Choosing a healthcare recruiter is one of the most important decisions a travel nurse can make. Your recruiter can have a significant impact on your career, which means you want someone you can build a long-term relationship with, who will have your back during your travel assignments, and who will prioritize your success, both personally and professionally.
From understanding their experience in the travel nursing industry to gaining insight into the agency they work for, here are 11 questions nurses should ask before partnering with a travel healthcare recruiter.
Experience is a valuable asset in a healthcare recruiter, so it’s always good to ask about their years in the industry and how long they’ve worked with travel nurses.
A travel nursing recruiter who has several years of recruitment experience is more likely to have the skills and industry knowledge necessary to help you find the right travel nursing assignments for your needs so that you can achieve your healthcare career goals.
While core staff nurses receive benefits directly from their employer—the hospital—travel nurses are offered benefits through their travel nursing agency. This is where it’s important to understand what benefits and opportunities you can get with your potential agency.
Asking a recruiter the specifics of what an agency offers in terms of health insurance, retirement plans, housing and meal stipends, licensure reimbursements, and referral bonuses is essential in making an informed decision for your needs.
Although certain requirements for travel nurses will always apply, the credentialing process varies between healthcare staffing agencies.
Your recruiter should be able to explain this process to you and whether they—or someone within a credentialing department at their agency—will assist you with necessary certifications, processes, and credentials you’ll need for your travel nursing assignment.
Working as a travel nurse comes with certain expenses, including licensure fees. This includes fees for obtaining a multi-state license, which allows travel nurses to work within the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC).
Many healthcare agencies will reimburse travelers for these fees, but this isn’t a given, so it’s important to ask a potential recruiter this question ahead of time.
Although a healthcare recruiter does not directly manage your housing while you’re on assignment, many travel nursing agencies have housing specialists who can assist you with finding safe, budget-friendly housing near your assigned healthcare facility.
Additionally, some agencies offer stipends—or, as is the case with TRS Healthcare, a loan assistance program to help with housing expenses while you’re traveling.
In most cases, travel nurse recruitment agencies will have healthcare job opportunities nationwide, though some agencies may have exclusive contracts with certain healthcare networks or within certain regions.
If you have a preference for where you’d like to take travel nursing assignments, this is a question you should ask your healthcare recruiter. This way, you can ensure that your location expectations align with the career opportunities their agency is able to offer.
A healthcare recruiter should be able to help you find and secure the travel nursing contracts you want by offering advice on what hospitals are looking for, both in general and as it relates to specific facilities.
A good recruiter should also review your resume and skills checklist to help place you in a travel nursing job that not only fits your goals, but also your skills.
Through your travel nursing recruiter, you should be able to gain insight into what kinds of nursing contracts you can expect when working with a healthcare staffing company.
Knowing how long you’ll be on assignment and if there are options for extensions can help you decide whether a specific job fits with your lifestyle and goals.
Communication is key in relationships between travel nurses and their recruiters, which means nurses should have a clear understanding of who they can keep in touch with during and between travel healthcare assignments.
A responsive recruiter will not only be there while you’re on assignment, but they’ll also actively communicate between contracts about future opportunities.
A good healthcare recruiter should be there for you before, during, and between travel nursing assignments to advocate on your behalf so that you can fulfill your professional and personal goals. From securing the best job matches for you to navigating difficult scenarios that may arise while you’re on assignment, having this advocacy can lead to a more positive travel nursing experience.
Additionally, you should feel as though you’re forming a long-term partnership with your recruiter, not simply being headhunted or sold on positions that don’t make sense for your career.
Speaking to a travel nurse recruiter can tell you a lot about the agency they work for. While many healthcare staffing agencies offer similar services, a recruiter should be able to tell you what sets their company apart—what makes them the best for your particular needs.
Do they have a wider range of job locations? Do they offer exclusive contracts? Do they have comprehensive financial benefits? Do they personalize their customer experience? You know what matters most to you, so you should ensure that the agency aligns with your goals.
At TRS Healthcare, our recruiters take pride in building and maintaining long-term relationships with our healthcare professionals. We want our travel nurses to succeed, so we go the extra mile to help our nurses achieve their something bigger—whatever that may be!
If you’re tired of searching through endless listings on job boards or working with travel companies that push you into situations that don’t fit the travel nursing career you want, TRS Healthcare is here for you. We’ll work with you to find the travel assignments that best match your preferences and help you reach your financial, professional, geographical, or altruistic goals.
Interested in working with a TRS Healthcare recruiter? Get to know our recruiting team, apply with us now, or browse our current jobs to get started!
