Which comes first...

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I hope to be negotiating my first contract soon. I'm wondering which of these details should be discussed first. Location, Housing or Pay. Each will determine whether or not I take an assignment, but I'm not sure when to bring up each topic.

Do I wait until I've accepted a position to discuss housing? Do I ask about pay before interviewing? I don't want to waste anyone's time but really each of those can be a deal breaker for me.

What works best?

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Location is first for most people but qualified by pay. Housing should be a given. But it doesn't matter what order you discuss these things in (well.. does housing really matter if they don't have a suitable assignment?), but do it with several agencies to get a true picture on what is possible.

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So after finding a good location, should I ask about pay and housing before I interview? I will be traveling with pets so housing may be an issue. Also, with "regular" jobs, pay isn't really discussed until after an interview so I'm just trying to learn the traveling way :)

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Nothing additional to add. Traveling with pets is always harder no matter the agency. What they might tell you up front may change when they actually try to get housing.

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