Questions to Ask a Nursing Recruiter
Twenty questions for a nursing recruiter, whether in-house at a hospital or with a travel agency. Covers the pay breakdown, guaranteed hours, cancellation and float clauses, credentialing timelines, and which questions a recruiter cannot answer.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Are you recruiting for one employer or for several?
Why ask it
Worth asking first, because it sets the value of everything else they say. An in-house recruiter knows one hospital well. An agency recruiter is placing across many facilities and may never have set foot on the unit.
Which unit is this role on, and is the position new or a replacement?
Why ask it
Recruiters often work from a requisition number rather than knowledge of the floor. If they cannot name the unit, ask for the hiring manager, because unit-level facts are where the job actually lives.
Why is the role open?
Why ask it
Growth, a retirement, a resignation and a contract nurse leaving are four different situations. A recruiter who mentions the post has been open six months has told you something useful without intending to.
What is the pay range, and is that a base rate or does it include differentials?
Why ask it
Quoted nursing pay routinely folds night and weekend differentials into one headline figure. Ask for the base separately, because the headline collapses if you end up assigned to days.
Can you break the package down into base pay, differentials and anything non-taxable?
Why ask it
The question that exposes an inflated weekly rate. Non-taxable stipends are legitimate but depend on having a tax home, so a large-looking package can be mostly reimbursement you may not qualify for.
What is the shift, the ratio and the weekend requirement on that unit?
Why ask it
Recruiters answer pay questions readily and working-conditions questions less so. If they cannot give you the ratio, the gap is the answer, and it is a reason to ask for the manager before going further.
Have you placed anyone at that facility before, and did they stay?
Why ask it
Concrete and hard to spin. A recruiter with a track record there can tell you what previous placements reported. One who has never placed there is selling you a listing they have only read.
What is the contract length, and what are the cancellation terms?
Why ask it
Cancellation is the most consequential clause in any travel contract, because hospitals do cancel with little notice when census drops. Ask specifically what happens if it is cancelled in the first week.
Are hours guaranteed, and what happens if the facility cuts my shifts?
Why ask it
A guarantee is what turns a rate into an income. Without one, a slow week is your loss, and units under census pressure cut hours from contract staff before anyone else.
What licensing and certifications do I need, and who pays for them?
Why ask it
State licensing, compact status and certifications each cost time and money. Ask whether reimbursement is conditional on completing the contract, since that condition is common and rarely mentioned upfront.
How long does credentialing usually take between offer and start date?
Why ask it
Credentialing takes longer than people expect and the gap is unpaid. The realistic timeline is what tells you whether you can safely give notice at your current job yet.
Would I be floated to other units, and how is that decided?
Why ask it
Floating is where a well-described assignment quietly becomes a different job. Ask what the contract says rather than what the recruiter expects, because only one of those two is enforceable.
Once I have started, who do I call if something goes wrong on the unit?
Why ask it
Agency placements have two chains of authority, the hospital and the agency. Get the name and number of your agency contact now, while you are still the party with leverage.
Can I read the contract before I commit to anything?
Why ask it
Ask before agreeing to a submission rather than after. Recruiters who resist sending the document early are usually managing a difference between what they described and what it says.
Will you submit my profile anywhere without asking me first?
Why ask it
Blanket submission is a real problem in agency recruiting, because a facility that already holds your profile from one agency often will not consider a second submission from a better one. Set this expectation in writing.
How are you paid, and does it change depending on which assignment I take?
Why ask it
Recruiters are generally paid on placement and sometimes more for particular contracts. Not disqualifying, and knowing it lets you read enthusiasm accurately, especially a sudden push toward one specific assignment.
What is the housing arrangement, and what changes if I find my own?
Why ask it
Agency housing removes hassle and usually costs more than the stipend you would otherwise receive. Ask for both figures so you can compare them, and ask what happens to the lease if the assignment ends early.
If I turn this one down, what happens to my application?
Why ask it
Some recruiters treat a declined offer as a closed file. Clarifying protects the relationship and shows you whether this person is working for you or for one requisition they need filled this month.
What is the part of this job that people complain about after they start?
Why ask it
Recruiters know, and many will say if asked directly, because a placement that quits early costs them. A recruiter who claims nobody ever complains is telling you they do not follow up with the nurses they place.
If you were the one taking this contract, what would you want to know?
Why ask it
Briefly moves the recruiter to your side of the table, and good ones answer with something you had not thought of: the commute, the charting system, or the reputation of one particular shift.
Working with Nursing Recruiters
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
What a recruiter can and cannot tell you
Split your questions by who owns the answer
Recruiters own pay, contract terms, credentialing and timelines. Unit managers own ratios, floating, patient mix and orientation. Asking a recruiter about the unit usually gets you a paraphrase of the requisition.
Ask for the hiring manager before you commit
One short conversation with the nurse manager settles most of what a recruiter cannot answer. A recruiter who will not arrange one, on any assignment, has given you information about the assignment.
Judge them on specificity rather than warmth
The recruiters worth staying with answer in numbers, named units and dates. Enthusiasm is inexpensive and every agency has plenty of it.
Get these in writing before you sign
- The base rate, separated from every differential and stipend.
- Guaranteed hours per week, and what happens if the facility reduces them.
- Cancellation terms, including what applies during the first two weeks.
- The floating policy exactly as it appears in the contract.
- Who pays for licensing, certification and travel, and whether reimbursement is conditional.
- Start date, contract length, and the terms of any extension.
Common pitfalls
Comparing weekly totals
Two assignments quoting the same weekly figure can differ by several dollars an hour once stipends, guaranteed hours and differentials are separated out. Convert everything back to an hourly base before comparing.
Letting your profile go out broadly
Once a facility holds your profile from one agency, another agency generally cannot submit you. Approve each submission individually, in writing, even when it slows things down.
Treating the listing as the job
Requisitions are written to be filled. The unit's own answers about ratio, floating and support staff are the ones that predict what your shifts will feel like.
Forgetting the unpaid gap
Between accepting and starting sits credentialing, and it pays nothing. People routinely resign a job three weeks before the next one can legally begin.
A workable process
- 1Talk to two or three recruiters before submitting anywhere, and ask each the same pay-breakdown question.
- 2Keep a record of which agency submitted you to which facility and on what date.
- 3Require your written approval before any submission goes out.
- 4Read the whole contract, cancellation and float clauses included, before signing.
- 5Once you have started, raise problems with your agency contact early rather than after they have escalated.