Such thing as too late to negotiate?

[Sheika34]

Hi everyone! I’m just going to get right to it. I recently accepted a position to be on peds dialysis unit at a university hospital. I know salary isn’t usually discussed but I was hoping to get some perspective. So I accepted the position for 24.00 dollars hourly pay. Which is a dollar more than I currently make. But I think I am being offered way lower than what is generally paid in this specialty. I have 1.5 years of med surge experience but no dialysis or peds experience so I just settled & Working in peds has been one of my dream jobs. But now I’m hoping to renegotiate my pay. While I had verbally agreed to take the job I have not submitted the contract agreement. Has anyone had to renegotiate payment terms? If so any advice? I would like to renegotiate but I hope I haven’t already sent that ship sailing and I wouldn’t want to ruin the a job opportunity. In hindsight, I should’ve asked them what is the typical pay range for the job offered. Lesson learned.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

11 hours ago, Sheika34 said:

It’s a unit since it is inside a hospital. When I first went I thought it would be separate from the hospital but it’s not

Is it a unit owned by an outside entity? That will make a difference. If the hospital runs this program, you probably will make what a nurse with 1.5 years going to a new specialty is making. I reached out to my counterparts-managers who work in hospital programs-for answers. Good luck in your new job

[kp2016]

I have negotiated pay several times during the hiring process. I normally wait unit I have the formal job offer of X hours per week at $Y per hour, and then start by calling HR to say that unfortunately that rate of pay is not acceptable to me to me due to (and here is where you need to sell yourself) years of experience, qualifications, certifications etc.

Keep it very polite and professional. Each time HR told me they would get back to me. I have been offered between 50 cents and roughly $8 per hour more after negotiating.

[llg, PhD, RN]

It doesn't sound to me as if they are low-balling you at all. You have 1.5 years experience in adult med-surg -- zero experience in dialysis or peds. They are offering you more than a new grad makes and more than you make now. That sounds very reasonable to me. They are paying you more than a new grad to acknowledge your previous experience. Be happy. Don't make a bad first impression by trying to get more than you should reasonably expect.

[JKL33]

On 1/4/2020 at 9:29 AM, heron said:

On the other hand, you have neither peds nor dialysis experience. How would you convince them that your skills are worth more? Both fields come with a very steep learning curve - kids are not miniature adults.

We've been hearing nothing except how it costs a gazillion dollars to onboard/orient a new grad and get him/her up to speed with the basics. This is the supposed justification for saddling new grads with contracts that must be paid back one way or another (either through retention commitment or cash) so that corporations don't go out of business due to the extreme costs of training the new grads they are forced to hire.

The OP has now added that the offered rate is about $1/hr more than a new grad would make in that region. For a FT position that comes out to what? Roughly $1900/yr more than the new grad rate?

?

Someone successfully working under the required license for 1.5 years doesn't have "no experience" no matter how you slice it. No way. And the argument can be made that they don't have "no applicable experience" related to the new position, either. Does the person have a track record of properly completing legal medication administrations as an RN for 1.5 years, for example? Were they interacting with peers, superiors, patients and families for that 1.5 years or just existing in a bubble somewhere? Have they learned basic rules and SOPs? Well...these things are all something if they have been completed/experienced successfully. It's quite a bit actually, given the amount of distress reported during first jobs and first year of nursing.

[RING OUT AHOYA]

Large raises are hard to come by as a staff nurse. Therefore, starting a new position at a new facility is often one of the only opportunities to seek a larger raise. If you are questioning the starting salary it does not hurt to tactfully negotiate a larger starting salary. The worst they will tell your is that they are unable to go any higher.

However, I would except an average annual raise of around 3% per year of experience. Therefore, it sounds like they are compensating for your 1.5 years of experience and then some.

Best of luck and congrats on the offer!

[heron, ASN, RN]

26 minutes ago, JKL33 said:

We've been hearing nothing except how it costs a gazillion dollars to onboard/orient a new grad and get him/her up to speed with the basics. This is the supposed justification for saddling new grads with contracts that must be paid back one way or another (either through retention commitment or cash) so that corporations don't go out of business due to the extreme costs of training the new grads they are forced to hire.

The OP has now added that the offered rate is about $1/hr more than a new grad would make in that region. For a FT position that comes out to what? Roughly $1900/yr more than the new grad rate?

?

Someone successfully working under the required license for 1.5 years doesn't have "no experience" no matter how you slice it. No way. And the argument can be made that they don't have "no applicable experience" related to the new position, either. Does the person have a track record of properly completing legal medication administrations as an RN for 1.5 years, for example? Were they interacting with peers, superiors, patients and families for that 1.5 years or just existing in a bubble somewhere? Have they learned basic rules and SOPs? Well...these things are all something if they have been completed/experienced successfully. It's quite a bit actually, given the amount of distress reported during first jobs and first year of nursing.

No one claimed that the OP had no applicable experience, only that her experience could be termed tangential. Dialysis is a highly technical specialty and - I say again - children are not miniature adults. Having to learn both specialties almost from the ground up means, I suspect, that the OP will not be practicing independently as quickly as s/he might think now.

[PediLove2147, BSN, RN]

On 1/6/2020 at 9:28 PM, Sheika34 said:

It’s a unit since it is inside a hospital. When I first went I thought it would be separate from the hospital but it’s not

I work in a clinic within a hospital. It is still considered outpatient and I am paid as such. I came from the floor and took a significant pay cut. Are you required to do nights/weekends/holidays? The low rate could be attributed to that. It doesn’t hurt to ask for more but don’t be surprised if they say no.

[AnnaFender]

Well personally since you have no experience in dialysis, I would negotiate before starting that you will accept the rate of pay offered but you would like a pay raise after 6 months if you have met the requirements of the position at that time.