Is it right to try to negotiate pay?

ScaredNewNurse · Mar 9, 2008

I don't see any harm in saying....

"I really appreciate the opportunity you are giving me. In thinking over your offer, I have one issue that is of great concern. I will have an extra long commute to your facility, and quite honestly I will suffer a pay cut to accept your offer especially given the cost of gasoline. For a different salary of X.XX, I feel it will make up for that cost. I feel confident that this is the right nursing fit for me, and it would be a shame for both of us if I am unable to accept your offer based on the current salary."

llg, PhD, RN · Mar 9, 2008

It probably wouldn't hurt to ask ... but I would definitely not emphasize your commuting problem. Where you choose to live in relation to the location of your job is not something the employer cares about. They don't want to set a precedent for the entire staff of paying people at different rates because of where they live.

Simple say that considering all aspects of accepting their offer, it would involve a decrease in your overall income. Be specific only to the extant that you need to be.

caliotter3 · Mar 9, 2008

I would pose the question without commenting that it would be a shame not to be able to accept the position because of the pay offered. That is giving the employer an ultimatum and is setting yourself up to look like a potential troublemaker. They could just as easily withdraw the offer of employment. Should you decide not to accept the offer because of the pay, for instance, if you asked, and they did not raise the offer, then it would be quite appropriate to inform them that the salary offered did not meet your requirements.

fancypants · Mar 9, 2008

I have no idea of you gender, but this thread did remind me of some some books I've read on women in business. A lot of them discuss that one of the reasons women still get paid less than men is their lack of negotiating before taking a job. Women tend to accept what they are offered in fear of losing the job offer as men usually ask for as much as they can get. My mother is a CEO and the best advice she ever gave me is that employers usually give a lower number than they can go....hey, if the person will accept it why not save some money and if they ask for more then they have some negotiating room. There is no harm in asking, they are more than likely expecting that you will.

crissrn27, RN · Mar 9, 2008

I neg. my last salary, and got about $2/hr more than they offered. Took about 30 min for them to agree. Go for it.

CHATSDALE · Mar 9, 2008

some places are tied in to the pay they give to new employees, like government jobs etc

other places will listen to an offer that is reasonable for the area that you are working in

make a counter offer if you haven't already accepted

RN1982 · Mar 9, 2008

When I started my new job in January at a different hospital, they only offered me 25.50. At my last job, I was making 27.10. 25.50 is quite a difference from 27.10. I had to look at the experience I was going to get. I would be working at one of the top hospitals in Michigan that was in Downtown detroit where I knew I would get the best nursing experience. I did receive a raise this past week and I'm back up to 27.00 so all is well.

Batman24 · Mar 9, 2008

Of course you should try and negotiate your salary. Many places make lower offers expecting you will do so.

Dental Hygienist · Mar 10, 2008

Is it right to try to negotiate pay?

I would go as far as saying it is WRONG to not negotiate pay:D Of course I am speaking from experience in a different field, but as a dental hygienist I am EXPECTED to negotiate my salary. And I negotiate HARD up front because I know most dentists are very stingy when it comes to giving yearly raises. I have successfully negotiated an additional $7 per hour from what one dentist was offering me; but usually I can get their initial offer up by about $2-3.

I wouldn't recommend talking too much about your commute; I mean, why should the employer care where you drive from? -especially if there are other qualified applicants who live nearby; so the commute shouldn't be your selling point. But, you SHOULD try and sell yourself on why you are an asset and why you would love to take the job and what wage you feel you deserve. Be careful in making ultimatums though (unless of course it is true)....If a wage of less than say $30 an hour will cause you to decline the position then a nicely stated ultimatum might be OK towards the END of the negotiating process (don't just come right out and state an ultimatum up front or they may not want to negotiate at all).

In my experience the key to successful negotiating is ENGAGING them to even start negotiating with you at all. Once the bargaining process has begun, then generally both parties feel invested in the experience and naturally WANT to come to some sort of an agreement, give a little and take a little, ya know?

I've been in some experiences when the dentist just REALLY couldn't stand the idea of paying me over a certain dollar amount, but he could entertain the idea of granting extra vacation time or extra sick time, or paying for my scrubs or CE courses or Liability Insurance....when the wage negotiations are going nowhere, then if we are at least in the ballpark of an acceptible wage, then I start on with the benefits and perks.

I know of too many people who are timid when it comes to wage negotiations, they feel like if they negotiate too hard they might not get the job. I look at it this way: If I cannot get my employer to even BUDGE a little on issues that are important to me, (like wage) then would I really be happy working there in the long run? Over the years many issues will come up that we will need to collaborate on and if they are completely inflexible I won't be happy there.

Also as someone else stated women generally earn less than men for similar work, (I think it is 76 cents for each dollar that a man earns) and I strongly believe that is mostly because women ASK for less and don't negotiate as hard. Hey, it can't hurt to ask, all they can do is say no!

Agnus · Mar 10, 2008

It probably wouldn't hurt to ask ... but I would definitely not emphasize your commuting problem. Where you choose to live in relation to the location of your job is not something the employer cares about. They don't want to set a precedent for the entire staff of paying people at different rates because of where they live.
Simple say that considering all aspects of accepting their offer, it would involve a decrease in your overall income. Be specific only to the extant that you need to be.

Actually they do care. There is a nursing home group that advertises they will pay a travel bonus for nurses and CNAs that live at a greater distance.

I worked for another hospital where I negotiated for the cost of travel because I lived at a further distance than other nurses. I had one nurse who also lived at a distance (in the oposit direction) get angry at me over this because she did not receive consideration for travel and she refused to ask for it.

One place I applied refused to even interview me because I lived "too far out and would not want to drive that far."(only 20 miles) Excuse me! If I did not want to drive it I would not have applied. It was acutally much closer than where I currently was working.

Another place was concerned that I lived on the wrong side of a bridge that sometimes flooded. THey wanted to know so that they could make allowances for me when that happened.

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Mar 10, 2008

Negotiating is fine as long as you accept the possibility that this hospital/employer will say no. In my area, very few employers negotiate a starting salary. I got my community health job because 2 applicants before me tried to negotiate more money. As my (later) boss said "The salary was the salary. There was no capacity to give more. They thought they could bully me into something I wasn't authorized to give".

I think a lot of people read business/job advice columns which say "always negotiate!". That's fine in some industries but it has been my experience that many sectors of health care just don't budge. Know your target.