Travel Recruiting

[USTravelNurses]

So, as I am now 3 months into the world of Travel Nurse Recruiting, I have found that nurses are completely bombarded with calls, emails, and text messages from us. Coming from a completely different industry this is a very very new world of almost stalking people. The business is legitimately good for both parties, but just seeing the notes in the systems, some of the nurses are called at least 4 times a month just by us. Coming into this I wanted to help nurses find amazing jobs, and now I feel like I am just creating animosity and resentment. So, I just wanted to give this advice to help cut back on the 50,000 calls a day.

1. Answer/Reply - it only takes a second to tell someone to remove you from the system, and it keeps me from following up with you while making my min. of 100 calls a day. We are trained to assume you are looking until you tell us otherwise.

2. Take a a few hours on your off day, and remove your resume from everything. Most of the time it is outdated to begin with and recruiters will be calling you about things you haven't done in years. (Monster, CareerBuilder, TravelNurseSouce, etc.)

3. Pass info along - Most agencies have a bonus you will receive for referring someone, so you get paid for not doing one day of work.

The last does not help stop the calls, but I feel people miss out on free money all the time. So, as continue to feel things out I will try to give some tips, but I am also open to any ideas as well. I hope this helps even if it is very general info.

[HarryTheCat, MSN, RN]

Hmmm...sounds like you're recruiting with a shotgun when you should be using a rifle. That 100 calls per day quota system operates on the theory that if you throw enough "stuff" against the wall, something's bound to stick. If every nurse in your database is being called four times a month by your company alone, think of the "annoyance factor" when you multiply that by the number of travel recruiting firms out there. The best recruiters work to build relationships with people, not databases of names and phone numbers. It takes time and patience, but once you have established yourself you won't need to work with the quota system.

[USTravelNurses]

I couldn't agree more, but in order to build these relationships I have to actually speak to people. So, I am just going through the basic requirements. Going from a local company that only recruited for local jobs, to a nationwide company recruiting for jobs all over the country really took away the one a personal aspect of the role. So, leaving a million voice mails is now the only way I know to initiate a relationship. Only after a conversation can I get a feel for how I can help. So, I figured I could try to help cut back on some of the pain by posting this. I know it is slight common sense, but I think most nurses think the calls will eventually stop, but there is always someone who is going to dial there number for the 100th time that year. So, while I am working my way through this I will try to help as much as possible. With time I hope to build relationships, but until then I will do what I can to make nurses understand what and why we are doing what we do. Hopefully this will help everyone. Thanks for replying, you are definitely right. Have a great day!

[NedRN]

Nope, the calls will never stop until phone numbers are changed. I advise travelers never to give out their number unless they are sure that they really want to work with a specific recruiter. Caller ID blocking. Of course, posting resumes online is a total waste of time, you lose all control and have nothing but junior recruiters calling you forever. That includes sites with come-ons for "one application" to a select list of the best agencies such as RNVIP.com, with whom your agency is undoubtably buying phone numbers.

10 years ago I visited my parents and used their phone to make several calls and never gave anyone their number. I didn't block caller ID and they are still getting calls!

Even with precautions, phone numbers are eventually sold on a list to every agency that will buy them. Agencies sell cold phone lists, or go out of business or are sold and every asset is monetized.