Most recruiters take their responsibilities to those working travel jobs for them very seriously; livelihoods are often in our hands. So...when things go terribly wrong, we tend to fret over whatever happenstance we are dealing with. So, when I placed one of my therapists (who was living in California) in a school district in Eastern Texas, I was worried about her making such a long trip by herself. She had my cell number, and I encouraged her to call me along the way on her trip. The first call came when she encountered a forest fire and had to take a detour, the second found her facing a huge traffic jam and being stuck on the highway for over an hour. The final call came when she had car trouble and made the decision to hop in a car with a stranger to get help. I'm a mother; I was aghast! Luckily, she was fine and made her way to the Texas apartment by Sunday evening and to work on time that Monday morning.
Here's where the nightmare began for me: She'd been on the assignment only 2 weeks when the client called to tell us that they were giving a a 30 day notice to end her contract, as they'd found a district hire to take the position! OMG!!! This poor girl drove through 5 states, forest fires, traffic jams and car trouble; left behind most of her belongings and family and missed the birth of her nephew to help this school. I was LIVID!!! Well.... I don't really get livid, but I missed at least 2 night's sleep worrying over it.
Well, I got on the phone and called every facility and school within 30 miles of her apartment. The good news is that I found a pediatric clinic who needed help and agreed to have her start the next week; the bad news (for me, anyway) is that the bill rate is $9.00 an hour less than the school that ended her contract, and the clinic isn't giving her enough hours for her to keep her insurance benefits. The worry continues, but I'll be back on the phones tomorrow trying to find her additional work.
We really do care about you guys and take it to heart when something goes wrong. HONEST!!!
