Candidate market 2024 in care: High expectations and optimism despite the crisis

Even in the crisis year 2024, the desire for professional improvement is the strongest motive for applying for a job in nursing. 64.4% of nursing applicants in the softgarden study “Candidate Portrait 2024: What makes applicants tick” (German-only) cited this as the reason. Only a small minority of 4.7% applied because they had been made redundant. Outside of nursing, this figure is significantly higher (8.9%).

The study, for which softgarden surveyed 4,312 applicants directly from the application process, shows that nursing applicants are not looking for just any jobs, but better jobs and employers.

Motives for the application

The most important issues in this desire to improve are:

• Career prospects and development opportunities (58.5% “strongly agree” responses)
• Work content (56.9%)
• The nature of the collaboration (53.9%)

It is striking that the desire for a career is significantly less pronounced among nursing applicants than outside the profession (65.3%).

Candidates as clients

The softgarden study also shows that the majority of job seekers are optimistic despite the current mood of crisis. They do not believe that the crisis will worsen their own job prospects. While this proportion is 59.3% outside the care sector, it is as high as 76.0% among applicants for care professions.

A clear majority of 56.3% (“strongly agree” and “somewhat agree”) also identify with the statement “Applicants today are customers: Employers have to make an effort for them”.

Nursing staff are aware that they are in demand on the job market and can therefore appear more self-confident.

On an equal footing with employers

69.9% of nurses perceive their contact with employers during the application phase as acting “at eye level”. Nevertheless, 64.5% describe their approach to employers during job searches and applications as “cautious and modest”.

This attitude can be described as self-confident but down-to-earth.

The fact that there is no real salary competition between employers despite the shortage situation (in contrast to the situation in IT a few years ago, for example) is the only reason why the nursing sector is likely to gain traction.

Accordingly, the “level of salary” only plays a subordinate role in the job search: only 43.6% of nursing applicants put it in the top three places in their job search criteria.

By comparison, the figure for the aspect of “employee-friendly working culture” is 74.2% among applicants from the care sector.

Job ads for nursing staff: What really matters

Nurses don’t just look for new jobs based on the highest salary. Other criteria are more important when choosing an employer:

• Fit of the position with own skills and experience (68.3%)
• Compliance with personal wishes and expectations (66.6%)
• Appropriate salary (26.9%)

Although salary plays a role, it is not the decisive factor. Nursing staff want a job that suits them and where they feel comfortable.

Relocation? No thanks!

Nursing is currently the most critical bottleneck profession. The softgarden survey indicates that the conditions on the labor market have reached the minds of the nursing staff themselves. This is reflected in another survey result: 53.9% of nursing staff are not prepared to change their place of residence for a new job. In comparison: in IT, the rate is 44.5%.

Family ties (63.3%) and sufficient job offers in the region (31.7%) are cited as reasons.

Tips for employers: How to attract nursing staff

• Be quick: Carers are not desperately looking for jobs and do not wait long to hear back about an application. Employers who are fast in their processes have a clear advantage. Applicant tracking software can provide the decisive advantage here.
• Switch to convincing: In your job ads and on your careers page, clearly highlight the benefits of your job to set yourself apart from the competition.
• Actively manage employer reviews: Positive employer reviews provide more credibility in a highly competitive environment, especially when it comes to work culture, which is a high priority for nurses. As an employer, you should actively manage this factor. Find out how this can be done in the case study of our customer Agaplesion Bethanien Diakonie
• Offer competitive benefits: In the care sector, comprehensive benefits in job advertisements are not a matter of course. Competitive salary components are most likely to stand out here – as well as information on other pain points in the profession – such as a nurse-friendly shift schedule or relief from documentation obligations.
• Stay realistic: Don’t get annoyed with nursing applicants who are demanding in the interview. This is not a lack of character, but is in line with market conditions.

Conclusion

The evaluation shows that nursing applicants have high expectations of their future employers. They not only expect good pay and working conditions, but also development opportunities and appreciation.

The good news is that employers who can meet these needs have a good chance of attracting the best talent in the care sector.

With recruiting solutions like softgarden, many of these challenges can be mastered easily and effectively. Visit our topic page to find out more: Topic page “Recruiting in the care sector”