How to Get Referrals for Jobs as a Travel Nurse

A consistent, positive work history is the key to getting referrals for jobs as a travel nurse. One of the most important things you’ll need to develop your resume is references from past supervisors. Quality referrals and an excellent resume will help build a strong travel nursing career.

Before you begin a travel nursing assignment, think about how you want your supervisor to evaluate you in the following areas after the assignment is complete, then conduct yourself accordingly during the assignment:

• Your clinical skills, competence, and proficiency
• Your dependability as shown by your attendance and punctuality
• Your attitude in terms of flexibility, teamwork, and your willingness to put in extra hours if needed

There are several things to keep in mind regarding references:

• References must be from your direct supervisors, not your coworkers.
• You need to record the complete name of your supervisor, their title, telephone number (indicate if it is a personal cell phone), shift worked, unit, and floor.
• You will be asked to provide the name of the facility, city, and state.
• Your travel nursing agency will want to know the first and last day of your last assignment.
• Most importantly, let your supervisor know your staffing agency will be calling and you’re counting on them to give a reference for you. If they expect it, they will be more likely to take or return our call and provide the reference.

Ensuring your references are positive and verifiable by your staffing agency will be especially helpful in expediting your future profile submissions to a facility. With steep competition for travel jobs, any delay could cause you to lose the assignment you desire. You can avoid delays by always getting commitments for evaluations from your supervisor(s) before you leave the assignment. You will need two references from two separate supervisors for your resume.

Remember, if you follow these suggestions and secure your references before leaving each assignment, you’ll maintain professional evaluations that will highlight your outstanding performance and you will really stand out when your profile is presented to facilities. Your excellent references will make it easy for them to see that you are the best choice for their travel nursing assignment.