Ask a Recruiter

Posts: 47 · Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 47 Location: San Diego

I am a nurse recruiter. I am not here to promote my business. Instead I am here to provide free career advice. If you have questions about any of the categories listed below let me know.

* How to find your dream job?
* Interview Tips
* How to get leverage when negotiating money?
* How to see past recruiter speak to know if an opportunity is good?
* Make sure you are asking all of the important questions before taking a job.
* What is a fair signing bonus/relocation bonus?
* Anything else you want to know.

Posts: 1 · Joined: 07 Feb 2005 Posts: 1

I am an international student currently studying nursing in LA. I was just wondering if US hospitals or other places provide working visas or permanent residency. I would really like to work in this country after I graduate, at least for a couple of years.
I also want to know what are some popular and good nursing schools in the country. Any help would be greatly appreciated Smile

Posts: 47 · Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 47 Location: San Diego

Nursing Schools - The only thing that matters is that the school is accredited. The best way to determine this is by contacting your state nursing board, and ask if they recognize the learning institution. There are so many accrediting orgnizations that even though a school claims to be accredited, the accreditation may not be recognized by nursing boards to hold any value.

Work Visas - Hospitals that are experiencing considerable nursing shortages will sponsor foriegn nurses for work visas. There are two challenges that you will face though:

#1 - You may get paid less because the cost for sponsorship is generally $5,000 to $10,000. Hospitals will generally take this out of your salary to some extent.

#2 - The state department limits the number of work visas allowed from each country. Many countries have already maxed out the number of work visas allowed for nurses.

I hope this helps.

Posts: 1 · Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 1

What advice can you offer for salary negotiations? I am a nurse manager and it's difficult pricing yourself, I know the hours are well over 40 and you don't get paid more so how do I find out a fair salary?
Thanks,
Bonnie Very Happy

Posts: 7 · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Posts: 7

I am an RN with 18+ years of experience who has been out of the work force for a little over a year due to illness secondary to the death of both parents in 2003. I feel ready to return to work but am finding much resistance. How can I present myself that would make me marketable? I thought with the great shortage comming back would be easier. However, it seems no one wants an experienced nurse...even in a different field. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Posts: 47 · Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 47 Location: San Diego

Quote:

What advice can you offer for salary negotiations? I am a nurse manager and it's difficult pricing yourself, I know the hours are well over 40 and you don't get paid more so how do I find out a fair salary?
Thanks,
Bonnie

Salary Negotiations is a subject I always get a lot of questions about. Salary negotiations should be a three step process: research, leverage, and negotiation.

RESEARCH
The first thing you need to do is research salary. Find out how much nurses with your level of experience are making in your area. Make sure that the nurses work in similar departments as you do

For example, if you work in Long Term Care then don't ask ICU nurses how much they make as your point of comparison. It is true that you are both Registered Nurses, but the skill sets used and certifications vary by specialty.

Also be conscious of geographic factors. Nurses in San Francisco make more than nurses in Los Angeles or Kansas City.

Finally, don’t assume that you are worth the same pay as a nurse with 10 years more experience than you. Hospitals have salary ranges for all of their positions, and experience determines where you fall on that range. Because the facility likely employs 100’s of nurses they can’t bring you in for more money than everyone else in your price range.

Once you know the general salary range of nurses in your area, you will have a reasonable idea of what to ask for.

LEVERAGE
This is the post important part of negotiation. As an RN you are the one in high demand, the number of positions is greater than the number of nurses. Therefore you would think that you would have great leverage, right? Maybe not…there are a ton of nursing positions, but there is a shortage of the really great positions. So you have to assume that you are competing for the great positions with several other nurses.

So how do you get leverage? First of all, go through the entire interview process and wait for a job offer. Recruiters will often times interview multiple candidates and only extend an offer to the best candidate. If a deal can’t be struck then they will move down the list and make an offer to their second choice, etc.

When an offer is made to you, the hospital is essentially telling you that you are their best option. This gives you a little leverage to work with. If you negotiate before this point, then you will likely be removed from consideration if you demands are too high.

NEGOTIATION
Tell them that you have one or two other offers, and with all things being equal they are your first choice. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU POINT OUT ALL OF THE NON-FINANCIAL REASONS WHY YOU WANT THE JOB. If an employer thinks that money is your sole motivation, then it may make him/her question your long term viability. This is because you might jump at the chance to make more money 6 months from now.

Then ask your potential employer if this is their absolute best offer. Suggest that if they have a better offer, then it would be a good idea for your employer to extend it because you will make an decision within the next 48 hours based upon the best financials, and the intangibles (like department staff, etc.)

Also ask them to send you information on benefits, sign-on bonuses, and relocation. By doing this, you are suggesting that they need to include these things if they haven’t already, but you are not directly asking for it.

