Can we talk?

I finally have to admit I'm getting old.

It's not just that I've started wearing glasses - I'm reminded in other ways nearly every day.  First it's the obvious stuff, like the emails ranting about how "when we were kids, we didn't wear bike helmets or sit in car childseats - and we lived!"  Then the less obvious - such as seeing newspapers go the way of dinosaurs and needing to use email to communicate with my daughter's teachers. 

As far as the healthcare staffing business, I won't go into the "when I was your age, we used pay phones, 10-key calculators, and carbon paper" stuff, but let me just say, I remember when a cell phone the size of a shoe box was an incredible piece of technology. And email?  Nobody could have predicted the way that would change things back then.  Those were amazing innovations that truly made us more productive, and I was onboard all the way.

But there are some things now that I just don't understand.  And it's making me feel like my Grandpa trying to use the TV remote:

• I have a Facebook page, Skipstone has a Facebook page, and we also have a Facebook "group".  You can be a "friend", a "fan", or a "member".  But I can barely figure out which is which, and I have no idea why I want to use one over the other.  As far as I can tell, the people who told me I should do this can't tell either.
• Twitter?  Really - does anyone care what I'm doing right now?  And if they did, wouldn't that be just a little creepy?
• How is it possible to resolve a disagreement via text messaging?

And the big one lately is this:

• How can anybody decide on their next travel therapy job based almost entirely on research they do over the internet? 

Look at all the online dating nightmare stories - anybody can say anything and look like anyone on the web, and the truth won't come out until it's too late.  Isn't finding a job (which requires entering into new personal relationships) somewhat similar?  If every guy can be six feet tall on the web, can't every travel therapy company have high ethical standards and the best selection of great jobs - at least on the web?   

Here's my admittedly "old-school" viewpoint - if you're looking for a travel job, use the internet (or a print journal, or a friend's reference) to find some companies to talk to - and then call them!  Plan to spend ten minutes on the phone with a recruiter.  Get to know each other and hear what they say not just about pay and benefits (which are indeed important), but also about their availability after hours, problem resolution procedures, how they go about presenting you to their clients, and the many other things that can't be taken off their website, put into a spreadsheet and analyzed. 

And just as importantly, be prepared to open up to the recruiter.  Good recruiters work like consultants and need to know about you so they can determine how best to meet your needs.  And bad recruiters? You'll quickly figure out who they are - that's the beauty and the power of conversation.  Try getting that from a text message!

Oh, and by the way - our number is 888-499-4904.  Can we talk?

Alan

      

 Skipstone Healthcare Staffing

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Mean what you say.

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