Schemes Recruiters Use Against Travel Nurses

1.  Recruiter: What amount do you have to get paid to accept a contract?

·      This lets the recruiter know exactly how little they can pay you and you still be willing to sign the contract.

·      My Response: “I don’t have a minimum amount. It really just depends on numerous variables for each contract”

2.   Recruiter: Since you are a first time travel nurse your pay will be lower…

·      This is simply not true. Either you meet the requirements for the contract or you don’t. If you meet the requirements you get paid the same amount whether you barely meet or far exceed the requirements. 

3.  Recruiter: What did the other agency offer you? 

·      When negotiating contracts with multiple agencies, recruiters will sometimes ask this question. This is not important for the recruiter to know. The recruiter wants to know how much his/her competition is offering so they can likely offer a few dollars more and get the nurse to sign with them. Remember, if the recruiter does not know how much the competing recruiter is offering you, the recruiter might offer you way more than the competing recruiter because they are unsure exactly how much the competing recruiter is offering.

4. Recruiter: (at end of nurse's contract) The agency provided health insurance you chose to get for your current contract for the entire year and you do not qualify for a significant life event meaning this coverage cannot be cancelled. 

This is just a lie to prevent the nurse from using another agency for the next contract. If you chose to use the agency provided insurance the coverage usually ends the day of your last shift unless you chose to use cobra.