Reader Questions About Travel PT: Round 2
For this round of Reader Questions About Travel PT I have selected a wonderfully honest email from one of our readers who was both excited but also nervous to begin down the path as a travel physical therapist. She was very concerned about contacting travel PT recruiters. Here is our exchange of emails:
Hi, my name is 1AmazingPT (not her real name but likely true) and I’m a soon-to-be new grad physical therapist in May of this year. I’m really interested in travel therapy, I traveled for each clinical rotation and loved it! I read your article on WebPT, “5 tips for maximizing your Travel PT Lifestyle” and could certainly use some guidance as I’m now starting to set up phone calls with recruiters. I’m not really sure what to expect with these recruiter phone calls and am a little nervous about making a good first impression. Do you have any advice? Anything is appreciated!!
Thank you, 1AmazingPT
My response:
1AmazingPT!
Thanks for reaching out! So regarding the recruiter interview. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
1. You want a professional working relationship. Recruiters are not your best friend. They are working FOR you! Regardless of what they may seem to say or act like on the phone, keep this in mind. What can start out as sounding buddy buddy might end up with you getting the short end of the stick. YOU are in charge. If you get a funny feeling about a specific recruiter just move on. There is tremendous turn over in their profession so trust me, you’ll always be able to find another recruiter.
2. Do not get suckered into the “buy now” phenomenon. Recruiters are all going to want to get you signed up in their system and to create a profile super quick because of XYZ job that is “super hot and going fast.” Take your time and find someone you think you can trust and work well with. It is true, once a job is posted it goes pretty fast, but you have a few months time before graduation so Id use it to your advantage and get to know someone well before submitting for a job with them.
3. Date around some. It is standard practice to work with 2-4 recruiters at one time. We rely heavily on 2 and mix in a third if we have a specific need we are trying to fill (location, pay rate, clinic setting, etc). Having multiple recruiters makes job searches much easier because it expands the field of potential jobs by 20% or so. Most companies have 80% of the same jobs, but they also have exclusive contracts with facilities that others might not have. It is also better to work with a few recruiters as a new traveler because break ups are easier when there are other options around. As you get closer to taking a job one of the recruiters might get super pushy or be too lackadaisical in crunch time. Thats when you tell them, respectfully, that you are going to work with someone else, but “thank you for your time and assistance yadda yadda yadda...”
4. If possible, don’t accept less pay because you are a new grad. Right off the bat many recruiters try to damped new grad expectations about what they can make. In the majority of jobs this is BS. Most companies pay a flat bill rate (the money a clinic pays your recruiting agency to then pay you) regardless of the # of years of experience a clinician has.
Now, there are exceptions. Some clinics insist on paying a reduced bill rate for new or inexperienced clinicians (under 2yrs, possibly even setting dependent) but as I said, these are the minority of positions. There are also some jobs that are flat out not offered to new grads. So you should be aware of that too.
1AmazingPT – You are going to do great when talking to recruiters. Just remember the 4 keys I mentioned above and you will do just fine. The feeling out process takes time, but as a soon to be grad you have just that. Im sure you are aware that we have our own “preferred recruiters.” Basically these are the best recruiters that we have found, and use. Since you did not directly request them in the prior email I did not want to just send you their info without confirming your interest.
I know how overwhelming it can be to have recruiters bombarding you with blast emails all of the time.
Let us know if you have any interest in an introduction to our recruiters.
All the best!
Steve
Her later response:
Hi Steve,
Thank you so much for the feedback! It was SO helpful talking to the recruiter this past Friday. I am so thankful for all of your advice. I went into the conversation feeling less nervous and more knowledgeable. I have several traveler friends in PT as well and referred them all to your site!
Of course you may use the initial email as a blog post! If it was helpful for me it will definitely help others. (I had previously asked her if I could use this interchange in a separate email)
Lastly but not least, would you be willing to share your preferred recruiter list with me? I meant to ask for it initially.
Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity!
All the best,
1AmazingPT
Written by: Stephen Stockhausen PT, DPT, OCS
