Top Questions to Ask a Travel Nurse Recruiter

• A travel nurse recruiter should always have your best interest in mind.

• You want to make sure that your recruiter is trustworthy, will have your back, and is available for questions and concerns that you may have along the way.  

• A recruiter can make or break your travel experience, so it’s worth the extra time and effort to vet them before signing a contract.  

Why Does Interviewing a Travel Nurse Matter?

Although it is not a necessity, it would be beneficial to you in the long run if you and your travel nurse recruiter had the same interests, passions for nursing, and work experiences. Why? 

This ensures that they will find the best facility that fits your needs.  

Now, you might be wondering, ‘What questions do I ask a potential recruiter?‘ 

We’ve got you covered!  

Top Questions to Ask a Travel Nurse Recruiter

Online travel nursing resource, The Gypsy Nurse, highlights several questions you should keep in mind when preparing to interview a new travel nurse recruiter. Check them out! 

1. How many years of experience do you have in the field? 
2. What were you doing before going into travel nurse recruiting? 
3. How are you available to me and other candidates? 
4. How do you keep in touch with your PLACED candidates? 
5. Why should I work with you rather than anyone else? 

These are great questions to ask, and we recommend that you incorporate them into your next conversation with a recruiter. 

Here are a few additional points I would make if I were in your shoes: 

1. What if a placed candidate is in a bad situation at their current assignment?  
2. How do you handle these situations? 
3. Do you have your candidates’ best interests at heart when searching for a new placement? 
4. Are you sales-driven? 
5. What if I have issues with my housing arrangements upon my arrival at a new placement? How would you handle this?
   

Travel Nurse Recruiters: What You Should Know

BluePipes, a career management, and healthcare onboarding organization, offers several tips that you should know about a travel nurse recruiter prior to beginning the process of finding a recruiter. These include:  

• They are sales-driven 
• Their organization measures their key performance indicators (KPIs) 

Recruiters often will seek you out on platforms such as LinkedIn or Indeed, but you should be cautious if someone asks you to pay for recruitment services. Why? 

Recruiters often receive compensation from their clients (which are usually hospital institutions) for placing their candidates (you).  

This is usually a small percentage of your first year’s salary that the employer pays.  

Many recruiters conduct a phone interview with a job seeker before scheduling an in-person interview – however, for various reasons, most meetings today are held virtually.  

Your recruiter should put you at ease and share your job-search goals. If you feel they are causing you more anxiety or pushing you into a position that you do not want, steer clear of them! 

Pros and Cons of Working with a Recruiter

Working with a recruiter to find you a job can in some cases be more valuable than searching for a position by yourself. They may have connections that you don’t! 

As I said, recruiters often receive a commission from their client based on their salary, increasing their incentive to find you a higher-paying position.  

If they are good at their job, another advantage of using a recruiter is that they are often a good liaison between you and the prospective institution. If there is a safety issue or pay negotiation issue, you can go to your recruiter.  

A downside of working with a travel nurse recruiter is that they may encourage you to take any position they have because, in the end, remember they are earning a commission on your placement.  

Another thing you must be aware of and another reason it is important to interview your recruiter is that there are many substandard recruiters out there.  

In these instances, you may find that they are unorganized, do not remember who you are, or they have poor communication skills. Avoid these red flags at all costs.  

There are an abundance of travel contracts out there right now for nurses and plenty of awesome, well-seasoned recruiters that will have your best interest in mind!  

Do your research and do not take this interviewing process lightly, it is truly for your own good! 

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