Our experience with our recruiter will make or break a locum tenens assignment or even our search process. This is why I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a good relationship with your recruiter. If you do not like your current recruiter, you can always contact the agency and ask for a different one!
Here are 5 signs that you need to change your recruiter:
- Unresponsive – Recruiters are known to blow up our phones and email us constantly. If you are having a hard time reaching your recruiter or if they do not respond to your phone calls, you know something isn’t right. With full time jobs, we shouldn’t have to be the one to chase down our recruiter.
- Belittling – There are recruiters out there that may speak to you in a condescending tone. You may ask for a certain type of job or pay rate and they may tell you it’s not going to happen. A good recruiter will hear what you are saying and work with you to meet a medium ground, not speak to you as if you are crazy.
- Unable to answer questions – If a recruiter has no idea when your eligible start date will be or how long your license will take, they should be able to contact someone to obtain those answers. Never settle for a “I’m not sure.” I noticed some agencies are hiring a lot of newbies that don’t seem to know what they are doing.
- Pushy – It is safe to say that most traveling Nurse Practitioners hate when recruiters can be pushy. When they continuously try to force you to accept a position you do not want or sketchily have you sign an agreement trying to bind you to something you did not agree to. My favorite is: “maybe you can work at this site for the next 3 months until something opens up in your location of interest”. No thanks.
- Not your Advocate – If you start an assignment and absolutely hate it, you should be comfortable enough to confide in your recruiter. This has happened to me on multiple occasions. My favorite recruiter served as my advocate and made sure my concerns were addressed. On the other hand, I had a bad recruiter who continued to put the site first and nothing was ever changed for my benefit.
A great recruiter is always following up with you, even when you are on a current assignment. They will take your needs into consideration and let you know when a compromise may be needed. Most importantly, your recruiter should be your advocate and encourage you in your field.
