Please recommend agencies

What agency are you using?

Week 7 is generally early right now with perhaps the majority of assignments being ASAP.

What agency is liked is rather irrelevant. What matters is what agency you like, and that is largely governed by how well communications goes with your recruiter. Only way to find out is to talk to lots of agencies until you find several good recruiters. Recruiters matter more (usually) than the agency name.

For what it is worth, I've never been in love with an agency and I've worked with a good number. I recognize it as a business relationship only.

I may be able to comment on agency names if you say who they are. Mostly I have a do not use list on half a dozen agencies for good cause.

I realize 7 weeks is too early for agency to submit me to other hospitals, but in my past assignments, 7-8 weeks is when I find out whether or not my current hospital would like to extend. I also understand that most of the time, it is the recruiter, not the agency, that can make the experience worthwhile or not. My problem is it's the agency short changing me for my OT hours, not recruiter. But my recruiter is misleading me bigtime.

I will be more than happy to announce the name of my agency when my assignment ends. I am looking into Novapro -affiliated with Cross Country. Some good reviews, some terrible. Any feedback on them, or more specifically, their recruiters?

It is wise not to mention your current agency's name. I meant the ones you were considering. If you do want to list them, please say if you spoke to them and what your impression was (they won't know who you are from these posts).

Sorry Ned, I guess I was editing my post while u were responding. I am looking into Novapro. I spoke w a recruiter at NP and I am kinda ehh. I typically opt out of anything tax free, and instead, I get a higher hourly. NP recruiter said she's never heard of any agency doing that.

In the past (pre-2008), NovaPro paid higher than other CC brands. Otherwise, it is what it is, one of the two 800 pound gorilla agencies. Lots of assignments, lots of people to work with (recruiters, assistant recruiters, QA, benefits, payroll, housing), but generally lower pay on average.

If you don't have a tax home (or lie about it on the housing questionnaire), agencies are not allowed to pay compensation tax-free (other than receipted reimbursed professional expenses like licensure costs). If you have a tax home, almost certainly you are better off working for agencies that maximize tax free benefits so your preference is highly questionable. If you have a tax home and ask that everything be taxed, it actually means the agency will pay you less (because they have to pay substantially more payroll "taxes" (FICA, workers comp, unemployment: employer's share is around 10% of gross pay). Plus your annual take home pay will be on the order of $10,000 less for the average traveler.

I definetely have a tax home, I prefer it this way, at least for now, because I am looking to take out a home improvement loan and the bank will likely laugh at me if I tell them I make 18/hr which is what NP quoted me should I take a certain assignment. I am making 38/hr now plus 54/hr for OT in a rural hospital that is only 60 minutes from my house. I cannot imagind getting 10k more for if I went the other route. I am getting taxed hard, but should get a lot of it back by the end of the year when I file, so it all evens out in the end no matter which way u go?

Nope, it doesn't end up even at the end of the year, even if you already itemize. All the money (or virtually all) that you and your employer paid on your behalf for Social Security, workers comp, and unemployment is gone forever, no tax refunds available (although there were several decades ago). Your housing deduction is limited to actual receipts only (where agency housing stipend is only limited by the GSA published amounts). You can deduct GSA meals and incidentals, but the amount is reduced by 50% when you report it on form 2106, and further reduced by filing thresholds.

All in all, it adds up to about $10,000 more in the bank at the end of the year for most travelers. I suspect it won't be that much for you as I'm sure you are taking some tax-free compensation, perhaps housing. Perhaps you are a straight employee where you are working now? If so, you will make more as a traveler typically than you do now. It can be difficult to show on paper sometimes, particularly if maintaining your tax home is high.

Most travel assignment pay in total compensation between $40 and $50 an hour. Overtime at those ridiculous traveler base rates need to be negotiated separately and should end up (in my opinion) between $50 and $70 an hour. While CC is unlikely to negotiate OT, some of the very largest agencies are getting enough pushback on OT rates (and rightfully so) that they are paying shift bonuses for extra time worked (getting at least close to a fair rate.

