New Grads- any success in negotiating your pay?

[SNB1014]

for example: my husband works in finance. he's not scared to highball HR saying he wanted 82K/year knowing they would probably only give 76k (that's good since he was shooting for 75K! )

well as a new grad female i sort of got flustered on the phone with HR when i got offered a position. I have been eagerly awaiting the moment when I would be offered a RN position. They offered more than double what I made as a nurse tech and i just blabbered out "OMG yes I'll take it!!"

oops. i forgot to negotiate! evidently women are not as strong as men in this area. yes, im generalizing, i know. but i want to hear success stories!

when I went into HR the following week for a drug test, I said I would like to discuss my hourly rates, tried to re-sell myself etc. well she said, "sweetheart, i understand what you're saying, but here it is in black and white....we pay new grads on day shift X. sorry"

do most new grads simply feel like me? too thankful and excited to bother?

[Clark_Kent]

I'm waiting for a call right now from HR with an offer for my first nursing position out of school, and I'm planning to try to negotiate a higher hourly base pay. I don't expect much, but I'm hoping there may be wiggle room of a couple of dollars per hour. My background is in business, so I have some experience with negotiation techniques.

Even though I would (will) probable accept whatever they offer rather than turn down the position, this is the first moment where I have a slightly more powerful position -- I feel like I have to at least try.

I'll try to post again to let you all know how it goes, and what strategies I used (if it works.)

Wish me luck!

[bTRUE]

If your happy with the # then good! I don't know if it's a good idea as a new grad to negotiate if it's for a hospital your completely new to. If you worked as a tech for that same facility for a few years then it's not a horrible idea.

[elkpark]

I'm waiting for a call right now from HR with an offer for my first nursing position out of school, and I'm planning to try to negotiate a higher hourly base pay. I don't expect much, but I'm hoping there may be wiggle room of a couple of dollars per hour. My background is in business, so I have some experience with negotiation techniques.

Even though I would (will) probable accept whatever they offer rather than turn down the position, this is the first moment where I have a slightly more powerful position -- I feel like I have to at least try.

I'll try to post again to let you all know how it goes, and what strategies I used (if it works.)

Wish me luck!

So, have you heard from them? How did it turn out?

[Clark_Kent]

So, have you heard from them? How did it turn out?

Still in progress. I should know more today.

[Clark_Kent]

So I did manage to end with a modest increase in my base salary. My main strategy was to highlight the aspects of my experience in other fields that will be valuable to this organization and to my new position. This allowed the company to justify bumping me up a tier in the pay-scale.

I don't think any feathers we're ruffled by my trying to do this. I feel good for having advocated for myself, and an extra buck an hour makes a difference. The organization also knows that they're getting a valuable candidate.

It's nerve wracking to try negotiate -- especially with such a tough job market. But, I think it's good practice, and helps set a precedent for future growth within an organization.

Thanks!