What We Wish Recruiters Knew

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Working as a locum tenens nurse practitioner, I have developed many great relationships with agency recruiters. Speaking with other traveling nurse practitioners, we can agree that there are some things we wish our recruiters knew.

 

  • Do not call us more than once per day: It is YOUR job as a recruiter to be on the phone and talk to potential locum tenens providers. It is OUR job to be working in a medical facility taking care of patients. So if we do not answer your first call, we are likely working and will be unable to reach you until after hours or during our lunch break. When we check our phones at the end of the day and have 5 missed calls from you, it will only enable us to avoid you more.

 

  • Do not plan on talking to us for more than 5 minutes: I do not know how many times I have returned a call to find out if there are any new job opportunities, and ended up on the phone for 30 minutes. Often it was because the recruiter was reading a list of jobs that do not even match my interests or specialty. If you are lucky that we called you back, please keep the phone calls concise.

 

  • We love communicating via email: The most successful recruiters are the ones that email us job opportunities. That way we have several options to review and all of the details of the assignments are on one page. This prevents us from having to spend 30 minutes to 1 hour on the phone with you. Also, if I want to recommend someone for that job, I can easily forward that email with details to my peers.

 

  • We are educated: Clearly we went to school for many years to be able to take care of our patients. This means you will not be able to convince us to take a job that does not meet any of our interests or specialties. When you act like you know what is better for us than ourselves, it will only make us want to work with you even less.

 

  • Please put us first: Although the agency makes their income from the sites they place providers with; we want to feel like we are your priority. Put our needs first and if an issue arises with the site, be on our side. We will continue to work with you when you make us feel like the most important aspect of locum tenens.

 

  • Be available and responsive: The most frustrating aspect of locum tenens is when you are unable to reach your recruiter. We know life happens, but it shouldn’t take long to respond to an email or phone call. Especially when a potential job opportunity falls through, it is better to keep us updated than to become unreachable. This will only make us want to move on.

 

Is there anything else you wish your recruiters knew?

2 thoughts on “What We Wish Recruiters Knew

  1. Do NOT leave us hanging!! If I agree to be submitted for a position and I’m not selected, please let me know ASAP so I can move on. I’ve had recruiters fall off the face of the earth.
    Also, if I’m not selected for an assignment, please let me know if there is something I should do to improve my resume, experience, or presentation. I’m an adult. I can appreciate constructive criticism.

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