Sorry I have been away from the blog for the past several weeks, the holiday season is super-busy for anyone in this business, and this time of year is a big rush for recruiters. A lot of you are starting to interview for assignments in January and February, so I figured I would give you some inside info on how your recruiter thinks, and what you might not know about your relationship with your recruiter.
Below are the top 4 things your recruiter would REALLY like to ask you. You'll rarely hear these questions from a recruiter, but rest assured that every recruiter you speak with is trying to get the answers to these questions when he or she is building a relationship with you:
1.) Are you married to your current company?
When a recruiter is working with a candidate who is currently on staff with a competing agency, there is always reason to fear how deep the relationship goes. Some travelers have a passive relationship with their recruiter, some recruiters are good friends with their travelers. This relationship can come into play in several ways. First off, I have seen candidates back out of a contract because the agency they usually work with presents them with something at the last minute. Not only does this burn bridges for you as a traveler, but it also hurts the career of your recruiter. If I am vouching for your integrity, I look terrible if you back out of a deal afterwards. Second, if the traveler is looking to other agencies due to a lack of jobs from their current company, that agency can meddle with opportunities to make them seem undesirable. If a candidate always gives their current agency the last word, is it worth it to try to step in and help? Basically, no recruiter wants to drive themselves nuts over someone who ultimately doesn't want to leave.
2.) Are your expectations realistic?
I can't tell you how many times I've spoken with a PT who wants 50 an hour PLUS housing. I can't tell you how many times I've had someone request a 5000 dollar bonus after negotiating a rate. Once you have been traveling for long enough, you'll start to notice that most of the rates out there are in the same neighborhood, regardless of the company paying you. If there really were companies that can afford these rates, don't you think word of mouth would have pointed you to them? Sure, there are plenty of folks out there who will SAY they can do amazing things when it comes to a rate, but once the offer is made from the client, you're going to see rates hovering in the same neighborhood.
If a company could REALLY pay you 15 to 20 dollars more an hour for an assignment, don't you think you would have heard of them by now? If you're looking to make 10 to 20 dollars more per hour on your next assignment, then I will most likely have a special place for your resume....file 13. In rare cases you will see a very big jump, but if you're already at market rates, it's hard to find that extra money....ESPECIALLY if you're not willing to go to where the high paying jobs are. (Think southern AZ or NM in the summer, or MT or ID in the winter)
3.) Are you serious about an assignment, or are you a tire-kicker?
Tire-kickers are those candidates that seem very interested in a job, but aren't willing to go beyond a casual phone call. Someone will call me about a job we have advertised online, only to ask me 20 questions about the setting, location, pay, schedule, management, requirements, etc. etc. While a recruiter will be happy to share this info with you, often we will get pulled into an endless stream of questions with no real point. A lot of the times a candidate calls and screens a position to this degree, they're gathering info on the assignment to assist their current company who doesn't have this particular contract. Recruiters can smell this kind of setup, so don't be surprised if we expect a little commitment from you before divulging info about a really hot job.
If you're unwilling to send in a resume or allow us to represent you to the position for more information, then you're welcome to call another recruiter that hasn't been burned by this setup before. In the cases where the candidate's intentions aren't malicious, an intense line of questioning before any type of commitment spells trouble. If someone is this nervous about a 3 month commitment, and is also nervous about interviewing with a director at the facility, chances are there will be something they find during their investigation that will talk them out of the assignment. If you're on the fence about travel, not amount of information is going to make you comfortable with an assignment, even if it's the best assignment in the history of travel.
4.) Are you traveling to build your career, or are you running from something?
We all know that traveling is a great way for a clinician to gain experience in a variety of settings, an excellent way to see the world, and a fun experience that's full of interesting people wherever you go. While a vast majority of travelers are in the business for the above mentioned reasons, there is a small number of travelers who are traveling for all of the wrong reasons. Sometimes, a recruiter works with a traveler who is on assignment because they are running from a bad situation, sometimes a traveler is on assignment because they can't keep a job in their hometown. If a traveler is on the road for either of these two reasons, there's bound to be trouble ahead.
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