Here's how to End your Job Spam Calls!
TL;DR: If you give your personal phone number to Travel Nursing Agencies you'll get endless calls, texts & voicemails about jobs that are nearly impossible to stop.
You need a burner phone number to allow agencies to reach you AND keep job spam from flooding your personal inboxes and wasting your time.
Google Voice is your easiest option for a free phone number. But Google sells your data.
MySudo phone numbers offer you more privacy than Google as MySudo doesn't sell your data. But phone plans start at $0.99 /month.
Keep reading to find more free options and see which services I use to block job spam calls from eating up all my time.
For FREE Burner Phone Numbers
We all love FREE, right? Just be aware these free services come with the price of obtrusive ads or having your data shared.
- Google Voice - Free but Google sells your data for ads.
- TextNow - Free but ad-supported
- TextFree - Free but ad-supported
For Cheap Burner Phone Numbers
Your privacy and peace of mind (and ad-free app experience) could easily be worth a dollar or two per month with these paid services.
Here's which Burner Apps I Use on my Job Search
Full Disclosure: I use Google Voice, despite my strong stance against their exploitive use of yours & my own data.
In fact, my StellarNurse business phone number is a Google Voice number.
Google Voice's free price tag and convenience is just too hard to deny. And it's soooo easy to use.
If you're on the fence about getting a burner phone number, start with Google Voice. It's free & there's no ads in your face.
For extra security, I tried all three of the paid services above and am currently using Hushed for a burner phone number.
I highly recommend any of the three paid services above.
Even with their nominal fees, using MySudo, Hushed or Burner would definitely be worth your money. Burner phone numbers are meant to be temporary, so there's no risk.
No need to commit - you can cancel your burner numbers anytime.
Remember before cancelling your burner phone number: give a functioning phone number to any agency or person you want to keep contact with!
I like having a few burner phone numbers to give agencies and businesses I may not know yet but want to vet their jobs and services.
SOME businesses get access to my phone numbers that have notifications and call forwarding set up.
But mostly I give out the phone numbers with notifications silenced and no call forwarding. I'll get to their messages on my timeline, not theirs.
Why can't StellarNurse give you a burner phone number?
Short answer: Too many regulations & red tape. 😭
Your Problem: Travel Nursing Agencies Need Your Phone Number
You want to land the highest paying travel nursing jobs - great!
You'll need to sign up with at least 3-5 travel nursing agencies to compare jobs - Remember no single agency has all the jobs.
Your travel nursing agencies will need a phone number to reach you about jobs and applications.
Each agency will use your phone number to build & submit your application to hospitals for jobs.
BUT you should avoid giving out your personal phone number!
Your Mistake: DON'T Give Out Your Personal Phone Number
If you give out your personal phone number to multiple travel nursing agencies get ready for job spam, spam, spam.
You need to give a phone number where you can be reached, but it definitely shouldn't be your personal phone number.
Your job alerts will come fast and often via phone calls, texts & voicemails.
You'll appreciate this when you're actively job-hunting.
But the constant job alerts get overwhelming and annoying quickly.
And will continue long after your job hunt ends.
Unfortunately, getting your personal phone number removed from agencies' databases is almost impossible.
Take it from me or any other travel nurse: You don't want or need job spam interruptions in your precious free time.
Your Solution: Get a Burner Phone Number!
Keep the endless job alerts out of your personal inboxes.
Think of it like getting an office phone number to handle your professional travel nursing career.
You can control the flow of job alerts you see by turning on or off features such as call forwarding and notifications.
Treat your relationships with agencies and recruiters like the business relationships they should be.
Protect your peace. Stop the job spam calls before they start.
Keep control of your personal phone number. Guard your personal information.
You and I both know that in Nursing, you gotta CYA (cover your ass). Nobody else will do it for you. 😘
What's a Burner Phone Number?
Burner phone numbers are temporary, disposable phone numbers. There's no risk!
These burner phone number services ask for minimal personal information, offer pay-as-you-go plans and are very are easy to set up, use, and cancel.
You can continue or cancel your burner phone numbers any time.
Before cancelling: Don't forget to update your phone number with companies or people you actually want to keep in contact with!