I’ve been a registered nurse for 10 years. I was licensed originally in 2012’ with an ADN and then I received the BSN online through Western Governor’s University.
Towards the middle of my career, I battled with the idea of, “what’s next?” So I started the MSN at WGU. First, in nursing informatics then transitioned to nursing education. Neither of which I ultimately finished and I don’t plan to at this point in my life.
I was really attached to letters behind my name — ADN, BSN, MSN, PCCN — and the like. There was a time that letters mattered to me but they no longer do.
I even considered going back to become an NP. That seems like it made sense at one point but being an NP provider never made sense from a liability vs compensation viewpoint. Why take the same professional-liable risk for 1/4 the pay that MDs make? I could never come to terms with that reality.
So here I am. Getting additional nursing education and completing the MSN doesn’t fit my life goals anymore. It wouldn’t be a valuable use of my time given my professional trajectory.
As a bedside nurse, my primary specialty was step-down. But I was used in many capacities around the hospital and floated down to med-surg and up to critical care.
I’ve lost count of the number of step-downs, med-surg, ICUs, and telemetry units I’ve floated to over the years.
Part of the reason I floated to so much was due to travel nursing but I welcomed the change.
Years ago, my wife and I started travel nursing for all the cliche reasons.
The money, the adventure, and change from normal life.
We stayed in travel nursing because we didn’t want to go back to the politics of the unit/organization and it was lucrative.
As a traveler, the unit politics, projects, manager issues, and toxicity, is not your problem.
If travelers had a motto, it would be something like:
“Help People. Live Life. Get Paid.”
Rinse and repeat every 13 weeks.
I traveled with my wife Sarah, who is also a nurse, for many years. We started in the Midwest and then expanded to the west coast.
We always wanted the same schedule and ideally work on the same unit. We passed on assignments that wouldn’t allow us to do that. We were firm in that decision.
I really enjoyed working with my wife and traveling with her. I am very grateful for that time.
I’ve worked in many capacities as a nurse. I’ve worked med-surg, telemetry, step-down, as a nursing supervisor, ambulatory triage (primary and specialty), travel nurse, and now a recruiter.
How did I get the recruiter job or apply?
In total, I applied to two agencies. I decided, from the beginning, that I wanted to recruit for a company that I had personally worked and could vouch for.
I applied on the agency’s website by sending in a resume and cover letter. I received a call a couple weeks later and went through the interview process. The first interview was 1-on-1 with a director and the last one was a group interview. Both of the interviews were remote as I’m living in Iowa and the agency was is in Omaha.
I was offered the job after the 2nd interview.
Most agency websites have a “corporate careers” section where you can find recruiter positions open. You can also google, “travel nurse recruiter jobs” and call the agency you’d like to apply for, or send them a message to their main email.
Recruiters and agencies have a large presence on both Facebook and LinkedIn.
You could start connecting with people there and get a position directly through your network.
I’ve noticed an uptick over the last several months of agencies hiring clinical staff as recruiters which makes a lot of sense. If one knows the work of those they are recruiting, that process is a lot smoother for everyone.
Did I have experience in recruiting or sales before applying?
I had no traditional experience. Well, way back in the day, I sold Kirby vacuum cleaners door to door but that doesn’t really count. However, if a person is considering the transition from nursing to recruiting, you can’t discount your clinical experience.
- How many times have you “sold” a patient on a medication?
- How many times have you “sold” a patient on a treatment?
- How many times have you “sold” a patient on something that’s good for them even if they didn’t want to believe it?
Countless times, right?
The difference is we don’t call that “selling” in nursing. We call that educating and advocating. Same difference.
You present information in a truthful and genuine way. People will gravitate towards towards you because you’re a good human being.
In my opinion, you’re not selling traveling as a recruiter. Traveling may seem like the product. Quite the opposite in my view. Traveling sells itself. A traveler is either going to take the risk, uproot their life, and travel or they won’t. Little of what I say can influence that decision.
With that being said, I can instill a sense of confidence and ease while they make that decision through educating them and answering their questions.
In my opinion, the only selling that occurs in my job is selling myself. As a recruiter, the onus is on me to show that I’m a good human being that cares for others, with genuine intentions, and wanting to make a positive difference in their life.
