How do you become a successful travel nurse recruiter? What do you have to know when you are choosing your own travel nurse? Travel recruiters could stand as your mentor and advisor for things that you are you should do like assignments and ways that you could do to achieve your goals. Here are some of the most important questions to ask a travel nurse recruiter that you should consider when you are picking the right travel nurse recruiter for you.
How do you negotiate with a travel nurse recruiter?
- Know the proper pay rates
You have to understand how you and your agency are going to get paid, that is what you need to know first and foremost when you are negotiating for your travel nursing contract because each contract would then determine how much you would get paid. Know how much your agency would take and break it down to your hourly rate.
- Make them want you
You have to find out each of their blended rates and compare the pay of one agency to the other, ask them if they could match the other one’s offer, let them bid against each other but do not do this all the time or else they would not want to work with you in the end.
- Asking reimbursements
Most agencies are very transparent when it comes to the deal and the contract so if asking about money is not your thing, then you should not worry. There are some agencies who put their focus on retention, offering you reimbursement for licensing fees, healthcare benefits, subway passes, and more.
- Don’t be afraid of the word “No”
You need to know what you are worth and if you feel like the contract is not fair or you should have been reimbursed for something that you purchased but didn’t, all you have to do is ask. There is nothing wrong about asking it since the worst thing that they could really say is no. If they are being difficult and you feel like you do not deserve to be treated as such, then you could always just look for another travel agency.
- Be knowledgeable about your extension bonuses
You can ask when you want an extension bonus. Extension bonus is a bonus pay that you may get when you accept their contract and in the end, you may want to extend. In the contract, you would see whether or not they offer extension bonuses in your contract so you should be wise and ask them if they offer extension bonuses.
What makes a great nurse recruiter?
- Honest
A great nurse recruiter is the type of person who would tell it as it is. They are frank, feeling free to tell you whether the nursing position that you may be interested in works for you if your goals are achievable or how to handle certain situations that you may be put in.
- Patient
They need to be patient, take time to actually listen to your concerns, and answer some questions that you may have to provide you with reassurance.
- Trustworthy
When you are looking for a travel nurse recruiter, you have to trust them since they are the people who would be giving you travel nursing assignments. They need to be focused on helping you succeed in your career and you need to be able to trust them to help you with that.
- Communication skills
As travel nurse recruiters, they have to know how to communicate properly, since they are going to be talking to both travel nurses and other eligible healthcare facilities and hospitals. Their job is to support you and help you feel comfortable in the job that you do.
What does a travel nurse recruiter do?
A travel nurse recruiter is a person whose main job is to recruit more travel nurses and play matchmaker between healthcare facilities or hospitals and nurses to make sure that they are matched with facilities and nurses that are qualified and would bring productivity to the facility.
As a travel nurse, you have to be prepared, flexible, open, honest, and in touch. Here are some questions that you could ask them:
- How many days of orientation do you need?
- What is your salary?
- Are there any perks? Like Housing, insurance, overtime, computer discounts, rental car discounts, and scrub discounts.
- Are there any rules for time off?
- What types of insurance would be offered to you?
- Benefits of reimbursement for travel nurses?
For the nurses, it is their job to know your goals and act as your mentors. They would be there to give you advice, show you some assignments that you may be interested in, look for possible assignments that you want, and maintain a partnership with you.