MediCarrera’s Study Tours – differences during the pandemic

A critical step towards a career in Scandinavia in our recruitment process is the Study Tour. After the registration, an interview with us, and contact with your references, it’s time for the study tour. The selected candidates are invited to be interviewed by the future employer to the specific region they are applying to (Sweden, Norway, or Denmark). But of course, because of the pandemic, the situation looks a bit different at the moment. In this blog post, we will explain to you a little bit more about the current situation.

Our usual study tours

MediCarrera’s relocation department arranges the study tours. After the first interview, if the candidate and the clinic want to proceed, they agree on the tour date. The relocation manager contacts the candidate to start planning the visit. First buys the plane tickets, then books a train or other transport from the airport to the place to be visited. If a taxi from the train to the hotel is needed, we also book that. Additionally, hotels are always booked, including breakfast.

We arrange a very detailed program for the first day they will be in the hospital. A schedule including exact times, which they should meet, what title they have (if they are HR, operations manager, unit manager, etc.), hours for the hospital tour, meeting with colleagues, and the final interview. Usually, there will also be lunch or dinner with the hospital representatives, and if a taxi needs to be booked to and from the hospital, we will take care of it. The candidate usually visits the hospital without a partner and children, but sometimes they are invited to lunch. If it’s a dinner invitation, the family is always welcome to join.

We also arrange a local English-speaking guide who provides excellent and helpful info about the place. We usually ask the candidates if they have any special interests or if the children have special leisure activities to see if they can get more information about these specific things. Lunch can sometimes be included with the guide.

If no lunches or dinners are included with the hospital or the guide, we will arrange it for them. In that case, they are usually allowed to eat at the hotel and put it on the room bill. All costs above are included. If the candidate wants to buy something personal, like a coffee or a souvenir, they pay themselves.

Study tours during the pandemic

Because of the pandemic, you have to stick to the recommendations if there are visits on site. You need a PCR test before traveling, regardless of whether it is required upon entry or not. It also applies to partners who come along. Everyone needs to keep their distance and use face masks. In the restaurants, the maximum number of persons per table is four. Also, what’s different from ordinary cases, there’s a reduced number of participants in terms of colleagues from the hospital and perhaps no possibility to enjoy a coffee in the coffee room with future colleagues.

Sometimes neither the hospital wants to receive a visit, nor the candidate intends to travel, occasionally due to quarantine requirements when they travel back. Instead, an online study visit is arranged. They last for about two hours with an in-depth interview and clinic presentation in a more complex way than during the first online interview. Some shows recorded videos from the clinic’s outpatient and inpatient clinics. Some even walk around and film live inside the clinic during the online visit. Several managers, colleagues, and HR people participate in the online visits as it is easy and safe to sit separately in front of a computer. During the tour or after it, the candidate receives a guarantee of employment.

We are constantly improving our processes for you to be safe and comfortable with this “new normal.”

Because of the current situation, our study tours are not working the same way as they usually do. We are pleased that we can still organize visits, even though they’re online or on-site, limited to some extent by restrictions. Here you can read more about the first steps in our process, both before and after the study tour.