If you take these steps, I guarantee you that your potential employer will offer you the most money they have available for a nurse of your experience. The employer will think that this is their one chance to get you, so they will throw everything in they have at you.

One last tip. If you tell a facility that you are going to make a decision in 48 hours…make sure you stick to your word. I have seen many hospitals rescind offers because nurses didn’t keep to their deadlines.

I hope this helps…good luck.

Posts: 47 · Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 47 Location: San Diego

tielk wrote:

I am an RN with 18+ years of experience who has been out of the work force for a little over a year due to illness secondary to the death of both parents in 2003. I feel ready to return to work but am finding much resistance. How can I present myself that would make me marketable? I thought with the great shortage comming back would be easier. However, it seems no one wants an experienced nurse...even in a different field. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

First thing you should do is call the facilities you want to work in, and ask for the department managers. Don't call in-house recruiters because they really don't know what they are doing, and they don't always know of every opportunity.

When you speak with these managers, mention that you have "over 10 years of experience" when you are telling them about your situation. Don't say +18 because you may experience age descrimination.

If you still can't find a position there, then contact a travel agency and try to get a travel assignment in the hospital you wish to find a permanent position in. Think of it as a try-out.

Travel nursing companies typically require one year of acute care experience within the last three years. It sounds like you would meet this requirement. You could do travel assignments for 6 months, and you should be eligible for perm positions once again.

Posts: 47 · Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 47 Location: San Diego

Bonnie wrote:

What advice can you offer for salary negotiations? I am a nurse manager and it's difficult pricing yourself, I know the hours are well over 40 and you don't get paid more so how do I find out a fair salary?
Thanks,
Bonnie Very Happy

I realize that I didn't address the issue of over 40 hours in a week above. Every manager always has difficulty balancing pay with the hours involved with running the department. The best advice I can give you is try to get your potential employer to estimate the number of hours that he/she expects you to put in.

I would love to be able to tell you that there was a simple way to compare apples to apples when it comes to management positions. I would just use your experience and best judgement to figure out which jobs would have the fewest fires to put out, with comparable salaries.

As far as negotiating wages, see the post above. The strategy works for all positions really. The big difference is that hospitalls generally have a little more flexibility when it comes to salaries for managers. This is because there is less internal equity. Good luck.

Posts: 7 · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Posts: 7

Thanks for your help...Next question how do I fulfill the reference problem...no recent references...Last hospital refuses anything other than yes she worked here for 4 years.

Posts: 47 · Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 47 Location: San Diego

List co-workers as references. Or you can list supervisors from a long time ago.

You can also approach the hospital, and offer to work per diem at first to prove yourself. That would be my best advice for you.

Sell yourself, and make the references become a non-issue.

Posts: 2 · Joined: 26 Feb 2005 Posts: 2 Location: south carolina

Hi! I am a nurse in South Carolina with over 10 years of experience. However, I am a Licensed Practical Nurse, not a registered nurse as of yet. I am currently pursuing a BSN degree through the LPN to BSN program offered through the college network at Indiana State University. This particular "bridge" program is still relatively new and has only a few commonalities with programs offered by what used to be Regent's in New York. I anticipate completion of all of the degree requirements in 10 months, and will become board eligible at the same time. Do you have any opportunities for LPN's or does the company that you are affiliated with restrict their clientelle exclusively to Registered Nurses? Thanks for any information that you may have!

Posts: 7 · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Posts: 7

I appreciate your assistance it helped me a great deal. Very Happy

Posts: 2 · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Posts: 2

Hi! I am looking to relocate from Mass. to Charlotte, NC, and am beginning to wade through all of the different jobs out there. First question, Can I expect $45,000 a year? I know the cost of living is much cheaper there, anything has to be cheaper than Mass. Second question, should I find a place to live first (thinking of buying a home) or should I get a job first? Thanks for ANY help you can give me! SpySly

Posts: 12 · Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Posts: 12

aholcomb803
Could you please email me at Hetrickhvac@yahoo.com? I would like to hear more about your LPN to BSN program.

Posts: 77 · Joined: 10 Jan 2005 Posts: 77

SpySly wrote:

Hi! I am looking to relocate from Mass. to Charlotte, NC, and am beginning to wade through all of the different jobs out there. First question, Can I expect $45,000 a year? I know the cost of living is much cheaper there, anything has to be cheaper than Mass. Second question, should I find a place to live first (thinking of buying a home) or should I get a job first? Thanks for ANY help you can give me! SpySly

I'm not sure about the average salary there, but I would recommend finding a job first. Maybe you should take a travel assignment first, let the company pay for your housing and then take a permanent positions. Just a thought