Nursing is a rewarding field where you care for those who need medical attention. It can be a challenging, sad job at times, but there are few feelings quite like the one you have when an unstable patient makes a full recovery. There is pride knowing you are a significant part of the healing process for patients.
Travel nursing is growing in popularity. There are numerous benefits with travel nursing, most notably the increased pay and ability to relocate to new cities every few months. A significant factor in satisfaction through travel nursing assignments is that the contracts are limited time, meaning you won’t get bored or feel stuck in one unit for too long. You can also get experience in different specialties and settings while learning new skills, making you even more marketable for future jobs. If you consider becoming a travel nurse, try these tips for landing a great travel nurse job.
Tips to Land a Travel Nurse Job:
1. Highlight Yourself
Brainstorm any additional experiences, skills, and defining moments of your career. Remember stories where you went above and beyond or where you saw something extremely rare and find ways to implement these facts about your nursing style and experience into conversations and applications. Much like the sales process for a successful salesperson, you must know how to sell yourself to employers by marketing your knowledge, strengths, skills, and past work duties. These are great to present in a cover letter, recruiter interview, and other steps throughout the process.
2. Polish Your Resume
It may seem awkward to brag about your knowledge, experience, and skill set, but there is no better time to do so than when you are applying for jobs. Your resume is a quick overview for potential employers to get a glimpse into your professional life. Your resume should be formatted well and free of spelling and grammar errors. Use the space you have to market yourself, documenting experiences and skills that make you stand out from other applicants, as well as the license and certifications pertinent to your nursing career. Are you an expert with continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT)? Do you have your CRRN certification? These are valuable facts that potential employers want to see. Do not hesitate to use your resume to document what you excel at to show that you are qualified for the positions they need to be filled.
3. Take Initiative
If you truly want to pursue travel nursing, then it is in your best interest to take the initiative. Ensure you meet all qualifications for these jobs. Connect with over travel nurses, as they can lead you to good recruiters and probably know accounts that are looking for help. Reach out to recruiters but expect a lot of contact with open positions once you give them your information.
4. Be Open
Initially, you may have to accept an assignment that is not in your ideal location. This may be necessary to get you into the travel nursing pool and can be beneficial as you get used to traveling work. Your flexibility and willingness show excitement, commitment, and reliability, making you more attractive to recruiters and hospitals. One drawback to travel assignments is never knowing exactly where you may end up and the inability to cherry-pick a precise location. If you are passionate about pursuing this path, then you should have no problem finding work as long as you meet the requirements and are willing to take almost any opening. You can afford to be pickier about assignment choices once you have established yourself and gain respect with a travel company.
The Main Takeaway
Travel nursing is not for everyone, but if it has caught your interest, then it may be for you! Prepare to have a good method to learn new protocols, as you must be a quick learner and flexible to how each hospital prefers things to be done. The best thing you can do as you begin to apply for travel nurse jobs is to be ready. Research the requirements, the companies you will apply to, and network with other travel nurses to learn more.
We hope you found these tips for finding a travel nurse job helpful! Are you a travel nurse who would like to share tips for new or fellow travel nurses to help them land a travel nurse job? Comment them below.
Are you looking for your first or next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Have the job but need to secure housing? Click here to view our housing page.