I just switched from AMN to Travel Nurse Across America. Great company and pay. $1000 moving expenses one way, extra shift bonus, my current contact is $100, I've seen as high as $150. They also start insurance on day 1 a and it's free. For every hour worked you earn points you can also cash in

I just switched from AMN to Travel Nurse Across America. Great company and pay. $1000 moving expenses one way, extra shift bonus, my current contact is $100, I've seen as high as $150. They also start insurance on day 1 a and it's free. For every hour worked you earn points you can also cash in

Current contact is $100???? Something misspelled perhaps?

Not to be snarky, but there is no such thing as free anything. It is part of your compensation and if it wasn't "given" to you, they could have paid you more money. Same thing with the points. I'd like to see more money every hour I work. It is human nature to love "free" stuff and rewards. But the primary beneficiary of this marketing is the agency, not the employees.

You are also fooled into thinking about one agency as a parental figure or a marriage partner. Start picturing yourself as a free agent with no strings and you will make even more.

I will look into TNAA reviews, thank u! Ned, I think she meant they will give u an extra 100 for any extra shifts plus OT. That is what I gather from their website. Ned, can u PM me about any recruiters/companies that u work for or liked well? U are definetely a maven in this field abd I'd like to take ur leads.

Also, have any of u ever negotiated to get OT after 36 hours??

Yes, I always negotiate overtime separately. The math is simple, but no one ever seems to do it. If you use PanTravelers calculator, you will find that total compensation on most travel assignments is between $40 and $50 an hour (very similar in fact to many staff jobs when you add in the benefits). Thus fair OT would be between say $50 and $75 an hour right? (just like staff) That means if your base salary is $20 an hour (because of all those tax-free benefits you are getting) and they want to pay you $30 an hour overtime, you have actually taken a pay cut over regular hours where you were getting paid $40 to $50 an hour!

Pretty darned sad, and a shift bonus of $100 doesn't really compensate if you do the math. The fact more and more agencies are starting to pay these shift bonuses is a sign that something is wrong. But it takes more like $200 or $250 shift bonus to bring OT into a good range. While agencies are profiting mightily from overtime, they are doing themselves a disservice. If they provided a proper incentive for working overtime, travelers would soak it up, making the agency a fair profit, and making both the travelers and the facilities happier. But trying to explain the math to your typical recruiter (or traveler for that matter) is rather frustrating.

Let me try an example from the agency perspective. Let's say the agency is receiving a bill rate of $60 an hour for your work (pretty middle of the road). They pay you in total compensation $40 an hour for your hourly of say $20, housing, per diem, travel pay, and health insurance. All those extra costs other than your hourly are paid for in full after 36 or 40 hours of work. Now for overtime, they are getting $90 an hour, and paying you $30 an hour overtime. This give them a pure profit of $60 an hour while you have received a pay cut from $40 to $30!

Pretty incredible! While overtime bill rates do vary (time and a half is traditional, but more and more hospitals are realizing how much profit is being made by agencies), you can see that agencies can still profit even if the bill rate stays at a flat rate for overtime (happens but is very rare indeed) and a fair overtime rate is paid. Remember, all agency expenses were paid for the first 36/40 hours of work, and a fair profit made. That is all they were expecting, so any overtime is an unexpected bonus for them, and pure profit from our work.

My recommendation is to fight for a fair overtime rate if you want to work overtime, and the hospital said overtime is available in the interview. But if you don't want to work overtime, or there is no overtime available, forget about it and save your negotiation bullets for something else. But if you have a chance to make big bucks working your butt off, you need to make an equitable arrangement with an agency so you both profit.

As far as recommended agencies, none that I or anyone else suggests will increase your odds. The most important factor for successful is your ability to communicate with your recruiter. If you don't have good communication, obviously you will have no ability to negotiate. Study after study shows that both parties will be happier if there is some give and take, not just take it or leave it. But the ability to negotiate is just one benefit to good communication. I cannot possibly predict how well you will do with a recruiter (nor can any matchmaker). The only way to find out is to call lots of agencies, talk to lots of recruiters, and pick the best, say, five to work further with that you connect with. Along the way, if you have any hot buttons like overtime, housing, or locations for example, you can further triage agencies and recruiters to come up with the best fit for you.