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Five Ways to Make a Travel Nurse Recruiter Happy

Ways to make your recruiter happyShe finds housing to accommodate the four dogs you bring along on your assignment. He helps you find jobs in Alaska so you can go fishing on your days off. She’s a listening ear when you’ve had a hard day at work and need someone to talk to.

Recruiters at travel nurse staffing companies love getting to know you and finding you a great job opportunity — and when you gain their trust, you’re sure to be the first to know about the best assignments available. Here are five ways to make your travel nurse recruiter happy.

Answer phone calls and emails. Your recruiter understands that you’re busy, especially when you’re on assignment, and doesn’t expect an immediate response. However, he wants to make sure that everything is going well, that you’re happy with your housing and that there are no problems with the facility, and responding to calls and emails within a few days allows him to solve any issues or let you know about new opportunities if you’re nearing the end of your assignment. Prefer to be called only once every few weeks or contacted via text or email only? Let your recruiter know so he can respect that — but don’t quit cold-turkey on returning messages without talking to him about how you like to communicate.

Fill out paperwork quickly. If you don’t get your profile filled out in time and submit your resume and references, along with any other documents you need, you may not be able to get your state license or become credentialed in time to fulfill the assignment you agreed to at a hospital or clinic. Avoid any problems by sending your recruiter the required paperwork as soon as you can so she can get it submitted for you on time.

Keep your promises. There are legitimate reasons to cancel your travel nursing assignment, and your recruiter will be understanding if you let him know why things won’t work out. If you miss a shift without calling the facility or don’t show up to your assignment at all, the staffing company faces penalties and you damage the company and recruiter’s reputation, as well as your own. Keep your recruiter aware of anything that happens preventing you from taking an assignment so your own rapport as a nurse isn’t on the line.

Be a good house guest. If you live in travel company-provided housing while on your assignment, make sure that your recruiter immediately knows about any issues so she can get in touch with the landlord and take care of them. Damaged furniture or broken appliances should be reported as soon as you arrive so you’re not blamed (or charged) for them and don’t hurt the travel company’s relationship with the housing provider. Accidents happen and are understandable; just be up front with your recruiter and do your best to keep the apartment or home in the condition it was when you arrived.

Talk to your recruiter about problems before posting them publicly. Social media might seem like the perfect place to rant about your terrible travel nursing assignment — but it could quickly get you, your staffing company and the facility where you’re working in trouble. Always talk to your recruiter about things you don’t like about your assignment so he can work to resolve them, and never post personally identifiable information about your patients online, as this violates HIPAA privacy laws. Complaining publicly about your facility is a mistake as well and could get you fired. Check out “Five Social Media Tips for Nurses” for more tips on safely using Facebook and other outlets as a nurse.

It’s easy to make and keep your recruiter happy and ensure that you have a great relationship throughout your journey as a travel nurse! Read this BluePipes blog post for more ways to be a good traveler.

About the author

Lindsay Wilcox

Lindsay Wilcox is a communication professional with experience writing for the healthcare and entertainment industries as well as local government. When she's not circling typos, she's enjoying fish tacos and hanging out with her family.

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