Top 5 reasons travel nurses love their recruiters
Every January we experience a flurry of activity from our Travel Nurses who enjoyed a long break over the holidays but are ready to get back to traveling. Starting January 2nd our recruiters’ phones start blowing up with text messages and voicemails from our favorite people while our amazing credentialing team goes into over-drive to make sure our travelers start their assignments on time. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
We also expect that many of you will start seeing an increase in advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and Google from a small group of travel nurse job boards that promise to connect nurses directly to travel assignments nationwide and bypass the need for a recruiter. While we think this approach works perfectly for flexible travelers who like to take the bull by the horns and conduct their own job search, travel nurse staffing agencies like ours evolved from the independent but dual needs of both employers and travelers. Healthcare providers coast-to-coast experience overwhelming staffing needs on a daily basis while many seasoned travel nurses have very specific requirements in mind that only certain assignments will meet. Not an easy task to undertake for either side.
The solution? Recruiters. Not only do they maintain a wide breadth of knowledge on the industry, the facilities, and the travel nurse market, but recruiters empower travelers with the security and freedom they seek while working in a career they love.
In light of these upcoming shifts, here are the top 5 reasons travel nurses love their recruiters:
1. Their Specialization is You
Both travel nurses and the hospitals that need them are experts in providing quality patient care – not job-searching and hiring. Employers only get a limited view of job candidates, and applicants have only a basic understanding of what type of candidate the company is looking for. That’s why it so often turns out that applying for a position via job boards ends up being like an awkward blind date. Recruiters, fortunately, cultivate long-term relationships with both hospitals and travel nurses. They can clue travel nurses in to what an employer is looking for beyond what’s listed in the job description, as The Undercover Recruiter noted. Talk to a recruiter for just 10 minutes and you’ll find out how quickly they can recall – by name – the travel nurses with the experience and skills that specific hospitals are looking for.
“Recruiters work quickly and efficiently with a laser-like focus to find nurses fantastic jobs.”
2. Efficient Job Matching Skills
Recruiters work quickly and efficiently with a laser-like focus to find nurses fantastic jobs. Job-searching can be a long, arduous process, costing travel nurses time and money as the months of looking for the perfect assignment stretch on. Costs start adding up for the hospitals, too. Recruiters are plugged into the activities of the industry and are able to quickly identify healthcare providers in need of talent, match a travel nurse to the need, and swiftly make a placement.
3. Go-Getters who Create Jobs
Recruiters aren’t just reactionary, responding to job openings that arise in the market. They’re also highly proactive, working with Account Managers to create positions where there previously were none. If a travel nurse wants a job in a certain area, then recruiters will partner with account managers to explore potential client contracts in the region, just to keep their nurse employed.
4. Strong Networks (especially at Jackson)
Networking is a major part of the job search – and one that unfortunately takes a lot of time to do effectively. Recruiters, however, have developed professional connections across both staffing channels and a wide variety of industry groups; relationships that travel nurses just don’t have time to build. For example, unlike other travel nurse agencies, Jackson has sister staffing companies with connections across the healthcare world that we’re able to build upon to keep our nurses working. Jackson travel nurses are able to take advantage of these networks through their recruiters and grow their careers.
5. They Fight for You
Travel nurses love recruiters because they act as nurse advocates. Recruiters work with their account managers to negotiate with hospitals to ensure that their travel nurses are paid a competitive wage that’s in line with the market. Where so many deals in today’s business landscape are focused on the bottom line, an agency’s main objective is to help their clients and candidates succeed, as Michael Moffa wrote in an article for Recruiter.com. In a cutthroat business world, it pays to have a hiring expert who’s fighting for you and the talent you bring to the table.
From negotiating contracts to placing candidates in their dream cities, recruiters are vital allies in travel nurses’ career journeys. Though there are some bad agencies out there that don’t approach recruiting with the passion and dedication that we do, there are many companies (like ours) that are steadfastly committed to helping travel nurses achieve their dreams. As advocates for nurses, recruiters work hard to empower nurses to be in control of their careers and finances, and receive a competitive wage and comfortable living situation.