Three Helpful Hints for Choosing the Right Medical Recruitment Agency

Choosing the right medical recruitment agency can be an overwhelmingly daunting task. The industry is massive. In fact, according to IBIS World.com, a five year study (2015-2020) saw the Healthcare Staff Recruitment Agencies industry “experience strong growth.” The industry saw “revenue increasing at an annualized rate of 4.9% to $21.8 billion dollars.”

With an industry of this size, it’s no wonder that medical professionals often feel lost when deciding on an agency. Granted, for some the choice is easy – whoever can offer the biggest pay rate. However, while many professionals simply look for the most lucrative pay rates and the experience itself is negligible to them, others may be a bit more cautious when choosing a medical recruitment agency. These three helpful hints can help point you in the right direction..

1. Do they understand the industry and your area of interest?

This is really two-fold. It is important for a staffing specialist to not only understand the industry you work, but the area as well. Sure, most recruiters and staffing specialists can rattle off the details of an order. However, do they know what that will mean for you? Do your qualifications truly fit the position requirements like the missing puzzle piece? Or are they simply just trying to put someone in the spot for the sake of just filling it?

Secondly, how well do they know the area where you will be working? What is the reputation of the facility? Is your pay competitive for the facility and similar locations throughout the area? If the staffing specialist can talk to you confidently about the facility, the job opportunity, and the area you’ll be working- these are all good indicators that your agency has an experience in placing candidates such as yourself.

2. How they communicate / correspond can say a lot about the business.

To be fair, depending on your personal preference, you may not consider some of these to be red flags. However, most will agree that successful candidate- recruiter relationships have strong foundations based on communication, transparency, and honesty. If an agency values that foundation, it could be a good indicator that you are choosing the right agency.

For starters, does the agency embrace modern technology in their communication and correspondence policies? Not only does this show that the agency is keeping up with the times, but working efficiently as well. Secondly, does that technology make them readily available? Are you able to email, text, or call them with ease? Once you are engaged in a conversation with them, how quickly do you receive a reply? Your staffing specialist should always reply in a timely manner – whether it be by phone, email, or text message. If you start to experience serious gaps in your conversation, this may be a red flag that an agency is probably not the best fit.

Now, on the flip side of being readily available and flexible when it comes to communication, if an agency requires you ONLY call them, and is not willing to put any correspondence between the two of you in writing, this is probably a red flag as well. While being able to pick up and have a chat with your staffing specialist may work in many situations, there are times when things should be done in writing. It’s important that your medical recruitment agency understands, appreciates, and maintains that balance.

3. Do they offer after-hours / on-call emergency assistance?

While most recruiters and staffing specialists do not keep nurses’ hours, your agency should have protocols in place to assist field staff members in after-hours situations. For instance, at JayKay Medical Staffing, two of our managers have after-hours phones with them at all times. This way, our employees are always able to reach at least one member of our management team in an emergency situation. Not an answering service- but actual JayKay team members. We understand that not everything can be handled during business hours when it comes to the medical field. Any agency you work with should as well.

Choosing the right medical recruitment agency

We understand that, often times, choosing an agency can be as simple as them having the best pay rates or just trusting your gut. However, for many, the choice is a bit more complex. For those professionals, understanding some of the warning signs and really knowing the things worth considering can make all the difference in choosing the right medical recruitment agency. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. You can also reply to any of our jobs directly by visiting our job boards under the JOBSEEKERS tab at the top of the page.

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