Pros
You gain a lot of experience as this job will test you in many ways. I was with RHC for 1 year, but it felt like several. The larger company, Randstad offers a lot of cool perks like paid Volunteer time and access to a lot of different professional networks. Not much beyond that, unfortunately.
Cons
-Extremely High Turnover rate. 7 recruiters and 2 managers leaving within 9 months along with a historic pattern of churning and burning recruiters (most don't make it past a year if that). -Have recently implemented a new process where new hires come on as a contractor for 6 months and are then offered a permanent position. Only 1 or 2 out of 10 new hires they bring on will obtain that, and it has a lot to do with who mentors them and what territory they end up recruiting for. Randstad Healthcare has little interest in training or investing in new hires (or tenured people at that), but rather testing to see who can swim in a sea of chaos, disorganization, and unpredictability that is Travel Nursing. - The training is a joke. You are trained by someone who was NEVER A RECRUITER and you are set up for failure from day 1. In addition, there is very little coaching and mentorship beyond that. I'd say their training teaches you how the car works but they don't teach you to drive so to speak. -Travel Nursing is a highly saturated space with Dozens of different Agencies all with access to the same jobs going after the same Nurses. With that, Randstad doesn't give you much to be able to distinguish yourself from the competition. (Randstad offers their travelers more expensive insurance that doesn't even start on day 1, along with fewer rewards, and lacks close relationships with facilities that offer competitive pay and more favorable working conditions.) - The Travel Nursing space is hard, to begin with. I personally did not enjoy working with many of these Nurses as they can be unprofessional, rude, and abusive to their recruiters (and they can get away with it because recruiters are really a dime in a dozen). -Complete disorganization in the ATS. - Honestly, if you want to work in the travel nursing space, you can find a better agency to work for that has better jobs, resources, training, coaching, mentorship, and benefits that can make you stand out from your competitors. -Not at all a mission drive organization like they claim to be, purely about the bottom line. Cares more about making new placements and getting more deals than providing resources and benefits for Talent who have been already working with us. A big part of ramping up in staffing is getting talent to redeploy/extend with you, and Randstad gives their active talent little incentive to take new contracts or extend through them.