I do that by taking time for people, listening to their concerns to fully understand their needs, and helping educate them and answer all questions as transparently as possible.
You build trust by showing up for them in turbulent times like an assignment cancellation or times of uncertainty like a new traveler who is very green who needs support.
You’re the beacon of light in an unfamiliar place because most people have no idea where to begin when they first start out. Being a good recruiter in this industry isn’t a hit-it-and-quit-ittype of deal. Like any good relationship, you have to be in it for the haul.
So the bottom-line is recruiting is like the bedside. You have people that need help, need education, and need advocacy. I wouldn’t discount your lack of traditional sales/recruitment experience because nursing is more than enough in my opinion.
What special qualifications do I need to become a recruiter?
Recruiters come from all walks of life. Some agencies have very specific experience requirements and others are pretty flexible. You’ll find the details in the job description on their website.
I believe healthcare and sales experience is a plus but not a requirement.
While I’ve never hired a recruiter, my guess is hiring managers are looking for people with a high moral compass, good soft skills, a good personality, high integrity, reliability, self-starter, and a basic understanding of technology.
As far as skills, like technology stuff, that’s something that anyone can learn. For instance, interacting with recruitment software or working with social media. That’s all stuff that’s teachable and acquirable over time.
The other stuff I mentioned earlier isn’t as teachable. You either have enough of “it” or you don’t. And, “it” is the compilation of personality traits that make up a good recruiter. I’m not an expert but that’s my perception of what types of qualifications agencies look for.
What’s the training like?
My initial training was all in person. Because I work 100% remotely, my training was fast tracked. I was given the option to either come into the office or do it remotely. I chose to train in-person because training is ultimately better in person. You have easy access to your resources when you need it. And, you’ll need it as a new recruiter.
They recommended I came in for a week and I decided to stay for nearly two weeks. I had a goal in mind that I wanted to be functional by the end of week one. Meaning, I wanted to be able to actually start recruiting by that weekend. So, every night after work, I spent another 6-8 hours studying, working with the tools, and started contacting people right away.
At first, it’s a little awkward because I hadn’t found my “recruiter flow” yet but it comes quickly after you talk to 50-100 people. You have to just put in the reps like anything new.
Training was pretty straightforward. Introduction to company policies, sales training, software training, and then shadowing other recruiters to absorb how they do things.
By the end of week 2, I was confident enough to be 100% remote. I knew that I didn’t know everything. How could I after such a short time? But, I knew enough to be functional and then I could call my resources with questions about nuanced situations that I haven’t encountered before.
That strategy has worked very well. I’ve been assigned a mentor who I talk to regularly who is very helpful and knowledgeable. Being remote, I haven’t felt I’ve missed out on anything except the treats in the office.
If you’re the type of person that needs in-person interaction at an office and thrives off of that, then working remotely may not be for you. I’ve found that I thrive being alone and in my own little world doing my own thing. I can concentrate the best that way and don’t need to interact with other people to do that.
What’s the day to day like?
I’m still learning what my day-to-day looks like given that I’ve only been a recruiter for such a short period of time. However, here are some common tasks and events that occur:
Follow-up
A primary function of a recruiter is interacting with people on the placement continuum.
By continuum, I mean by meeting complete strangers, evaluating their work experience, building their profile, getting them on assignment, and overcoming any obstacle they encounter along the way. The boiled down version is learning what they need, getting what I need to submit, submitting them, and getting them an offer. That process often takes days to weeks depending upon the person.
It’s my job to be highly organized so as little as possible falls through the cracks. I’ve developed strategies that work for me so I can keep all that “stuff” straight.
I was a supervisor of an ambulatory team of over 100 float staff so it was my job to be very in-tune with the details and I’m good at managing a lot of details from many different inputs. I developed that skill being a supervisor and it’s very transferrable to this job. Of course, managing patient assignments of 6, 8, 10 at a time helps too!
Cold communication
Every sales job receives leads. Leads are people that have shown an interest in traveling. Leads come in many forms. It could be a referral or some website that sells traveler information to agencies. Most of my leads come from social media because I’m very active there. I’ve been involved in groups online for years and that’s where the “action” is. That’s the beating heart of travelers and where people congregate so that’s where I like to live.
