Goal 3 Nurse Salary Negotiation: Show up prepared with a salary number that is higher than an organization will willingly offer.

The third goal of nurse salary negotiation is to show up prepared to ask for a salary that is higher than an organization will willingly offer. Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

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Hello! I'm happy you're here! If you're new to this nurse's negotiation series, I recommend starting from the beginning to get the inspiration and motivation you need to make the most out of your future negotiation. ​​

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I was interviewing for a job where my background experience and skills fit the business needs perfectly. Prior to the interview the business had disclosed to me their starting hourly rate. The rate was only one number, not a range. Any nurse who’s been around the block knows that union position's hourly rates will range very widely depending on number of years of experience. The rate quoted to me was very, very low, and I approached this with the mindset that it was likely a rate for a new grad nurse. I was prepared to make a salary request that was well beyond the shared amount and that was also fully worthy of my time and skills (Goal 1) and on par with market rates (Goal 2).

It was to my benefit that the company had willingly offered me this number without me even asking. However if they had not, I would've asked them what their budget was for this position. A golden rule of negotiating is to always get the business to share their budgeted amount for the position with you before ever offering a salary suggestion of your own.
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A golden rule of negotiating is to always get the business to share their budgeted amount for the position with you before ever offering a salary suggestion of your own.

​On this occasion, I was aware of their minimum budget, but had no knowledge about what their upper pay step was. So when the topic of salary inevitably came up, the default for the interviewer was to say our starting rate is $30 per hour, are you ok with that? We reviewed briefly my years of experience, my awareness of market rates, and I said, “The absolute minimum I can accept is $40 per hour” and let the pregnant pause ensue. After a moment, they responded, "There’s no way we can offer you the amount you’ve requested. Will you consider less?” ​

Will You Consider Less?

Always be prepared for this question by working through Goal 1 and Goal 2 so you can know with great confidence how much 1) you are willing to do this work for and 2) how much colleagues are being compensated. Remember, a business exists to make money, so it makes sense that they will like to save money on the work you’re doing by paying you less if you willingly agree to it. It’s part of the negotiation game. Expect it but don’t capitulate. And I know you won’t even be tempted if you’ve already done the work in Goal 1 and Goal 2.

So back to my interview - I responded, “Well what are you thinking? What are you capable of within your budget.” 

“We start all new staff on this step, and we will be able to advance your pay as you grow in experience. It’s very expensive for us to bring new staff onboard and we can’t justify paying you more when you’re just starting out and needing so much training.” ​

Nurses in salary negotiations should ask for a salary higher than an organization will willingly offer

We bring everyone in at a lower pay since they will need expensive training and over time you will become eligible for merit raises.

Do not ever be fooled by this age-old tactic used by human resource departments where they justify lower pay in the name of onboarding and provide false reassurance that your salary will be advanced to meet your needs based on merit. 

First of all, the salary you agree on now is going to be the salary that all your future pay increases is dependent on. You will be in training for a short time, not for a lifetime. Never ever fall for this rationale. 

Second of all, companies and organizations have very stringent merit recognition, and for companies that allow this, you will likely find that a merit raise is going to take you years to achieve your minimum ask unless the offer is very close. It’s very unlikely it will be worth it.

I worked for a company once that required a painstaking amount of documentation in order to be seriously considered for a merit raise. A very small portion of our team would be selected for the merit increase, and even then, the increase was equal to 3% of gross pay. This isn’t bad if you know you will realistically be eligible for this merit increase every year, but you won’t be. Don’t be fooled. Every year, managers felt an obligation to pass this merit based award around to other excellent members on our team too. And so they should because that is the ethical thing to do. 

I share this story to demonstrate only that a discussion during an interview process of a merit based salary enhancement is nothing more than an HR strategy that gets you to agree to a lower starting rate that will effectively lock you into years of lower pay. Don’t fall for it. Set your salary number high and then set your focus on the fourth goal to get your best nursing salary: emotionless negotiation.

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In this series, we're working on 5 goals of nurse salary negotiation:

1. Ask for financial compensation that you feel is worthy of your time and skills 
2. Know what the going rate is for your skills
3. You're Here--> Show up to an interview prepared with a salary number that is higher than an organization will offer (but it should still be fair!)
4. Read Next! Emotionlessly negotiate
5. Make your counteroffer

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Angel Mathis, MN, MPH, ARNP, FNP-BC

Hi! I'm Angel. I am the founder of Nurses Investing For Wealth. I teach nurses simple money tactics that turn them into millionaires. This is where you learn how to use your nursing knowledge to invest your money better than an expert.

If you want to end money confusion, be unstuck from nursing, and create financial freedom, come join my Tiny Training Nurse Investing Series.
Follow on Instagram.

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