Recruiting
The Human Capital Office is working diligently to increase the number of civilian health professionals. We champion a number of initiatives, including promoting direct hire authority, creating scholarship programs and educating the public about medical positions in the military. These efforts aim to improve recruitment, retention and readiness across the Military Health System (MHS).
Current initiatives and accomplishments:
Social Media Podcasts for Recruiters: The Human Capital Office (HCO) has launched a four-podcast series titled, "Recruiting for the MHS using Social Media." In this series, more than 10 different topics are explored, all intended for individuals whom are relatively new to the world of Social Media or at least new to using Social Media for recruiting purposes. Each podcast is approximately 20-30 minutes – please download and listen at your convenience! You can also find a comprehensive list of Social Media networking sites for the medically minded, as referenced in Podcast 3. This list is divided into categories, and includes a mixture of forums, blogs, static web sites, and social-media driven sites.
New DoD Hiring Reform website: The ODUSD Civilian Personnel Policy in P&R is leading the Department-wide effort on Hiring Reform to coincide with the President's focus on government-wide reform for streamlining the hiring process. They launched the DoD Hiring Reform website last week. This website provides information about hiring process and valuable resources -- including documents, checklists and posters that can be downloaded, and links to news, policy, and regulations related to hiring. Specific information is available to Hiring Managers, Human Resource Professionals and Job Announcement Authors.
Social Media Guide for Recruiters:
Because generations X & Y use social media daily, recruiters are routinely using social media channels to target and find just the right candidates. The MHS Human Capital Office has created a primer to help recruiters understand what social media is and how to start using it in recruiting. This primer, called, "Using Social Media in Recruiting" can be customized for use by our partner organizations. We hope you find this resource to be informative and useful.
Hiring Authorities:
Direct Hire Authority (DHA): As a result our efforts, the the Department of Defense direct hire authority for specific health positions was successfully extended. This authority was extended through 2010 and was delegated in a memorandum titled, “Redelegation of Authority under 8078 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010”.
Expedited Hiring Authority (EHA): The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2009 provides Military Components expedited hiring authority (EHA) to appoint highly qualified health care professionals into positions where there is a shortage. The use of EHA requires a candidate assessment to determine who is “highly qualified.” Although the EHA provides for a somewhat streamlined process, the candidate assessment requirement makes this authority less flexible than direct hire authority. This memo delegates this authority.
Report to Congress: The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2010 (section 1390) requests the Secretary of Defense submit a report to Congress on utilization of various hiring and pay authorities for civilian health care professionals. This report was signed on March 2, 2010.
Job Seeker’s Toolkit:
Highlights job vignettes for 52 medical professions found in the Department of Defense. Each vignette includes a job summary, a link to a PDF fact sheet about the profession and a link to a YouTube video that shows someone working in the profession. These vignettes are intended to help job seekers or students learn about options they have to work in civilian military health occupations.
Civilian Personnel Management Systems (CPMS) – Medical Recruiting:
CPMS has helpful links for DoD medical recruiters, including information about hiring authorities, policies, tips and tools for great recruiting.
MHS Internship:
This marks the first year of the MHS internship, which will provide two-year paid, rotational internships. Seven internships have been funded for the year, and an additional eight positions will be available in the future. The selection process is underway to choose recipients from more than 250 applicants. These internships focus on five occupations: Human Resource Specialist, Health Systems Specialist, Management Analyst, Financial Analyst and Information Technology Specialist.
TMA Acquisition Internships:
Tricare Management Activity (TMA) is seeking qualified candidates to fill multiple acquisition workforce internship positions in Falls Church, Va. Successful candidates must be able to attain Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level II certifications in the contracting career field within 24 months of appointment to their position.
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| Public Health Service Best Practice: Programs for Students. Students who are primarily juniors and seniors apply for health related work that lasts between 31-120 days. The program for Juniors and younger (called JRCOSTEP) pays a wage and there is no service pay-back upon completion. The program for Seniors (called SRCOSTEP) provides a wage, housing and food allowance and requires a 2 yr. service payback. For more information, click here. |
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| Air Force Best Practice: Live Chat Room. The Air Force website, airforce.com, includes, on every page, a link to chat with someone live. The chat function is staffed from 6 am to midnight most days of the week and chatters answer questions from potential candidates, school kids, parents and the public at large. For more information, click here. |