What do we do with those leads? I call, text, e-mail, or send a social media message. I’ll contact people 4-5 times in a short period of time and then if it’s radio silence, I’ll follow-up with them every few weeks to see if their status has changed. Recruiting is often timing related. If you don’t catch people now, we can always team up later. I try to strike that fine balance of following up often enough but not too often where it’s annoying.
Document Management
I could probably write an entire article about this alone. To travel, one must present a variety of documents that shows their qualification for traveling. Most commonly, it’s a resume, skills checklist, references, and a few other items. Each person has their own version of how they present those documents. Every single resume I review is different. Some are excellent and some are not.
But, ultimately, I take all their documents and build a profile. That profile is what agencies use to market and present you to hospitals. Think of it as your own personal ad or billboard. The better information we have the better we can present the traveler.
This is a big chunk of my day. Over time, I’ve developed a system to manage all these inputs and keeps everything very organized so I don’t lose anything. Building profiles is extremely time consuming and it’s a manual process unfortunately. This is by far the most influence I have on whether a traveler gets a position or doesn’t. The better the profiles I create the more likely a hospital will hire that traveler.
Support
The agency is a medium sized. I mention that because we don’t have a ton of departments that travelers call about certain issues. I’m mostly the one-stop-shop for all traveler related issues. Travelers find that very advantageous for obvious reasons. It’s nice to have one singular person to go to when issues come up. If the issue is beyond my knowledge or skill set, I’ll contact my resources and leadership for guidance.
But, there are always issues that come up. Nuanced stuff. Payroll, clinical, work agreements, etc. The list goes on but it’s my job as a recruiter to be a support to the traveler when those issues come up. I take pride in being as responsive as possible. I work early and I stay up late to be a resource quickly as possible.
Why did I leave bedside nursing to become a recruiter?
The short answer: it was time.
I don’t regret nursing. It’s been fulfilling to me and what I’ve been able to do for others. A little back story. I didn’t originally plan to go into nursing. Nursing found me. I had no medical family and the most I knew about anything medical was from George Clooney in the TV show ER. When I graduated high school, I joined the Navy but was medically discharged. So, with no plan for life, I spent about 3 years with a gazillion different jobs trying to find my way.
I went down the wrong path for a time period and associated with the wrong people. Did stupid stuff with stupid people. I’ve been evicted twice and have been homeless once. I’ve lived in my car for a short period.
I finally got my head on straight on the eve of yet another eviction and decided to go back to school. But for what one may ask? Well, I had no idea what I wanted so I opened the local college’s catalog and flipped through the pages.
I came across the EMT section and thought, “Wow, that looks cool” and chose that. It was that simple for me. Because it looked “cool” in the TV shows. Long story short, I volunteered in a local ER and thought nursing looked “cool” so I switched to nursing. And, here I am about 14 years later.
So why leave nursing after such an EPIC saga bruh?!
It’s complicated?
For me, nursing has taken a toll. A heavy toll.
It’s affected my body, my mind, and my spirit. My back is so screwed up I’ll probably need surgery some day. The stress of nursing finally got me one too many times.
I’ve seen more tragedy and death than any one person should see in their lifetime. I’ve seen babies born and I’ve heard the very last beat of a dying heart with my stethoscope.
That’s both the beauty and sadness of nursing. You see the very best and very worst of the human experience. Nursing is a great career for as long as someone can have a tolerance for it.
But, for me, going into nursing wasn’t a divine “calling” like it is for some. I didn’t know I was going to be good at nursing when nursing found me. That’s partly why getting out of it was so hard.
I didn’t come to the decision of leaving nursing overnight. I’ve been playing with these thoughts for a few years. I’ve had countless conversations with my wife about it. What would life be like without nursing? Who is Andrew without nursing? What would I do? Could we afford to sustain ourselves on recruitment?
And, then recruiting showed up as an opportunity and I finally took the plunge. While scary and unsettling, I don’t regret making the change. It’s what’s best for both me and my family.
How much does a recruiter make and is it comparable to what nurses make?
This is by far the most common question I get. I bet you’re thinking, “Quit running your mouth Andrew and just show me the money!”
Chill. I gotchu…
Now, for obvious reasons, I can’t discuss my personal situation. However, I can share with you public examples of what recruiters make and you can decide for yourself if it’s financially worth it.
