Negotiating Salary -- Do it!

Specialties Advanced

Published

Hello,

I just needed to vent a little... Today I accepted a psych NP position without countering on their salary offer. All I asked for was annual CME conference allowance, separate personal malpractice allowance, and up-front payment for my DEA number, all of which they immediately had no problem with. I hung up think, UGH I should have countered on the pay! I just lost 10,000!

It's a full-time position with standard benefits, including 5 weeks vacation. At least I had the nerve to ask for those three extra items.

The last RN position I had was the first (and only) time I ever counter-offered on pay. I must have been feeling especially bold that day, because I earned 7500.00 in only a couple of hours. I thought to myself that never again will I accept the first amount... oops! I guess I wasn't feeling very bold today.

I don't think I'm far off on the pay with this job, but I definitely could have gotten at least another 5k. I think employers EXPECT us to counter. When we don't, we're the ones that lose. If you don't counter on pay, certainly ask for things like malpractice pay, extra vacation, a doctor's parking space at the hospital, etc. (I know one person on here asked for that parking space and got it!)

I want to encourage everyone to JUST ASK! They expect it. I'm sure the PAs and MDs do it, and probably more nurses do it now than in the past. If you need a buddy to stand with you in your kitchen for extra courage while you're on the phone, do it! I didn't have anyone, just my dog... she was helpful afterwards, always accepting me with my many limitations! We're a power force to reckon with, especially when we stand our ground. So DO IT.

Onward and upward.

JC

I didn't negotiate my salary, but I felt I was offered a great amount for a new graduate NP. I was actually told in one of my clinical sites that you shouldn't negotiate because they could (and did to this person at my clinical site) take away the offer of a job altogether.

Has anyone had any experience with that?

Yep. I tried to negotiate a proposed employment agreement, and countered with a higher salary. I got an email that night from the medical director saying that they were sorry but they "could not meet my expectations" and were "withdrawing the offer." This took place about 2 weeks after the offer was made. I happily would have accepted the original offer and gone to work for this guy.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
Yep. I tried to negotiate a proposed employment agreement, and countered with a higher salary. I got an email that night from the medical director saying that they were sorry but they "could not meet my expectations" and were "withdrawing the offer." This took place about 2 weeks after the offer was made. I happily would have accepted the original offer and gone to work for this guy.

If you were happy with the offer why did you counter? I recently had someone tell me they always counter because "its expected" but they have lost a job that way. :eek: I rarely have had to counter because I'm very clear up front with how much I am requiring and in most cases they have matched what I asked for so it hasn't been an issue. Sometimes they will try to give me a lower offer but I just stand firm with what I originally told them. Of course in my area right now we are in great demand plus I have good contacts and experience.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I countered because I thought I could get more money and the salary offer was under market for this area. I had received another offer for $20,000 higher, though the work was not what I wanted. And, frankly, I had read about 100 comments on this board saying that you should negotiate. I had told them my expectations in general terms, and although they met the expectation on salary, the overall benefits were very poor.

If he would've come back and said "I am sorry, we can't negotiate any of these terms" I would have just taken what they offered me in the first place.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Sorry this didn't work out for you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Like most things in life, it will work out fine. I wasn't entirely happy with a number of things about the job, luckily there are lots of other jobs in my area. I am not sure I am going to try to negotiate salary with my next job however.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Nursing.
Like most things in life, it will work out fine. I wasn't entirely happy with a number of things about the job, luckily there are lots of other jobs in my area. I am not sure I am going to try to negotiate salary with my next job however.

TammyG, you are right, it will work out fine. To be a great negotiator you have to be willing to walk away. Some employers are great negotiators as well and are willing to walk away as well as you have experienced with the withdrawal of that offer. The beauty of the APRN market right now, for both employers and employees, is that it is a vibrant and growing field with lots of participants which will result in all great negotiators enjoying a favorable end result in employers landing great employees and employees landing great employment packages. Keep negotiating hard and trust your instincts (you said you did not like things about the job) and you will make great moves for the foreseeable future.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Again I discuss salary requirements sooner rather than later and prefer making my rate known which minimizes negotiation angst. i don't ever get into dinkling over misc stuff like benefits and CEUs etc. because I feel benefits in particular aren't necessarily negotiable and I'm not interested in nickel and dime-ing over the $500-$1,000 extras.

You have to really know your market and I am also at the extreme high end of NP salaries in this area so I know it is extremely unlikely I'm missing out on what might have been a higher offer from the employer. In any event I need to be happy with my salary and when I am the one setting it I have no complaints.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I had been told by several people what to expect in terms of salary for a new grad in my area. I don't feel like I was undercut in that regard. However, my productivity needed for a bonus is a little higher than I would like, now that I'm into it. They have a standard contract that includes health benefits, CEUs, licenses, etc. My only other thing is the time off. I've been prn for several years while in school. My last job prior to that had sick time, personal time, and vacation time. I forgot that PDOs is all of it. I only get 15 days. That is really substandard. I realize now that it's because they are primarily a hospitalist group. They do 7 on 7 off, etc. so you don't end up taking as much vacation. I'm in a M-F position, however so it really hurts.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment