Job offer without telling me pay rates

[nekoneko]

Hi, I'm a new grad and I got a job offer last week. The HR personnel who contacted me asked me if I accept the job offer without telling me pay rates. He also mentioned that the HR would send me an email fairly soon, so I asked him if I would be informed pay rates and relevant information and he said yes.

I received an email. However, It was not an offer letter but some form for BCI. I asked the person who sent the email (HR assistant) if I can receive an offer letter before we proceed but she replied that I would receive it at the orientation. I asked her again that it doesn't have to be an official letter but I would like to know the details of the job offer even informally. HR called me to set my orientation and physical, but again she insisted that I would receive the information at the orientation.

Isn't it odd? Attend an orientation not knowing my pay rates? The nursing manager told me that she hoped HR would offer me pay rates before they contacted me so I assume she doesn't know what's going on.What should I do? Should I contact the nursing manager and explain my situation? It's a large hospital group and I thought there would be some protocols for hiring processes. Any advice will be appreciated. TIA!

[NurseCard, ADN]

That is odd. I don't know that I've ever gone into an orientation

without already knowing what I would be making. I mean, generally

when a job calls you and offers the job, they immediately say "your

pay will be..."

Don't really know what to tell you. You say it's a large hospital

group. What is their reputation, as far as how they treat their

employees? I'm really not sure why your starting pay is

being kept such a secret. Maybe they will present you with

your letter first thing, when you come to orientation.

[OlivetheRN, ADN, BSN, RN]

That is really, really very odd. I've never gotten a verbal job offer from HR without getting the pay details at the same time. Heck, when I was going BACK to a hospital system from another hospital system, and was doing my initial talk with recruiting, we talked pay during that phone call (granted that was a more unusual situation and she was feeling out how much more I was getting paid at the other hospital and how much negotiating she was going to have to do with her higher ups lol).

I would definitely try and find out BEFORE orientation what your pay rate and any differentials are going to be. Not that there's much you can do about it, given that new grads are paid the same across the board, generally speaking, but still. It would be a pretty big downer to go into orientation and find out the pay rate is much lower than what other hospitals are paying new grads. Makes one wonder if that's why they hold off on telling you..

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

There's no way I'd accept any offer without knowing the pay rate. How are you supposed to negotiate? Imagine showing up on your first day only to find out you'll be making $12 an hour!

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

They aren't telling you because its low. You don't hide that for no reason. I would demand to know my pay before I signed on anywhere

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

Yes, it is odd and it is also unacceptable. You can't possibly accept an offer without knowing at least the basics. It isn't an offer if they aren't telling you what you will be paid. I think it is perfectly reasonable to call your recruiter and say that you need to know the pay rate before you accept the offer. If they are really just so disorganized over at HR that they don't know, then I suppose a compromise would be that you are agreeing to a pay rate of at least $XX.00 per hour.

I would not assume that this is due to pay rates being low. Poor organization and the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing is extremely common in some departments of large organizations. That would be my first suspicion. It doesn't necessarily translate to the clinical areas, and it doesn't mean you won't like the job.

Be firm. Insist on an answer before you proceed.

[caliotter3]

The fact that they blow you off every time you ask tells you what you need to know.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I'd definitely be contacting the Hiring Manager and let her know what is going on. Tell her that you are interested in the job ... but need to know the pay rate in order to officially accept the job.

[Lisacar130]

I agree with the person who said:

"I would not assume that this is due to pay rates being low. Poor organization and the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing is extremely common in some departments of large organizations."

As a new grad who needs experience, it really doesn't hurt to show up for the orientation and find out. You can always quit and leave if you want. If you don't go, you'll never know, and what if you don't get another offer soon.

[Sour Lemon]

I agree that you should show up and find out ....unless you have other concrete offers, play along with the madness. You can demand your potential employers be reasonable after you have experience and some negotiating power.

[Extra Pickles]

If they aren't telling you what you need to know because they are trying to hide it, if they are like this because they are genuinely this disorganized, can you imagine what it might be like to WORK for this facility? This level of disorganization when they are trying to get someone in the door doesn't look to me like they'll be a crack team when it comes to signing up for benefits, scheduling vacation time, planning time for mandatory trainings etc.

This is when you should see their BEST side. How does it look so far?

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

Yes, that's very odd.

What to do? Well, it depends in part on how you feel about working there and how confident you are about landing another job if you bail on this one.

Personally, when I was a NG, my philosophy was, "I will take the first acute-care job offer I get, regardless of pay and benefits" because I needed experience. That's exactly what I did and the compensation was crappy but it did turn out well because I ultimately ended up where I wanted to be. I viewed it as a paid internship and, though the rate was low, it was infinitely higher than zero which is where I was starting from.

Is there a number below which you would refuse the job? If so, you *might* consider pushing for a number. On the other hand, they've made it perfectly clear that they're not going to reveal the rate prior to orientation so pushing isn't likely to accomplish anything other than having you start out on the wrong foot.

Personally, I'd be thankful that I was hired and show up at orientation. When I finally saw the compensation package, I'd then decide if I was or wasn't willing to accept it and act accordingly.