Before I started recruiting, I had the same question about money.
One of the best methods was to search Indeed and look at the job descriptions that are advertising travel nurse recruiter jobs. In your research, you’ll probably learn that most recruiters get in paid 3 possible pathways:
- Base Annual Salary + % commission
- Base Annual Salary + Flat Rate commission
- No Base Annual Salary + 100% commission
Here’s an example of a travel nurse recruiter job posting I found on Indeed:
For simplicity, let’s say you’re a nurse with 3-years of experience living in Iowa that makes $57,000/year gross + benefits/PTO/sick leave. Let’s say the total value of all that combined is $90,000/year gross.
Unfortunately, the ad above is a little vague but on-par with what recruiters on both ends of the spectrum make. 55,000/year is probably the base salary. So in this case, the recruiter would 55,000/year + commission. The 250,000/year is a highly effective recruiter with a very large group of travelers working for them on a very consistent basis (something that is very challenging to do).
In conversations I’ve had with many recruiters across multiple different agencies, the average salary is somewhere in the middle to around $70,000-100,000/year (base salary + commission). There are definitely exceptions to that rule but recruiters aren’t making bank like what is perceived in social media communities. There are definitely some that do but it takes many years to get to that point.
Do I like the work?
Yes! I really enjoy what I’m doing and I feel like I’m good at what I’m doing. I connect with people, enjoy hearing their stories, and find great satisfaction knowing I’m positively impacting their life.
I’m not only helping people find financial opportunities but giving them a chance to travel which is just plain good for the soul. There’s something special about being a traveling nomad and I really enjoy being their support along that journey. I feel that I’m uniquely supportive because I have been on that journey myself.
I know what it’s like to show up to a hospital and be expected to take patients on day 1 with no orientation.
I know what it’s like to feel targeted by staff nurses when you’re the traveler.
I know what it’s like taking 10 patients on a cardiac unit titrating drips and feeling like I’m jeopardizing my license.
I know what it’s like to float to 4 different units in 1 shift and take a new patient load on each unit.
I know what it’s like to not break, bathroom, drink, or eat for 14 hours straight because you’re so incredibly busy you barely have time to chart.
I know what it’s like to go from room to room of Covid patients dressed in PPE feeling like I’m risking my life to help others.
I know what it’s like to feel the adrenaline flowing during a rapid or code, the feeling of ribs during compressions; and ultimately, watching someone’s life sadly fade away.
I don’t know everything and haven’t seen everything but I am very confident I’ve been through most of what travelers could experience.
I now live vicariously through their experience, hearing their stories, and help support them when they need me.
Being a recruiter is very much like being a bedside nurse. I get to help educate, advocate, support, and positively impact their life. That’s the essence of being a recruiter in my opinion.
Is the position remote?
Yes and I love it!
I work out of our home office but I could work anywhere in the world if I really wanted to. Major bonus:I get to see our son anytime throughout my day or hang out with my wife because she’s a stay at home mom now.
Assuming my position continues to be as awesome as it is, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to bedside nursing.
Is recruiting worth it?
This is arguably one of the hardest questions to answer and I kept having a hard time finding the words. I really want to answer this to the best of my ability.
To me, worth is different to different people. It’s a subjective experience.
It’s like saying, “Is skydiving worth it?” or “Is traveling to Europe worth it?” or “Is it worth it trying out for American idol?” or “Is taking a job I may not like, may not financially pay off, and abandoning everything I know worth it?”
I don’t know. Who am I to answer that for you?
Life is full of risk and we all have tolerances to taking risk. To take a new career, you have to tolerate that because it is risky. As a nurse, you have the luxury of having something to fall back on but other people don’t. So that’s something to consider.
But, for me, I didn’t go into recruiting with the mindset of, “Well, if it doesn’t work out, I’ve always got nursing.” I’m fully invested in this new pathway in life and don’t intend on going back to traditional nursing. I spent my time in that career path and now I’m on a new journey. I’ll always be a nurse deep down like a marine is always a marine, ya know?
But, is it worth it? That’s a tough one. There are more questions buried in this question.
- Is recruiting financially worth it?
- Is it worth it leaving what I know and love for recruiting?
