Signing Our Next Contract
The process of having an interview and securing a new travel contract can be stressful, but exciting. It’s a time of uncertainty, wondering where your next job may be. We usually have the thought…
“what if there aren’t any jobs?”
Despite all the fun we have as travelers and making the most out of each assignment, we too experience the stress of finding a new contract. For some, that stress may be higher than usual due to a slow job market, in particular for pair travelers.
Fortunately we have had steady work extending in Maine, but our time is nearing its end.
Whether you are a new travel therapist or a seasoned traveler, if you’re like us, you may wonder, when is a good time to sign your next contract. Is 6 weeks out from your start date too early? What about two weeks being too late?
In our 3 years of traveling, we signed our very first contract six months in advance, and yet several others have been signed as close as 2-3 weeks out from our start date.
There is no “right” way to do it, but we wanted to provide an example of our current situation and how we worked through the process of signing our newest contract.
With the travel market still slow, finding jobs, especially for pairs, can be challenging.
Portland Head Lighthouse, shot during our 1 week off to explore Maine with family.
Our situation
We are working in Maine and have been since mid February 2020. We have extended our assignment 3 times and our final end date will be October 31st 2020.
That’s almost 9 full months of work! We have extended during this contract for several reasons.
We have fallen in love with Maine. It has been an amazing contract with good co-workers, great scenery, lots of adventures, and a place we have felt at home
Each time our contract nears its end date, we have touched bases with our recruiters and there have been limited if any pair jobs available. A few we tried submitting to, but they closed quickly due to a high number of submissions. None even offered an interview.
Fortunately for us, we have been at two jobs in Maine that have both, not only been a great fit for us, but also allowed us to extend and have continued work.
Our recruiter situation
Right now, Kari and I have been working with two separate companies (yes that is possible as a pair). She has a recruiter for her job, and I have one for mine.
Aside from the two companies we are currently working with, we have 1-2 other recruiters who stay in touch with us throughout our contracts.
We go back and forth about how important it is to have multiple recruiters, as sometimes we want to simplify our lives and work with only one company. The stress of travel can take its toll and having one company, with one recruiter, sounds like it would be so simple!
Fortunately, throughout our experience, we have come to realize that for us, it is in our best interest to be in contact with several recruiters.
Hard to want to leave Maine when this hike is only 10 minutes from our place! (French Mountain Trail)
To extend or not to extend?
Two and a half weeks before starting this post, I would have told you that I was extending in Maine. There was no doubt in my mind. I love a harsh winter, and another snow season in Maine sounded ideal. Not only that, but we had heard of limited, if any good pair jobs available in the near future. We had reached out several times, only to hear that nothing was available, and I was ok with that. Besides, our cabin was still available for rent to us.
It’s funny how fast things can change.
Approx 2 weeks ago (6 weeks out from our end date), one of our recruiters reached out to us with a possible job. Keep in mind, this wasn’t one of our recruiters we are currently on assignment with.
We haven’t worked with this company in about a year, but every few months our recruiter will check in for an update regarding our current situation and end date.
This recruiter knew our favorite settings from working with us before and we were presented a potential pair job in northern California. The start date was perfect. The settings were ideal. Even the pay was good.
I believe several other companies actually had this job available, but as he knew we were interested in that area as well as the settings they were in, he was quick to present those jobs, which helped us to be submitted before it was flooded with applicants.
Having seen no other pair jobs that met our needs as close as this one, we were intrigued. Our biggest concern was potentially leaving two jobs in Maine with the ability to extend again.
Leaving steady income for two unknown jobs, literally across the entire country is always a risk. With several friends contracts being cut early due to the pandemic, we weren’t sure if making such a drastic move was the right choice.
What did we do?
We opted to submit for this CA job, because it was too good to pass. At least we could see if we received an interview! With the way things were going with all other jobs, we thought we might not even get that far. Plus we were debating going home for the holidays (in CA) and having a job close to family would be ideal.
We had a list of questions that could only be answered through an interview and depending on their response, we could make a better decision.
One week later, having completed the interview, been offered the job, and having our recruiter set up what was a good overall pay package, we knew we had a tough decision between extending or leaving Maine.
We like to think things happen for a reason.
Within the chaos that is submitting to a new job, searching for short term housing, interviewing and negotiating contract details, we found out our current rental in Maine was no longer available after October 31st. Between that and our most recent two day power outage, which happened as I was writing this post, we realized that going back to California for an assignment would be our decision.
Marshall Point Lighthouse (Where Forrest Gump turns around!) We felt like him, now heading back out west.
The take away message?
Travel therapy is never perfect, and despite traveling for 3 years, we continue to have our own struggles as everyone does. We are never sure when a job will fill a travel position with a permanent employee, or if we will be able to extend for nearly a year.
And what’s the “right time” to sign your next contract?
Well, we change every single time. Like I said, our first was 6 months out, several have been within 2-3 weeks, which added to our stress levels, but right now we are sitting 6 weeks out from our next start date with contracts signed, and housing in place.
We do our best to enjoy the uncertainty that is travel therapy and I hope our experience helps you enjoy yours. We’d love to know how you decide when is the right time to sign your next contract. Comment below!
If you have any questions, please feel free to DM us on instagram here, reach out on Facebook, or comment below.
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The key to having a successful career as a traveler is working with a recruiter you can trust, but also with a company that has everything you need to succeed. When we started out, we didn’t know what to ask or even what was important in a recruiter/company. Here are a few questions you should be asking every recruiter!