How do I negotiate pay rates?

ERRNTraveler, RN · Nov 10, 2007

Talk to several different travel companies- find out what they're paying, then use that to negotiate your pay rate. If your recruiter knows you can get more money or better benefits/stipends elsewhere, they'll be more likely to pay more.

Nero96 · Nov 11, 2007

This thread brings up a concern for me -- I have heard many travelers brag about how roughly they negotiate higher salaries, better furniture, apartments, largely by playing off several agencies against each other: "I can get $XX from agency A, what will you give me?" My big concerns are two. First I'm not liking to abuse the privilege that being a nurse during shortage gives me. Second, will the agency be loyal to me if a license investigation issue comes up at some unexpected time, if I've pushed them around about a few dollars or a better sofa?

Yet I do not want to find out I'm receiving much less money than other travelers on the same floor. Overall I lean toward developing loyalty with a company, a long term working relationship, where they protect me from unexpected problems. But I wonder about the money!

ERRNTraveler, RN · Nov 11, 2007

This thread brings up a concern for me -- I have heard many travelers brag about how roughly they negotiate higher salaries, better furniture, apartments, largely by playing off several agencies against each other: "I can get $XX from agency A, what will you give me?" My big concerns are two. First I'm not liking to abuse the privilege that being a nurse during shortage gives me. Second, will the agency be loyal to me if a license investigation issue comes up at some unexpected time, if I've pushed them around about a few dollars or a better sofa?
Yet I do not want to find out I'm receiving much less money than other travelers on the same floor. Overall I lean toward developing loyalty with a company, a long term working relationship, where they protect me from unexpected problems. But I wonder about the money!

I can understand where you're coming from. I have been traveling for a year now, all of my assignments have been with the same company, so there is somewhat of a loyalty there, BUT, my recruiter knows that I talk to several different companies, to have them "on the back burner" so to speak, so he knows that what I'm paid needs to be close to what the other companies are offering. How you negotiate pay involves a lot of tact to avoid coming across as being pushy or greedy. I am always polite & professional, but I make sure any recruiter I speak with knows that I have done my research, and that I know what I am worth & will not be sold short. It is possible to be assertive without being too pushy- but it is a fine line.

Nero96 · Nov 12, 2007

I can understand where you're coming from. I have been traveling for a year now, all of my assignments have been with the same company, so there is somewhat of a loyalty there, BUT, my recruiter knows that I talk to several different companies, to have them "on the back burner" so to speak, so he knows that what I'm paid needs to be close to what the other companies are offering. How you negotiate pay involves a lot of tact to avoid coming across as being pushy or greedy. I am always polite & professional, but I make sure any recruiter I speak with knows that I have done my research, and that I know what I am worth & will not be sold short. It is possible to be assertive without being too pushy- but it is a fine line.

I like this comment, and the other response you gave me on another note I wrote. I think the 'loyalty' thing will be badly damaged when I find other travelers are receiving much more than me. However, speaking empathically, if I were the recruiter, how would I feel about a nurse who "rejects" me simply on the basis of a few dollars/hr? Perhaps they expect this routinely, and I, as a traveler of only 1 1/2 years and two companies' experience, am wasting opportunities.

Having said that, a deeper issue, for me, arises. According to my imagined undrstanding, ERRANT (?) you get a price on a job from one recruiter, then you go to another recruiter and ask for a salary listing. That recruiter tells you $29. Then you go back to your present recruiter and say, "I got an offer of $29 from agency XX. Can you beat that?"

First, is that indeed how it works? Second, if so, haven't you constructed the offer yourself, instead of it being freely made? Now this is where I hear accusations of being soft, touchy-feely, wanting to maintain relationships instead of realizing this is a business, and we nurses have, and have to keep, the upper, whip hand with those agencies. In spite of this attitude, which I have endured in several face to face conversations with other travelers, I see agencies going bankrupt all the time. I simply want to be responsible to the system that is allowing me this freedom to move around the company, easily plugging into different communities and hospitals. I don't want to abuse it. If I find it is, or has been, abusing me, I would move into a more aggressive mode.