- Is the base salary, commission, and sales side of recruiting worth it?
- Is it worth losing some of my skills and clinical knowledge to become a recruiter?
When I decided to leave nursing, the questions above I answered with a confident “Yes.” I’m fully committed to recruiting because I know the positive impact it’ll have on my life. You’ll have to weigh the pros and cons and see if you can stomach the risk of changing careers.
The reason why it took me so long to commit is because my identity was attached to nursing, the skills, the knowledge, and the fear of losing that. I’ve invested so much time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears into nursing. Nursing school alone…
To step away from nursing, earlier in my career, didn’t seem possible. Over time, my mind changed and I was simply…ready. When you know you just know.
Are we hiring?
The agency is always looking for remarkable people. Hit me up and I can forward you to the right person.
Do you work for yourself or for a company?
I work for the agency. I’m one of their employees. I know some recruiters are independent contractors and work for themselves. I’m not sure how that works. My guess is they draw up an agreement with agencies and deliver candidates to them and get some type of fee.
Is recruiting a sales job?
I don’t really perceive recruiting as sales because it doesn’t feel like selling to me. Not like pharmaceutical or car sales. But, yes, it’s considered a sales job and with any sales job, comes performance expectations.
To me, traveling sells itself. You’re either going to uproot your life and move across the country or you’re not. I don’t need to sell that piece. However, I think the sales piece is selling one’s self.
A recruiter sells themselves both showing people that they are a good human and they can be trusted. I don’t actively sell myself by putting on some front and my “recruiter hat.”
I simply act the same as I do in person, online, or on the phone. I’m like any other typical guy that happens to be a dad, husband, gamer, nurse, and a recruiter. I hope people see that I have genuine intentions and are gravitated towards that.
How many hours a week do you work?
I think the average recruiter probably puts in around 40-50 hours per week. Some after hours and on weekends. I’m not sure how other agencies do it. We’re expected to be available during normal business hours. I think there is some flexibility in that as long as you’re meeting expectations and productivity standards.
I work at least 70-80 hours per week. I work in some capacity every single day. Don’t use my example as the benchmark however. I’m not the usual. I intentionally work a lot because I love my work, work is a part of my identity, and I have goals in mind.
In the beginning, you’ll hear this term called, “building your desk” or “building your pipeline” which is a sales term. Simply put, the more people in your pipeline, the more chances you are to place someone. That’s what I’m doing right now. I’m in the building phase because I’m a newb recruiter so I put in extra hours now to meet people and hopefully have an opportunity to place them if they enjoy working with me.
What companies have you worked for?
I’ve worked for Ventura MedStaff and Lucid Staffing Solutions.
I started in late April, 2022. I really enjoy the people I work with, the culture of the company, and have great rapport with the leadership.
Plus, I’ve had a year to essentially “vet” them because I was a traveler for them before I became a recruiter. I have zero intentions of ever leaving assuming that remains the same. Why leave an awesome thing, ya know?
What surprised me about the job? What’s the biggest shock?
This is a tough one because I was pretty well researched when I started my first day. I’ve had many candid conversations with recruiters over the years. That came from a mutual respect and understanding. They were more forthright with private information like agency processes, margins, and the coveted bill rate.
When I started, I wasn’t too surprised about the financial side of agencies because I’ve read a lot about it and had open conversations with recruiters. I know my answers are going to be a little underwhelming but I’ll give it a shot.
I would say the biggest surprises are:
How sucky ghosting is
- I don’t love ghosting especially after I’ve felt like I had good rapport with someone. I didn’t realize how impactful that can be recruiters, agencies, and facilities.
How travelers speak to recruiters
- It’s pretty baffling how some people treat recruiters. Like we’re some piece of meat part of a transaction. I’ve seen it first hand on social media over the years; but to be the recipient, is another matter.People can be really mean and nasty sometimes which I think is unfortunate because it’s hurtful.
How nuanced profiles can be.
- You’d think that there is a universal profile amongst hospitals but each facility has its own flavor of documentation requirements that makes them happy. In order to submit people to a facility, we have to meet their unique requirements or the submittal will be rejected.
I hope this article was helpful to those considering a career change into recruiting.
Perhaps I’ll do a follow-up article someday if there is enough interest or enough new questions.