Question
Do recruiters need to know that you may be using two agencies? Do they get competitive with each other? Can you ever use two recruiters from the same agency? Also, I have not been working for some time and I am now just trying to get back into OT. Would any travel agency be interested in me?
Answer
The two recruiters would have to be from two different agencies. If they were from the same recruitment agency, they would have the exact same jobs. Different companies are going to have exclusive contracts that the others do not. I tell always ask recruiter A from the very beginning, "Do you mind if I work with one other recruiter? I want to make sure because I really like to have the most job opportunities. However, I am always going to be open and transparent with you." I tell both of them from the beginning. If anything it makes them work a little bit harder. If recruiter A is submitting jobs to me, I am not going to make recruiter B waste their time still looking for jobs. I keep them both really posted on where I am at in the process. I truly want to respect their time as I know how hard they work. I go back to both of them every 13 weeks. There needs to be good communication and mutual respect on both sides.
With regards to getting back into OT after a hiatus from working, that would depend on a few things. As therapists, we are allowed to travel as new grads with not much experience. You need to be very honest with yourself, and with your recruiter, where your skill level is right now. I do not know how long you have worked as an OT, or how you feel about your clinical skills, but remember there is no mentoring and you need to hit the ground running. Just be honest with yourself. Do I really feel my clinical skills are still there? Start brushing up on your skills. Pull out old resources. Additionally, you might not want to start in a place that does not have a great therapy team. When you are interviewing, be honest and tell them you might need help. Your recruiter will work with you to find places that are super new grad friendly. Once you get a few under your belt, then you could switch to places that are more competitive.