My Recruiter: Ashley

I wouldn't be where I am in my career if it wasn't for my recruiter Ashley!  a couple weeks ago she asked me to write her a reference letter to send out to new nurses that she gets after the first time that she talks to them...when I first saw reference letter in the email my heart dropped...I truly thought that she was going to say that she had applied for a different job.  I know that if that would have been the case, I don't know that I would continue on my journey as a travel nurse.  THANK GOODNESS it was the complete opposite!!  I have only known Ashley for about a year and I have never met her, but she has become a close friend and I talk to her many times in one week! 
I am going to copy the letter I wrote for her on this entry.  Maybe it will help some of you grasp how much she really has done for me and how much I appreicate her!!! 

When my life took a turn that I wasn’t expecting and I needed a huge change to start over, I met a girl that was a travel nurse at the hospital I was working at. After an in depth conversation with her about the career as travel nurse, she gave me her card with a number on the back that would soon change my life. After debating back and forth as to whether or not travel nursing would be the career for me, I decided to call the number on the back of that card to just see what it was about. Little did I know that the nice, bubbly voice on the other end of the phone was one that I would eventually talk to about not only about my nursing career and about finding the next job, but about my personal life as well. The first time I talked to Ashley Miller, it was like talking to one of my friends that I had known for years. She related to me and what I was going through at that time in my life, and she encouraged me not to run from unpleasant things, but to be a travel nurse because I truly wanted to be. The first conversation we had lasted about 45 minutes, and to my surprise it was mostly about me: what I do, what my hobbies were, what interests me, what made me happy, and what I wanted to make of a travel nurse career. Ashley was more that efficient in explaining her role and the agency that would soon make me a travel nurse.

From the beginning, Ashley has been more to me than just my recruiter, she has been my friend. There are times that I talk to her more in one week than I talk to some of my closest friends. One thing that is important for a nurse/recruiter relationship is having a recruiter that you can trust. You have to keep in mind that ultimately this person has your livelihood in their hands. They are the ones that work endlessly to find you a job, make sure that the job will suite your personality and skills, actually submit you to a job, and then anxiously wait with you for your interview. I trust Ashley more than ever, she is true to her word and I have never been disappointed with the timeline of submitting for a job that she lays out for me. She is honest with me when she thinks that I would be bored with a certain job or area or when she thinks that I need to submit my resume to a job.
There was a time when I was looking into other companies, just to have a wider variety of jobs and more opportunities. I was open with Ashley about it, and she was very accepting about it. However, she promised me that she wasn’t going to lose me to another company and she would have me a great job by the end of that week, and Ashley was true to her word! She landed me a job on the east coast in the specialty that I love!
As I look back on my career as a travel nurse, Ashley always pops in my mind! I wouldn’t be where I am with my career if it wasn’t for her time, friendship, work ethic, and positive attitude. She has proven time after time that I more than a business associate, but her friend that she cares about. I would recommend Ashley to anybody that I come in contact with that is considering a career in travel nursing.
If you are reading this letter, you have already had a conversation with Ashley; I can reassure you that she is the recruiter to go with. I gave her a chance to make my career one that I have always dreamed of, and she succeeded!!!
~Allison Chaput, travel nurse with Medical Solutions

I was going to steal a picture of her off her facebook, but I'm not sure which one she would like the best...so I decided to wait until we can take a picture together!!!  I'm hoping that I will finally get to met this bubbly voice that I talk to all the time when I am in Lincoln for a week with my little sister during my time off between assignments!!!