How to Negotiate Your Nursing Salary

If you're a nurse and you're thinking of asking for a raise but don't know effectively, you've come to the right place. There are several things to remember in the process so it could get a bit confusing.

Don't worry if you are unsure how to negotiate the salary you want. DoNotPay knows how to do it successfully, and we can help you get the job done. First, let's look at some tips on negotiating for the pay you deserve.

Why You Might Want to Learn How to Negotiate a Nursing Salary

All situations are different, but overall, you need to get paid what your skills and knowledge are worth in your position. This goes for nursing as well as other careers. There are a few different times when it's essential to step up and ask for an increase in your salary.

Those times include:

When a person who's new to nursing makes the same as you.
When you haven't had a raise in salary in a long time.
When your job duties require more time and effort.

If someone gets hired and happens to be new to nursing or they have a little experience under their belt, and they make the same or near the same as you, then you should consider . Especially if you've been around for a long time in that job.

You may also have increased your knowledge with a certificate or license in a new area during your employment. For example, you might have gotten your registered nursing degree or earned a certificate for being an emergency nurse practitioner (ENP-C). Both should come with pay raises.

Tips for Negotiating Your Nursing Salary

You can negotiate in one of two ways. You can request a meeting with your supervisor or whoever would have a hand in making the final decision on your salary increase. This is fine, but it may not be as effective as writing a professional letter. A face-to-face meeting allows you to have an open discussion, but doing it this way can be intimidating to many nurses.

Writing a letter will allow you to craft a salary request professionally while providing all the points you feel make you more deserving of a salary increase.

Some things you should consider adding to your request:

How long you've worked there.
Where you went to school.
Any extra licenses or certifications you obtained since getting hired there.
Your proposed salary amount.

In addition, here are some extra tips for a better chance of higher pay:

Be backed with hard data	Show evidence of what you are worth. Compile past achievements that justify your salary and how much you further help the institution.
Timing	Knowing when to ask is critical when asking for a higher salary. For example, don't ask for a raise when the fiscal year is about to end when budgets are already settled.
Be confident	If you know you are worth more than they are offering don't be reluctant to negotiate for higher pay. Advocating for yourself is a sign of confidence that can help you get the salary point you wanted.

Basically, you need to present a confident case on your behalf to show that you deserve a pay raise in your job.

What Do You Need to Do Before Negotiating Your Nursing Salary?

Before you ask for a pay raise, the first thing you will need to do is conduct a lot of research. Determine the going rate of pay for someone like you with the amount of experience and education you have. If there are other hospitals or clinics in your area, check them out as well to see what the average pay might be in your city or county.

Keep a list of what you do for the company that provides them with the most benefit. This would include things like being willing to work long hours, covering a shift any time needed, being good with the patients, etc. Add all the experiences you have had during your employment with them that might help your case, like being patient with some of the most challenging people.

Type a letter using all those points. Make sure it reads as if a professional wrote it and doesn't include threatening language, like "or else." They have the upper hand in making the decision, but you want to make it hard to say no.

How to Negotiate Other Benefits Besides Salary

Employment negotiations can be done for more than just your salary. Other benefits you can try to get added to your job:

Flexible Schedule
Sign-on Bonus
Paid time off
Reimbursement for continuing education
Shift schedules
Nursing equipment

If you want to negotiate for one of these, you must explain why the particular point is important to you. It would help if you also shared how that would be a benefit. For example, let's say you have a special-needs child, and you need flexibility in scheduling medical appointments for your son or daughter's needs. If the employer knows that you still want to work but just need a different way to schedule your work time, they might be willing to grant that request.

This way, both of you are winners. Same with reimbursement for continuing education. They need to know how it benefits the company and why it would help them. Having specialized knowledge that the company can fall back on could be very inviting for an employer.

How Can DoNotPay Help You Get an Increase in Your Nursing Salary?

Let's face it; it's hard to write a letter that includes all the points you need without coming across as being nervous or hesitant to even ask for a pay raise, despite the fact that you deserve it. Sometimes, you just need a little help to get the job done, and that's where DoNotPay comes in. We have a simple method of crafting a letter to negotiate your nursing salary.

We use four easy steps to accomplish this:

Search "negotiate my salary" on DoNotPay.
Enter the name of your company and the industry you work in, so we can find the right wage statistics for your role.
Answer a series of questions regarding your qualifications and achievements, relocation expenses, and other job offers if applicable.
Enter the new base salary you would like to request.

All you have to do is give the letter to your employer or email it to them. Then, you wait for their response.

How DoNotPay Can Help With Negotiating Wages With Any Employment

We can help you craft a negotiation letter for any career, not just nursing. We can help you in the following ways:

Learn how to ask for raise.
Find out how to negotiate a salary with any company.
Learn when to negotiate a salary.
Find out how to negotiate a salary in an email.
Learn how often you should ask for an increase in your salary.
Get tips on how to ask for a raise in your wages in an email.
Figure out how much of a raise you should ask for.
Get tips on how to negotiate a salary over the phone.

No matter what career you might have, there will be times when you will need to ask for a pay raise. Going about it could be confusing and nerve-wracking, but it doesn't have to be. Sign up with DoNotPay and let us craft a professional letter for you so you can get the salary you feel you deserve.