Medical recruiters are hired by travel companies to handle initial inquiries about medical travel, assist medical personnel with the actual sign up process, match those personnel with available travel jobs either within a specific area or throughout the entire country, and handle any and all problems that present during an assignment.

Finding a great recruiter can provide you with an enormous advantage when searching for the best nursing travel jobs or the most desirable allied travel jobs. The recruiter is actually the “Go-To” source for just about everything that affects your travel experience. They are not just a nice addition to your travel process; they are pretty much the whole deal. Since there is a high rate of turnover in recruiters because the job can be demanding and quite stressful, when you find an excellent recruiter, your travel life just got a whole lot easier.

First, you should look for a recruiter who has a good grasp of your area of expertise. You can usually pick this up in a short period of time just by talking with them. It sounds crazy but I have had recruiters ask me “stupid” questions about exactly what I do and then I know immediately they either don’t know their stuff, or at minimum haven’t even bothered to look at my resume before they called me about a position.

In addition, you definitely want a recruiter that does what they say they will do, when they say they will do it. I’ve talked to recruiters about a job, had them tell me they think I’m the right one for the position and that they will get back with me about further details or even an interview time if things have moved along to that point, and then I never hear back from them, even after leaving several messages. Very frustrating! Needless to say, I don’t work with that recruiter again.

Experienced recruiters also have more lee way in what they can offer to entice you into taking a particular assignment. If you have some basic negotiating skills and are working with a top notch recruiter, you can usually negotiate a higher salary as well as many other perks that are not in the standard benefit package.

Of course you also want a recruiter that is there for you in the bad times not just when you are signing up for a new assignment and all seems rosy. A recruiter that’s worth their salt will handle any complaints or problems that present during your assignment with professionalism and efficiency.

Finally, a truly great recruiter will get to know what types of travel jobs really motivate you and will keep in touch from time to time to see when you will be available for upcoming positions. They want to keep you coming back to their particular company and do whatever they can to make that happen.

John Douglas Ryder

medical recruiter