By: Rich Smith
I like to read. Always have. It’s a way for me to turn off all the other noise and focus. Plus, I believe if you aren’t learning you aren’t growing. And I never want to be in that position.
LinkedIn is a great place for short blog pieces. If you aren’t using it for that, I’d highly suggest it. There are a lot of great people out there with some amazing ideas. Recently there have been a few sales related pieces that have really focused on getting to the YES. While I understand our industry isn’t sales, there are parallels that can be drawn.
Scott Anderson is a life coach/mentor type that writes a lot on there, and I really enjoy his work. It’s short, to the point, and makes you really think. (Check out his website, doubledareyou.us) He wrote a piece back in July that addressed the YES, but in a very different way. He suggested we forget about the yes, and focus on the what. There is the parallel. The what is really a why. Why are you traveling. What are your career goals? Recruiters are often too quick to push for the yes without understanding the what or the why. The yes is probably what’s in the recruiter’s best interest, but not the travelers.
Here’s an example. I have many great hospitals in St Louis that interview quick, pay well, and treat their travelers awesome. But what if the traveler wants the mountains? What if the travelers goal is to get closer to family on the east coast? My St Louis options might be what’s best for me, but not for them. Discovering the what is way more important than getting the yes. A good recruiter starts and ends with the what. After all, it’s a relationship not a transaction.
Ask yourself. Are you a transactional recruiter now? Do you know the reasons why your nurses travel? Do you know their what, or how they came to it? Are you thinking six months ahead for them, or are you just trying to achieve a headcount goal? If you don’t know their what, you better start asking. Our industry has evolved past the transactional nature that it once was. It’s far more personal now. Growth and success won’t come from mindlessly hammering out phone calls. It will come from connecting on a more personal level, and that starts with understanding the what.
