Smaller vs Larger Agencies

These days there are tons of locum tenens agencies. When you google “locum tenens”, the larger agencies will appear first. Many of the smaller agencies aren’t initially findable on google. Some people are quick to rule out the smaller agencies, but personally I feel like sometimes they can be better to work for. Below I will list the pros and cons of working with larger vs smaller agencies.

 

Larger agencies:

Pros:

-More job options since they have been around longer

-Offer proactive licensing even without being accepted to a job

-Can help facilitate the licensing process by employees constantly contacting the board of nursing

 

Cons:
-Often less pay due to all the overhead that needs to take a cut

-Sometimes they submit you as one of a dozen candidates for one job, because the more the merrier in the eyes of the client

-Occasionally credentialing and housing details aren’t completed on time, likely due to too many worker bees

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Smaller agencies:

Pros:

-Pay is better since they are small and have less people on payroll

-Provide a more personable experience

-Credentialing and housing details are typically spot on

 

Cons:

-Fewer job options

-Less likely to offer proactive licensing before being accepted to a job

-Sometimes they do not offer travel or housing, although this is rare

 

As you see, there are both good and bad things about working with either a larger or smaller locum tenens company. I prefer to work with smaller agencies but the larger ones usually have more job options available. So, I would say I work with both types of agencies equally.