ERRNTraveler, RN · Nov 12, 2007

Negotiating for higher pay is an art- I don't see it as "abusing" the system, just making sure I get what I'm worth. If a travel company goes bankrupt, then they are obviously not doing something right, and that is no fault of the nurses who work for them. Remember, we as nurses are their bread & butter- if a company isn't willing to pay me what I'm worth, then they are taking advantage of me.

nservice · Nov 12, 2007

I worked as a traveler and had some problems with not being paid as much as a male traveler with the same company at the same hospital. I worked at the same hospital for almost 2 years and worked most of that time as a charge nurse. When I was first asked to be charge, I contacted my recruiter to see if I would be paid a charge differential. I was told 'NO". I called yet again before filling my first time sheet out just to be sure I shouldn't put "Charge" on the sheet. I was assured that there was no differential and did not need to write anything on my time sheet. One year later, I find out that another traveler from the same company working in a sister unit was receiving $5 an hour charge differential. When I called the company to investigate, My recruiter put me through to a manager and he told me it was too late to get charge pay now...that I should have brought this to my recruiters attention earlier and indicated charge on my time sheet. He didn't believe that I had discussed this with my recruiter already. I made a phone call to another company and made arrangements to work for them on my next assignment in 2 weeks. They arranged to place me in the same unit at the same hospital i was already at. Later in the day my old recruiter had the nerve to call me and see If I would be renewing my contract. I became somewhat..ahhhh...assertive, and by the end of the week, I had a years worth of back pay.

Loyalty is a two-way street. Sometimes, you have to stand up for yourself.

bagladyrn, RN · Nov 13, 2007

I have been working with the same company for 11 years. I negotiate salary a couple of ways, always in a polite manner. First, when looking at available jobs I ask, what do you have in this or that area which pays more than $XX/hr.( my bottom line amount). If there is a job I am interested in for other reasons (specific area or whatever) I will say "I'm really interested in this position but can't work for that amount - do you think you can do any better?" (This to my recruiter, not the hospital). I also browse the sites listing travel nurse jobs and wages for other companies and will tell my recruiter "I saw that same position listed with XYZ Agency paying $XX dollars - can you get closer to that? Sometimes the answer is no and I simply won't take that job, I'll hold out for an adequate paying position - and by now they know that and that I am not bluffing. The key to this approach is to remain professional, not adversarial and proceed from the basis of "Let's see what we can do to make this work for both of us".

By the way, don't always believe the payrates told to you by others - some do have a tendency to "exaggerate" to make themselves look smarter, more valued or the better negotiator.

sojean · Nov 16, 2007

I have been working with the same company for 11 years. I negotiate salary a couple of ways, always in a polite manner. First, when looking at available jobs I ask, what do you have in this or that area which pays more than $XX/hr.( my bottom line amount). If there is a job I am interested in for other reasons (specific area or whatever) I will say "I'm really interested in this position but can't work for that amount - do you think you can do any better?" (This to my recruiter, not the hospital). I also browse the sites listing travel nurse jobs and wages for other companies and will tell my recruiter "I saw that same position listed with XYZ Agency paying $XX dollars - can you get closer to that? Sometimes the answer is no and I simply won't take that job, I'll hold out for an adequate paying position - and by now they know that and that I am not bluffing. The key to this approach is to remain professional, not adversarial and proceed from the basis of "Let's see what we can do to make this work for both of us".
By the way, don't always believe the payrates told to you by others - some do have a tendency to "exaggerate" to make themselves look smarter, more valued or the better negotiator.

Also don't always believe the pay rates displayed on the web sites either. I've SUBSTANCIALLY increased my pay rate from what was advertised on the site. Change a few housing and travel preferences around (you can do that on-line now!) and you can usually get more than you expected without living out of a paper bag either. I used to work in retail and in retail, you can buffer your price so that the customer/salesman has "wiggle room". The customer walks away thinking they got a better deal below advertised price and the salesman still makes their commission. Ahh... Captialism at it's finest!