For most travel nurses, completing travel nursing job applications is among the most reviled aspects of landing a travel nursing job. This is understandable given the detail requested by most travel nursing job applications and the sheer volume of paperwork that travel nurses must contend with. However, the travel nursing job application is perhaps the most important determining factor in landing travel nursing jobs. In this blog post, we’ll explain why the application is so important and offer some tips for filling them out quickly.
Why are travel nursing job applications so important?
While it’s true that you’re completing an application for a travel nursing agency, you’re also entering the information that will be reviewed by the hospital representatives responsible for making the actual hiring decision. The travel nursing agency’s job application is part of the agency’s Applicant Tracking System. So the data that travel nurses enter into the online job application is rendered as a resume of sorts and presented to the hospital for their consideration.
In this respect, it’s akin to your resume when searching for permanent jobs. The data entered into the travel nursing job application will be measured against the data entered by other potential applicants. And remember, the hospital is receiving multiple candidates from multiple staffing agencies. Spelling errors, punctuation errors, improper capitalization, and missing information in a job application can all weigh negatively on a travel nurse’s chances at landing a travel nursing assignment.
What’s with all the specific details required by travel nursing job applications?
Of course, one of the main differences between travel nursing job applications and your standard resume is the level of detail required by travel nursing job applications. They routinely ask for the names of supervisors, the number of beds on the unit you worked, telephone numbers, the number of beds in the hospitals you’ve worked at, and many more specific details. This is clearly more than you would include on your standard resume.
These detail requirements might lead some to believe that travel nursing agencies are asking for more information than they actually need. However, travel nursing agencies seek these details because many hospitals require them. Each hospital has its own requirements for considering candidates for the hospital’s travel nursing jobs. Some hospitals have extremely stringent requirements including a detailed account of the candidate’s last 7 years of work history even if it wasn’t related to nursing. If the candidate wasn’t working, then they require an explanation of what the candidate was doing during the timeframe! As a result, travel nursing agencies design their online application to capture the information required by their client hospitals.
When required data is missing from a travel nurse’s profile, hospitals will often reject the profile. In this case, they’ll let the agency know what information is missing and give them a chance to resubmit the profile. But it’s often too late by that time as the position will most likely be filled by another candidate. In other cases, the hospital will accept the profile, but simply pass over the candidate due to the missing information.
Recommendations for managing travel nursing job applications:
It’s highly recommended that travel nurses maintain a detailed account of their work history, licenses, and certifications in order to complete travel nursing job applications accurately and efficiently. This will be much like a resume, but it will include details that aren’t commonly included on traditional resumes. Travel nurses can then quickly copy and paste the information into the online application. Below is a list of recommended details.
Licenses and Certifications
- License/Certification Name
- License/Certification Body
- Is this a Compact nursing license Y/N?
- License Expiration Date
- License Number (if applicable)
Work History
- Exact Start Date and Exact End Date (mm/dd/yy)
- Full Hospital Name
- Full Hospital Address
- Hospital Telephone Number
- Unit Worked
- Beds on Unit
- Beds in Hospital
- Supervisor Name
- Supervisor Telephone Number
- Employment Type: Travel Assignment/PRN/Permanent Job
- Employment Details (description of job duties)
It’s important to remember that hospitals always want to see each hospital that you’ve worked for. This means you should list each travel assignment you’ve completed separately on your application. This can be a nightmare for many travel nurses because they have worked at a large number of hospitals while traveling. This is why it’s important to keep a running tally of the information.
If you’re getting a late start on compiling this information, then there are tools that can make it easier for you to get up to speed. For example, you can use the American Hospital Directory (AHD) to obtain much of the information on the list. The AHD provides a free directory of hospitals throughout the United Sates.
The importance of a great travel nursing recruiter
Once you’ve submitted your application, your recruiter will review it and fill in the gaps. They will also pull everything together into a “submission profile” that will be used to submit you for consideration for travel nursing jobs. A great recruiter knows the ins-and-outs of the travel nursing job market. They have a keen eye for ensuring your application is set to meet the standards of their client hospitals.
A great recruiter will be able to fill in all the gaps left open. However, it’s important to remember that travel nursing jobs fill quickly and will take recruiters time to fill in the gaps. Therefore, completing your travel nursing job application to the best of your ability can enhance your chances of landing jobs quickly. One of the many great things about TotalMed is that we have highly trained and highly experienced travel nursing recruiters to help you through the process!!
If you’d like to see more articles on Tips and Insights, click here.