Meet Jodi Schulefand, Recruiter Dedicated to the Personal Approach

Club Staffing recruiter Jodi Schulefand has seen her successful career come first circle. Working as a recruiter in 1989, Jodi placed rehabilitation professionals on nationwide travel assignments and became a top recruiter who eventually managed a team of 12.

After having her second child, she left her recruiting job and took some time off. She then started working in residential real estate, where she had the freedom and flexibility to work from home. She was a top-producing real estate agent and earned several awards during her 17 years in the business.

Then, in October 2019, Jodi returned to her first passion of recruiting with Club Staffing. She normally focuses on placing laboratory professionals, but with the increasing number of positions emanating from the COVID crisis, she finds herself filling therapy and rehab positions once again.

MAKING THE RECRUITING PROCESS PERSONAL

When working with allied healthcare travelers, Jodi’s process starts with what she calls “the first and most important step”—the initial phone call.

“If you’re calling someone new to traveling, then you must explain the process clearly to them,” she said. “I always try to bond well on that initial phone call…you need to make an impression from the start.”

Jodi said she prefers speaking on the phone initially rather than texting or emailing. Putting a real voice to the conversation helps to personalize the process. 

She also wants her traveler’s profile to stand out for allied travel assignments, and for them to have a good grasp of an employer’s expectations. When presenting positions, she attempts to explain the job over the phone instead of emailing a list of openings. 

“I always want to make sure the job is a good fit before submitting [a candidate’s profile],” Jodi said. “Once submitted, I stress keeping the phone handy and charged at all times. Once interviewed, I tell my travelers to call me immediately to let me know how things went.”

She urges travelers to ask for the offer if it’s a job they really want. 

“It’s very competitive out there, so if you want to stand out, do not be afraid to say how excited you would be if the job were offered to you,” she advises.

Jodi said her success as a recruiter is based on excellent follow-through. Her goal is to always do what she says she will do and be there for the traveler, even after the job begins. She checks in frequently to be that familiar voice her travelers can count on.

“The most important role of a Club Staffing recruiter is to be someone travelers can trust and depend on,” she said. “You need to be so much more than just an order taker. You can’t disappear on them. You need to be reachable and available to them and, most of all, responsive. You also need to really listen to them.”

Jodi has worked with travelers in various stages of their life and career, including one clinician who had just come out of a traumatizing divorce. She helped the traveler to find herself again through travel.  

“She had lost her independence in her marriage and said she found it again after her first assignment in Baltimore, Maryland,” Jodi said. “She did not think she had the strength to do this on her own, but by the end of her first successful assignment, she was eagerly awaiting the next adventure. Today she is one of my best travelers and still thanks me all the time and sends me photos of each adventure.”

WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL HEALTHCARE TRAVELER

Jodi said that successful travelers typically have the right attitude and are flexible when it comes to assignments.

“Travelers are there to fill a need, and sometimes that need can change mid-assignment,” she said. “If a traveler is very rigid, then travel can be frustrating and overwhelming at times. A successful candidate has a desire for adventure and change. They need to be flexible.”

Jodi said she always tries to determine her travelers’ priorities, whether it be money, location, cold weather vs. warm, specific shifts, rural areas vs. cities, etc.  

“Trying to match their preferences with the job order can be like fitting pieces of a puzzle together,” she said. “Not always easy, but so satisfying when you do.”