Before you can sign your employment contract as a travel nurse or allied health traveler, you must first interview with a travel recruiter. Wondering how to prepare for an interview with a healthcare travel recruiter? We have the answers. Find out what you can expect and learn ways to prep for the big moment.
- What to expect in an allied health or travel nurse interview
- Ways to prepare for an allied health or travel nursing job interview
- Interview tips for travel nurses and allied health travelers from Fusion Medical Staffing recruiters
How To Prep for an Interview With a Healthcare Recruiter
What to expect from an allied health or travel nursing interview
Whether you’ve talked to an allied health or travel nurse recruiter 100 times or it’s your very first conversation with one, knowing what to expect can make all the difference in being prepared. The tricky part is that the healthcare travel process may look different depending on your division and specialty. However, regardless of your profession, talking to a recruiter is easy breezy. (At least, it is when you travel with Fusion Medical Staffing!)
The good news is your allied health or travel nurse recruiter interview is more of a cool and casual phone call than a formal job interview. During the conversation, the recruiter will ask you a series of questions to get to know you better and learn about your professional dreams. By getting to know your strengths, values, career goals, and job preferences, your recruiter can make sure you’re fit with a travel job where you’ll succeed.
Ways to prepare for your allied health or travel nurse interview
Review your healthcare resume
One of the first (and most important) things you can do to prep for a call with a travel recruiter is review and proofread your healthcare resume. Take a peek at your professional resume and double-check that all of your qualifications are accurately presented and that you’re able to talk about the items included.
Related: How To Write a Travel Healthcare Resume
Not only will doing so help increase your confidence, but it will also show the allied health or travel nursing recruiter that you’ve taken the time and put in the effort to make sure you’re prepared for the interview. When you’re familiar with your resume, you’re able to speak easier about your professional experience to provide past examples of how you’ve used your unique skills and expertise IRL to get a job done. As a bonus, having a current resume helps allied health and travel nurse recruiters get to know you on a deeper level, allowing them to make more informed decisions about the best allied health or travel nursing assessment for you.
Practice answering allied health and travel nurse interview questions
Another allied health and travel nursing interview tip is to practice answering popular interview questions ahead of time. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, but mock interviews can also help you get comfortable talking about yourself, stay focused, and articulate your answers clearly during the actual phone conversation.
While talking with a Fusion Medical Staffing recruiter may feel like you're talking to a long, lost friend, there are a few fundamentals they'll need to know. These are some examples of allied health and travel nurse interview questions that may come up:
📋 What are your shift preferences?
📋 Is there a specific location or region you want to work in?
📋 Would you rather work in a large healthcare facility or a small clinic?
📋 How would you describe your working style?
📋 What are your top priorities in an allied health or travel nurse job?
📋 What are you looking for in a potential employer?
📋 Will you live in company-provided housing or accept the tax-free allied health and travel nursing housing stipend?
📋 Are you traveling with friends, family, or pets?
📋 What's your ideal start date?
Also, be ready to answer behavioral interview questions like:
📋 Tell me a time when there was a stressful situation or patient crisis — how did you react and what did you do?
📋 Provide an example of a time when you saw a problem and stepped in to correct it.
📋 Describe past experiences where you used your leadership skills to motivate fellow nurses and allied health professionals.
When it comes to how to conduct a mock allied health or travel nursing interview, there are a few options. The simplest way is to create a list of common interview questions and respond to each one out loud so you can get used to verbalizing your answers. Some other ways you can rehearse your responses are through flashcards, video recording yourself, or calling in friends or family for reinforcement. With effective interview preparation, you can feel good knowing you’re putting your best self forward.
Write down questions you want to ask
Most of the time, the end of your allied health or travel nurse interview comes locked and loaded with a million-dollar question: “Do you have any questions for us?” Your answer: yes!
Having relevant questions prepared for your allied health or travel nursing interview is a crucial part of making a strong impression as an enthusiastic candidate. Coming up with interview questions for the recruiter beforehand helps you stay focused and organized during the meeting, although you should note any additional questions that come up as you chat. Some questions you may want details on include:
📋 How long is the average allied health or travel nursing contract?
📋 How many hours am I required to work per week, and are they guaranteed?
📋 What traveler resources are there if I have an issue while on an assignment?
📋 Are benefits, such as health insurance, available to medical travelers?
📋 Is there a chance to earn more money through sign-on or referral bonuses?
📋 What are the nurse-to-patient ratios?
📋 What cities and states are you currently hiring for the most?
📋 Why is Fusion Medical Staffing the best allied health and travel nursing agency for me?
Additionally, having questions written down and ready to go allows you to be thoughtful about what you want to ask, as well as any follow-up inquiries you might have. Taking the time to carefully craft and organize your questions in advance ensures you’ll nail your travel nursing interview or allied health interview.
Interview tips for travel nurses and allied health travelers from Fusion Medical Staffing healthcare recruiters
Now that you know how to prep for your allied health or travel nurse interview with a recruiter, it’s time to learn some hot tips that you can use during your phone call that will help get you the job you want. We asked Fusion Medical Staffing recruiters what interview advice they’d give to travel nurses and allied health travelers — here’s what they said.
Remain flexible
Traveling as a healthcare worker can be an exciting and rewarding career choice for those interested in exploring new places and gaining new experiences. But when it comes to interviewing for allied health or travel nursing assignments, being flexible may be the key.
Being flexible during an interview can help you ace it, because it shows the recruiter (and ultimately the hiring manager) that you’re willing to make compromises and adapt to whatever situation is presented to you.
Pro tip: typically, travel nurses and allied health travelers who can adjust their availability and location preferences are more likely to be matched with an allied health or travel nursing job. So, when you’re chatting with a travel recruiter about potential job opportunities, casually mention that you’re open to exploring a variety of allied health and travel nursing assignments across the country.
Be open and honest
But what if you have job deal breakers or other concerns about allied health travel and travel nursing? Then we want to hear about them! It’s up to you to be open and honest. You know what they say — honesty is the best policy.
Being open and honest about what you’re looking for in an allied health or travel nursing contract allows your recruiter to match you with the right assignments. Without knowing what can make or break an allied health or travel nursing job for you, your recruiter may not have all the information they need to help you succeed.
Maintain a positive attitude
Having a positive attitude during an interview with a healthcare travel recruiter can go a long way in signing you with the allied health and travel nursing agency of your dreams. Not only that, but being optimistic also helps you stand out from other candidates and conveys that you’re eager to learn and work hard, which are qualities all healthcare facilities value.
Ready to start a new adventure as a professional travel nurse or allied health traveler? Use these tips to ace your allied health or travel nurse interview and start traveling with Fusion Medical Staffing!
As a Fusion Medical Staffing travel nurse or allied health traveler, you’re more than just another employee — you’re family. That means there’s a whole team of people who have your back every day that ends in “y.” Whether you need a helping hand with impressing the hiring manager at the healthcare facility, securing the proper allied health and travel nursing documentation, or making a pros/cons list for a job offer, your Fusion Medical Staffing recruiter is there.
