Note: Guest contributor Cydney Saulsbury wrote this post. Learn more about Cydney at the bottom of this article.
When working as a travel nurse, one of the most important relationships you can develop is the one with your recruiter. As a recruiter, I can best serve you if I can get to know you and understand what you hope to achieve through travel nursing. Let’s dive deeper into strengthening the nurse-recruiter relationship and how it can benefit your career.
Our relationship is a partnership.
My primary goal as a recruiter is to find you a travel nurse contract that meets your goals and makes you happy. I’m here to listen and learn about what you want from a travel assignment and offer my insight into the market. I’ll always be honest and transparent with you and use my industry knowledge and experience to guide you. Sometimes, I might suggest a location that may not have been in your original plan, but that’s because I want to direct you to assignments that will help you fulfill those personal and professional goals.
Recruiters are real people, too.
I’m here to build lasting relationships with my travelers! You’re more than just another contract to me. That means I love hearing about your adventures and sharing about my kids and life, too. It also means I take time to enjoy life outside of work. If you reach out after hours, please know I will get back to you as soon as possible.
I match your motivation.
One of the first things I ask a new traveler is, “How motivated are you?” If you’re a 10, I’m a 10! With your cooperation, I can quickly get your travel nurse file ready for submission. That means getting copies of certifications, references, and a completed skills checklist over to me in a timely manner. Timing is everything in this industry. The faster we can get you submitted, the better your chance at securing that contract you’ve been eyeballing!
Texts are great, but phone calls are better!
Text messaging is an excellent way for us to communicate! However, picking up the phone and dedicating time to talk with your recruiter is important, especially as we’re getting to know each other or searching for contracts. A phone call is the quickest method to ensure we are both on the same page and going after the contracts that are right for you.
Some things are out of my control.
This is a big one for both of us. As a recruiter, there’s zero joy in calling a traveler to tell them their rate has dropped or that the facility has canceled their contract. I’m just as frustrated as you when it happens. Unfortunately, it’s a risk that comes along with travel nursing. Just know I will do my best to find you another contract as soon as possible!
Transparency is always best.
Recruiters know travel nurses will talk with other recruiters/agencies at some point. Please don’t feel like you need to hide that information. I want to know who you are working with and where you are in the application process with other agencies. Transparency helps me help you. I want to know what you like or dislike about the agencies you work with and see what I can do to make your experience the best.
No double submitting!
If you’re working with another agency and know you have been submitted to a position, please DO NOT let me double submit you. The facility doesn’t want to see a traveler’s name coming through from multiple agencies and will likely decline both submissions or possibly blacklist you from applying with them.
In conclusion, a good travel nurse-recruiter relationship should feel much like a friendship. You both put a lot of trust in each other. As your connection grows, your recruiter will see trends in the contracts you prefer, which can help them get you through the submission process faster and notify you of exciting opportunities when they appear. Happy travels!
About Cydney
Cydney has more than nine years of experience in the staffing industry. She takes pride in helping travelers land their dream jobs and motivates applicants to be the best they can be. She is here to form long-lasting relationships with her healthcare travelers and truly cares about their well-being and success. You can always count on her to be transparent and upfront about what is happening in the industry. She’ll be there for you every step of the way!
This is great information for everyone! What you put into the relationship is what you get out of it. Terrific advice.