By Sarah Wengert
If you want to be a travel nurse, one of your first orders of business should be to find a great travel nursing company. In fact, travelers at any stage in their career should always keep their options at least a little open to ensure they’re partnered with the right fit for them.
While each traveler has their own unique needs and preferences, here are a few features that make a travel nurse/travel allied health agency great.
Experienced, Responsive Recruiters
Finding a great recruiter can be the ultimate key to your success as a traveler! You want to find a recruiter who has experience or, if they’re newer to the industry, seems eager to learn and willing to find all the answers you need. You work very hard on the job, so you need to find company with the type of recruiters who show you that same commitment and hustle. A great agency will have responsive recruiters. This is so crucial to your success because when something comes up suddenly — whether it’s an issue or an opportunity — you’ll want them to be there for you. The best companies also tend to have recruiters who are able to present you with jobs/locations you never considered before but are actually a great fit for you, whether in terms of great pay or a hidden gem location.
Lots of Jobs to Choose From
The more available jobs and locations a company has to choose from, the better off you’ll be in your travel nursing job search and overall career prospects. Some agencies focus on a single state or region and tend to have fewer jobs as a result. The best travel nursing agencies often has tens of thousands of jobs to choose from all throughout the United States.
Ample, Affordable Benefits
This one’s huge and it can be different for everyone, depending on your personal needs in terms of traveler benefits. The best travel nurse companies will offer day one medical, dental, and vision insurance, for starters. Being a traveler, you’ll often be working about 13 weeks in one contract, so you’ll want to be covered right away. More benefits offered by great agencies can include:
- 401(k) with company contribution
- Private, pet-friendly housing
- Bonuses for referrals and loyalty
- License/certification reimbursements
- Voluntary benefits (for example, life insurance)
- 24-hour contact line
In addition to traditional benefits like those, keep an out for those above and beyond benefits like a free employee assistance program, in-house clinical team, or traveler discounts.
Travelers Talk: What Makes a Good Travel Nursing Agency Great?
At the end of the day, there’s really no one better than current, veteran travelers to give advice on what to look for in travel healthcare company. So, to help you in your search, we recently polled our travel nurse and travel allied health users on our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages with the question: What makes a good travel agency great? Here’s what we heard.
“Transparency, availability and open contact with recruiters, appreciation posts, gifts, etc.”
“A recruiter you can trust, is emotionally supportive, and understands your goals!”
“Work hard for what you want, good pay, there when you need them, find the best fit.”
“[A recruiter who] works hard to find the perfect assignment for me, is attentive and responds quickly to any of my concerns.”
“A great recruiter-traveler relationship. Someone who cares about their travelers, checks in, and is there for them when the traveler reaches out with any questions or issues that may arise.”
“The recruiter. Mine truly advocates for me. I know other agencies can get me more money, but they won’t fight for me.”
“A great company, recruiter, contract agreement, workplace assignment, patients and co-workers, housing accommodation, and experience.”
“A responsive recruiter! Mine kept in touch with me for a year and I wasn’t even signed with him! Over the entire year! Now I don’t want to work with ANYONE else! I have had no issues with [that company]. When my husband had insurance issues, [the recruiter] had it all worked out in under 24 hours!”
“The recruiter! This person assists you in contracts and must be trusting as well as honest.”
Well, all that said, it seems travelers’ number one priority should be finding a great recruiter — which are most often bred by great companies! Plus, when you’re considering a company/contract be sure to think about the overall value you’re getting with availability of jobs, benefits, and a responsive, trustworthy recruiter who provides great service and has your back, rather than just pay.
We hope it’s helpful to your search for a great travel nursing agency to have heard what actual travelers value. You can always contact our team with any questions or to speak with one of our incredible recruiters.