted in radical transparency.  

The big shift: From selling roles to telling the truth 

For too long, healthcare employer brands have been selling sunshine: highlighting team camaraderie, meaningful work, and the privilege of saving lives. And while these things can be true, they’re only part of the story. The full picture includes relentless pressure, under-resourced teams, and emotional exhaustion that builds shift after shift.  

To improve both acceptance and retention rates, organizations need to embrace the Give & Get  of their roles—both the highs and the harsh realities. It’s not about selling a pipedream. It’s about embracing your brand of difficult and being completely upfront about it. Healthcare is not for everyone—and that’s exactly the point.  

Some healthcare providers are beginning to recognize the importance of transparency in recruitment.  

One example of a more authentic approach is NYC Health + Hospital’s “Nurses4NYC” recruitment campaign of 2023. This campaign broke away from traditional feel-good messaging, focusing instead on truthful storytelling—real nurses openly acknowledging the challenges of the profession, while highlighting what they get in return.  

The campaign attracted candidates who were genuinely prepared for the realities of the work. Because they weren’t misled, they came with their eyes wide open and ready to give their all.  

This strategy exemplifies the Give & Get  philosophy: by openly communicating the realities of healthcare roles—including the challenges and the rewards—organizations can attract candidates who are not only qualified but also resilient and committed. In an industry where burnout is prevalent and retention is critical, radical honesty isn't just ethical—it's strategic. 

Give & Get methodology flips traditional recruitment marketing on its head. Instead of trying to be attractive to everyone, it’s about repelling the many to compel the few—the right candidates who are aligned with your mission and willing to rise to the challenge.  

It’s the best way to not only improve candidate acceptance rates, but boost employee retention rates, too. When you tell the full story—the highs and  the lows—you build trust and compel the right candidates to choose you and stay with you. 

"There are significant mental health challenges in the veterinary industry: compassion fatigue, difficult client conversations, and high student debt. But instead of shying away from these truths, we show candidates how we support our associates using role-specific landing pages and storytelling.” 

Ally Brown, Employer Brand Manager | VCA Animal Hospitals 

 
Struggling to craft compelling stories?  Download our storytelling matrix—a tried-and-tested framework for creating stories that stick. 

Candidate experience: The true test of your employer brand  

To be truly effective, healthcare organizations can’t just tell  honest stories—they have to live  them. And candidates need to experience  them—from the first click on your careers site to their first day on the job. Every interaction should reflect the reality of your culture—its challenges, its purpose, and its promise.  

An authentic candidate experience does more than drive applications—it delivers strategic advantage.  

In healthcare hiring, the stakes are uniquely high. Every misaligned candidate can impact patient care, increase burnout, and strain your workforce. That’s why creating a candidate experience that’s an honest reflection of your culture isn’t a nice-to-have—it's business-critical. 

Your hiring process will become a filter that repels mismatched talent and compels the right people to join—helping you drive business and patient outcomes.  

“The most successful content speaks specifically (what is it like to be a female doctor at your company) and generally (what your universal culture is like). You should communicate what makes your workplace unique (and why they should choose you!)” Stories Inc 

Ready to turn your candidate experience into competitive advantage?  Happydance careers websites are expertly developed to optimize the candidate experience at every touch point—from first click to a job they love—helping you achieve higher conversion rates, faster hiring cycles, and better recruitment outcomes.  

Brutal honesty = better hires 

How to embed radical transparency into every stage of the candidate journey:  

• Use clear language in job descriptions that outlines the emotional and operational realities of the role. No sugarcoating.  
• Share candid video content from your existing employees that highlights their “why”— and their “what’s hard”, including common challenges faced in their roles. 
• Be open about the support and training employees will receive to help them overcome common challenges. 
• Conduct values-based interviews that test a candidate’s resilience and tolerance in relation to your role as part of the hiring process. 

“Healthcare professionals quickly see through false advertising, so organizations need to be honest and upfront when communicating their employer brand. This means not sugarcoating the organization’s mission, vision, or values but instead being sincere in how they are presented—at every stage of the candidate journey.” iHire 

Teams that have embraced this approach are seeing results.  

CommonSpirit Health—one of the largest non-profit healthcare organizations in the United States—has found there’s no substitute for having current employees land future employees. “Having our employees tell our story has been really effective for us”, says Wanda Cole-Frieman, Senior Vice President of Talent Acquisition. “Whether it’s video testimonials or spotlights on our website, a little glimpse of what it’s really like to work at CommonSpirit has been really helpful.” 

Ally Brown from VCA Animal Hospitals shared the impact of being honest about the challenges of their roles—it hasn't driven candidates away, it’s helped to seal the deal: 

“The next generation of veterinary talent crave authentic human interaction and want content to help them experience the truth of the culture. One way we're doing this is working with veterinary students who visit our hospitals, work with staff, and share their experience via authentic video. By focusing on stories, personality, and purpose, we’re able to differentiate ourselves and attract the right talent.” 

The truth landed the right person. That’s the power of aligned expectations. 

The best healthcare hiring tool you’re not yet using: The truth 

Healthcare is not for everyone. And that’s okay. In fact, that’s the point.  

The goal isn’t to charm every candidate or attract every opportunity. It’s to compel the few who can handle the reality of the role. Honesty isn’t risky. It’s revolutionary.  

So let’s stop hiding the hard parts. The ugly truths. Let’s lead with them. Because the right candidates aren’t scared off by the truth. They’re called  to it.  

And when they find a brand brave enough to say, “This is what it takes”, they say, “I’m in”. 

Ready for revolution?  

At Happydance, we create careers websites that help healthcare brands turn candidate experience into competitive advantage.  

Get in touch with the team today.