Using a Travel Nurse Job Board: Pros and Cons
A travel nurse is a registered nurse (RN) or licensed practical nurse (LPN) who takes a short-term assignment at healthcare facilities in different locations. A travel nurse contract typically ranges from 4-13 weeks, depending on the facility’s needs. It allows facilities to quickly hire experienced, competent nurses to care for patients in the time it takes to hire and train a new nurse.
If your facility needs temporary nursing staff, you may be wondering where to post open positions. We review the pros and cons of using a travel nurse job board to fill shifts.
What Is a Travel Nurse Job Board?
A travel nursing job board is a website where healthcare employers can advertise traveler positions. Travel nurses commonly visit these sites to find needs in their specialty and desired location. Postings typically include information such as location, facility type, shift, contract duration, and pay.
Job boards are often hosted within a travel nurse platform or agency website. This allows nurses to visit a central place where they can find and apply for opportunities of interest. The recruitment process for travel nurses moves quickly as nurses are prepared to accept offers and begin covering shifts in a short timeframe. For this reason, it’s important to have an efficient travel nurse hiring process that includes strategic job advertisements.
What Are the Benefits of Using Travel Nursing Job Boards?
A recruitment strategy for staff nurses typically involves posting open positions on a healthcare organization’s website. The hiring process for travel nurses is often handled separately due to the nuances of temporary staffing. A job board allows facilities to post opportunities and get applications quickly. The advantages of using travel nurse job boards include the following.
- Cost-effectiveness: Posting on job boards can be more cost-effective than other strategies for marketing to nurses, such as attending conferences and investing in a social media strategy.
- Faster hiring: One of the primary goals of hiring travel nurses is to get nurses into patient care as quickly as possible. A travel nurse typically takes 3 days to train, whereas staff nurses may be on orientation for up to 3 months. By posting positions on a job board, recruiters can receive applications and begin the onboarding process quickly.
- Increased visibility: Online job postings are visible 24/7, allowing you to reach job seekers at any time, including the curious night shifter browsing jobs during downtime.
- Bigger reach: When you post travel positions to an established nursing job board, you benefit from a high volume of online traffic. This expands your reach to an audience outside of your region, which is crucial when seeking travel nurses. Many travel nurses are willing to travel thousands of miles for the right opportunity — this is your chance to attract them to yours.
What’s the Downside of Using a Travel Nursing Job Board?
Healthcare employers give up some control when handing their job postings over to another platform. Some potential downsides of posting on a travel nursing board are listed below.
- Bigger pool of candidates: Having a broad reach may increase the amount of applicants recruiters have to review. It can be time-consuming to sort through candidates who lack the specific qualifications a healthcare employer is looking for.
- Difficult to stand out: On a job board, your job posting may appear side-by-side with competing healthcare organizations. However, you can stand out from your competition by crafting a travel nurse job description that showcases the unique opportunities and benefits your organization offers.
- Impersonal process: The online application process on job boards is less personal than working directly with a healthcare recruiter. This can be a turnoff for nurses who seek to learn more about organizational culture through personal interactions.
Tips for Using a Job Board for Travel Nursing Jobs
Travel nurses can bring value to your facility due to their wide range of professional and clinical expertise. Finding fitting candidates for travel positions requires an effective recruiting strategy, and often involves taking a long-game approach.
A job board can help your company boost brand awareness by placing your healthcare organization’s name and logo in front of a large pool of nurses. Even if a nurse doesn’t take a position at your facility right away, this exposure makes them more likely to remember your name and consider your organization for future work. Review these tips when posting a travel nurse position on a job board:
- Have a compelling job title.
- Showcase any bonuses, overtime rates, or opportunities for financial incentives.
- Include keywords that a nurse may search to find the posting.
- Highlight the clinical opportunities a nurse will gain from the job.
- Create a unique job description that highlights why your facility is the best place to work.
- Keep your company branding consistent with social media and other online platforms.
Use the Right Job Board for Your Nurse Staffing Needs
A travel nurse job board can help your facility get more reach and attract the talent you’re seeking. Start recruiting qualified nursing professionals today on IntelyCare’s platform, which fills over 12 million nursing shift hours annually.