When we see an ad from an employer about a job opening, we can usually find phrases like “best working atmosphere”, “great staffing ratio”, “excellent flexibility”, “competitive pay”, and so on. So, how do we know which organizations are really great and which are just advertising themselves as so?

When it comes to the field of nursing, the aim of a recruitment campaign is to build a skilled workforce in a field where there is a shortage. So, your choices must start by selecting a nurse recruiter who can help meet your requirements. The particular recruiter must be using almost every possible method to meet the workforce needed for the organization. The most popular things to do in nursing recruitment would include:

• Have a public relations method
• Use human resource management techniques
• Utilize an advertising tool

In this, the recruiter has to understand that in the advertising sector, claiming to be the best, doing the best, and giving the most compensation may make the tagline more appealing, but it would not lack true meaning. Also, remember we don’t have any way to measure the claim of an employer being “the best”.

A piece of advice to employers and employees would be to work with recruiters who could meet your goals. Remember, nurse recruiters could be of help to you only if you ask a lot of questions about the following elements:

• Job responsibilities
• Benefits
• Contracts

So, what does a nurse recruiter job look like?

Conversation and interview

The first job of the nurse recruiters will be to listen. Whenever you approach them, they will try to learn your preferences (location, salary, etc) and inform you about the job opportunities that match your criteria. For instance, if only the pay is your deciding factor, then they will refer you the highest paying jobs. To put it simply, the whole conversation will be about the employee (you). You can identify a good nurse recruiter if they are not steering you towards any job that is not meeting your preferences. Once the recruiter has found the right job opportunities for you, they would then submit your profile to those organizations.

Next is your interview training. A good nurse recruiter will make you prepared for the questions that might be asked by the employer and the questions you must ask your nurse manager during the interview. Remember, when it comes to the time of the interview, the nurse recruiters are not usually informed of the date prior to the interview. So, it’s up to the candidate to be prepared well before he or she receives a call from the nurse manager.

What’s after the interview?

Once the interview is over, the nurse recruiter will become your sounding board. They would help understand the advantages and disadvantages of the particular job opportunity. Remember, the recruitment process is all about the candidate. So, if the candidate is not impressed in any way with the organization, they will be put back to the drawing board.

It’s also to be noted that the nurse recruiter should act as your advocate as well. So, after the interview, they will follow up with the organization consistently on your behalf.

Nurse recruiter and your job offer

You got the job offer from the organization. It’s natural for us to think that the role of the nursing recruiter has ended here. But, the reality is different. A good nursing recruiter can benefit you the most only at this phase. Why we say this is because they would help you determine your take-home salary. Sometimes, it will be more complicated for the candidate to determine the take-home salary. For instance, if you are a travel nurse, your take-home salary will depend upon several factors like when and how you are paid, bonus, tax, benefits package, on-call payment, and call-back payment. So, it’s not easy for you to calculate how much you will take home. In these cases, your nurse recruiter will be the best person to help you.

Remember, understanding what you would take home is very crucial in accepting the job opportunity.

What next?

Now, you will be wondering what the other roles of your nurse recruiter are. Well, even after you have accepted a new job offer, the job of the nurse recruiters will continue. We would say their actual role has just begun. It’s because while getting you licensed on time, the recruiter will guide you through the process. They will provide you knowledge about the process for the particular state in the country. In addition, they will also help you find CPR class openings.

Not only this, the nurse recruiters will try to be in touch with you by contacting you at least once a week and more often if required. Most often, they will be accessible all the time. For them, the candidates will be the first priority.

Although the job of nurse recruiters is to fill the job openings in the healthcare organizations, they usually go a further step ahead to take care of the candidates who have come to them.