The demand for all forms of long-term care in the United States is continuously growing, largely driven by the rapidly aging population. In fact, spending on continuing care retirement communities and nursing facilities is projected to grow at an average rate of 5.5% per year until 2026, reaching $261 billion in total spending.

Many long-term care organizations face challenges keeping up with this growth when it comes to hiring – the shortage of paid direct care workers is projected to reach 355,000 by 2040.

The historic-low unemployment rate, limited interest in long-term care careers and other factors contribute to this shortage.

The competitive hiring market means employers across industries need to be more strategic about their hiring efforts – and your senior living organization can do the same. See below for several key hiring tips your team can learn from top employers in other industries.

Maintain a compelling career site

When your organization has open roles, not only are you competing for top talent against other similar organizations, but you’re competing against employers across industries. This means that now more than ever, your team needs to take extra steps to excite qualified job-seekers about applying for your open roles. And one of the best ways to sell prospective job applicants on the opportunity joining your team presents is by building a strong career site.

Your career site gives you the opportunity to showcase your employment brand and answer the “What’s in it for me?” question for job-seekers by focusing on what your organization has to offer employees – including your benefits, company culture and training opportunities and career paths. A strong employment brand boosts higher applicant-to-hire conversion ten-fold compared with employers without an employment brand strategy, according to recent Hireology data.

One example of a company with a strong career site and employment brand is home healthcare provider Brightstar Care. On the career site, the organization highlights employee benefits such as weekly pay and flexible scheduling. The company also describes the opportunity that joining the Brightstar Care team presents, including making a difference in people’s lives, career growth and opportunities for recognition. And the career site includes an overview of the company’s values and FAQs about the hiring process.

Outside of the healthcare space entirely, top employers and widely known technology brands such as Airbnb, Apple and Spotify are attractive to job-seekers in part because of their strong career sites. Airbnb’s career site, for example, is easy for job-seekers to find on the brand’s home page. The main career site page leads with Airbnb’s mission: “Create a world where anyone can belong anywhere.”

Highlighting a mission in this way ultimately helps motivate engaged job-seekers to apply to open roles. The Airbnb careers page also includes the company’s core values, benefits and several photos and videos to show candidates what it’s like to work for Airbnb and get an overview of the company culture.

Share career paths and employee success stories

Top job-seekers typically aren’t simply looking for their next role; rather, they looking to build a long-term career on a great team. To get prospective applicants excited about the opportunity joining your team presents, outline possible career paths on your career site – and highlight these paths in your job descriptions.

Enterprise, the car rental company, is one employer that is widely known for its commitment to defined employee career paths. Enterprise has a management training program that sets employees in the program up for long-term success. On the company’s career site, the management trainee career path is outlined all the way from entry level to vice president and general manager. Enterprise also has a page on its career site dedicated to employee profiles, and it includes several diverse testimonials and success stories.

Excite potential employees

Your career site is a great place for you to outline specific career paths at your senior living organization. For example, at the corporate level, the career path might range from administrative assistant to office manager. At the community level, might one advance from aide to wellness director? Highlight all possible paths on your career site, and share examples of employees who have grown successfully in their careers. Ultimately, this information will encourage top talent to apply and help them understand career growth potential on your team.

By building a strong career site and highlighting career paths, you can get top talent excited about the possibility of joining your team. Doing so ultimately will help you hire compassionate, qualified employees who will contribute to improved resident service and care as well as increased productivity and profitability at your senior living organization.