Here at RepuStaff, we have seen the benefits of therapists working contract jobs for years. The link below is to an article confirming what we have been promoting for years! If you are a Physical Therapist (or Occupational Therapist or Speech Language Pathologist - this applies to you too!), click the link below for great career news!
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/photos/12-hot-contract-jobs/2533226/
One of the biggest complaints I hear from facility staff, no matter where I go, or in what setting, is the politics. Healthcare facilities are full of gossip, power struggles, scheduling issues and other common workplace fodder. As a contract physical therapist, I'm there to do the job I went to school for so long to be allowed to do......Physical Therapy! I'm not a permanent fixture in the facility, therefore, I have no need to get involved in such nonproductive activities.
I was recently working in a rehab setting with lots of conflicting personalities, office politics, disgruntled employees, and strange patients. This being a temporary assignment, those things don't bother me, as I am only there TEMPORARILY! Things that could really bug you as a full time employee are not even minor irritations when you are a traveling therapist.
Happy Traveling!
-Ben
As the Director of Operations for RepuStaff, I wear many hats every week. One of the most important yet most difficult tasks I face is recruiting contract physical therapists and contract occupational therapists. Finding contract therapists in Indianapolis, IN, or those that want to move here, has never been easy. Being in the staffing realm as long as I have, I find this interesting. If you are a traditionally employed person, consider this for just a moment. How much vacation time to you have? Who has to approve when or if you can use your vacation time? Do you have to deal with politics at your place of employment? If you don't need health insurance, do you get an option to take home more income? As a contract therapist, YOU get to take YOUR vacation when YOU want to. You don't have to pay attention to the office or facility politics since you aren't employed there. As a contractor, you are generally paid $3-5 per hour more than your regular hire counterparts, more than that if you don't need insurance benefits. Most people who are adverse to contract positions just think about the "uncertainty" of the positions. In this economy uncertainty is the only certainty! Even "regular hire" positions aren't certain or stable. With contract, you at least have a notice period before your assignment will end. Do you get that as a regular hire? As a contract therapist for RepuStaff, you can be CERTAIN that there is a team behind you making sure you have seamless transitions between assignments.
Why not give contract therapy staffing a try? The only thing you have to lose is more money!
I've been in the employment business for a long time, 12 years in fact. The changes I have seen in that relatively short amount of time have been simply astronomical! What has happened to the days of CareerBuilder, Monster and the good old newspaper ads? They are, for the most part, gone. In this economy, most of us would consider ourselves the "passive job seeker". We are the people who aren't necessarily looking for a new opportunity, but would possibly consider an opportunity if it fell into our lap. How do these opportunities "fall into someone's lap"? Why is it that these situations seem to always happen to other people? You have to put yourself into a situation where the jobs come to you. I am talking about nothing more than networking! Networking has become as easy as a click of a mouse. There are so many social and professional networking sites to choose from. Surround yourself with people you admire, both in and out of your field. Post blogs, set up group pages, "tweet" on your activities on a given day. You will be surprised how many people will start to pay attention. Just be careful! Don't post anything that can come back to haunt you! That party you attended last weekend where you were wearing the lampshade might be funny on your social networking sites, but you wouldn't want it to be anywhere near your professional sites. If its out there anywhere, anyone can find it. Be smart about what you post, but still have fun. These days the saying holds even more truth...."It's not what you know, but who you know."
Keep "tweeting", I'm reading!
Liz
One of the most common questions I get asked when folks ask me what I do for a living is, "Why would anyone want to be a contract therapist?". Well I have all sorts of answers to that question!
As a contract therapist, you have more flexibility than anyone else in their career. You get to choose when and where you work. If you don't like the location, the setting, the people, you don't have to work on that assignment. If you want to only work 24 hours per week, that's ok. If you want to work 40 hours this week and none next week, that's OK too.
You don't have to worry about getting involved in the polics of the facilities. You go to work, do your job and go home. You have a pre-negotiated contract assignment with your hours and days off specified before you ever step foot in the door. There is no bantering back and forth for a pay increase. As a contract therapist, chances are you are making about 20% more money than the staff therapists at the facility!
I could go on and on, but I will save the rest for another post...just to keep you on your toes!
Are you a contract therapist? Please post your comments. We want to hear from those of you who have first hand experience!
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