5 Tips for Negotiating Your Nursing Salary

If you’re like most nurses, you have the confidence to handle difficult, sometimes life-and-death situations for your patients. But, when it comes to something like negotiating your nursing salary, you probably feel a little intimidated to ask for what you want.   

You’re not alone. According to Fast Company magazine, 49 percent of job candidates never negotiate an initial salary offer. By not speaking up though, you could be leaving thousands of dollars on the table. In fact, researchers claim that people who negotiate their salary boost their annual income by about $5,000.

So, if a salary offer is in your future, here are five smart tips to help you negotiate for more.

1. Know Your Worth: Do some research to determine what nurses with your experience and education are being paid in your geographic area and specialty. Resources like Glassdoor.com, PayScale.com and the Bureau of Labor Statistics are a good place to look for the latest salary data.

2. Script Your Counter Offer: Write out exactly what you will say and anticipate the response in advance so you’re prepared to respond. Rehearse your script and responses in front a friend or the mirror until you are completely comfortable with it.

3. Be Specific: Don’t counter with a range. Researchers say the more specific your number is the more likely you are to get an offer close to that number.

4. Create a Brag Sheet: Highlight all your achievements, awards, and positive testimonials from patients, managers or co-workers on a one-page brag sheet before your negotiation. Be prepared to succinctly share some of these wins to demonstrate why you’re worth what you’re requesting.

5. Ask for More Than You Want: Your bargaining partner will likely counter with a number lower than your ask to feel like they are getting the best deal for their organization. Choose a number that’s 10 to 15 percent higher than what you want.

Finally, it’s important to be willing to walk away from a low offer that simply doesn’t work for you. Determine what that number is before your negotiation and stick to it. While it may be hard to walk away from a salary offer, most nurses agree that it’s even harder to work in a job everyday where you don’t feel like you’re getting paid what you deserve.

For more salary negotiation tips, check out the article How to Negotiate Your Nursing Salary.