1. Pass Your Boards!!!
If you haven’t done this already, this is first and foremost. While this may seem obvious, passing your boards has become your new full-time job. Start early and take your time. I won’t go into specific details on board exam preparation in this blog, because that’s its own blog post on its own. For study tips and tricks check out my blog post “Ready to hit the road, but still have to pass boards??? Preparation tips to help you pass the NPTE the first time!!!” at https://www.newgradtraveltherapy.com/single-post/2017/05/31/Ready-to-hit-the-road-but-still-have-to-pass-boards-Preparation-tips-to-help-you-pass-the-NPTE-the-first-time
2. Prepare and Finalize your Resume
IT’S ALL ABOUT CONTENT!!! Don’t worry too much about formatting if you know you are going into a career in travel therapy. Each agency has their own template that they use. It’s all about what you have within your resume to not only make you stand out as a stellar traveler, but also sets you apart from other new graduates.
You don’t want your resume to be generic. Keep in mind that listing facility names with no detail about the facility is not very helpful. If you had a clinical in a level 1 trauma center, 400 bed hospital, certified stroke center, etc, show it off! Were you exposed to any special techniques/treatments? What types of patients did you see and how many on a daily basis? Did you have any supervisory role of assistants and/or aides? What documentation system was used? The more details you can provide, the better. If you took any continuing education courses as a student? List those as well! Make yourself shine on paper!
3. Collect Letters of Reference
In the current travel market, TIMING IS KEY!!! You could miss out on the opportunity to even interview for a travel position if you aren’t one of the first profiles to be submitted. As a new traveler who is setting up a completely new profile, it can be hard to get your references on the phone in a reasonable time frame. This can delay your opportunity to be submitted to travel jobs. START COLLECTING LETTERS OF REFERENCE NOW!!! Some recruiters will allow you to do this which will speed up the process of getting your submitted to that perfect assignment. Often times, the first few profiles submitted are the candidates who end up receiving the job offer.
