It is well known that women make 83 cents for every dollar a man earns. Part of the reason is that women are less likely to ask for a raise. Working as a locum tenens nurse practitioner, it is easier than ever to ask for a raise. The reason is because you have your recruiter that will act as the middle man. You tell your recruiter that you need a raise. Then they will ask the site for you for the raise. So, you get to avoid awkward conversations and trying to come up with reasons why you deserve the raise.
If the site says no, the agency themselves may agree to the raise on their end. Or you can threaten to walk away, and the site may (often) change their mind and agree to the raise.
One of my good friends is working as a traveling nurse practitioner in California, living her best life. She is on a 3-month assignment but told me she wants to extend for another 6-months. I told her that’s great and she should ask for a raise!
Her response was: “Since I am the one wanting to extend and they aren’t the ones asking me, I’d feel silly asking for a raise.”
I told her that even though she WANTS to extend, the site is likely ecstatic to have coverage for an additional 6 months! I told her she should definitely ask for a raise and the only bad thing they can say is no – which they likely wouldn’t.
Unfortunately, my friend didn’t want to “risk” the assignment because she had already agreed to the extension and felt like it was too late to go back and ask for a raise (it wasn’t). I was a bit disappointed by this.
Even though my friend is working in California (a high paying state) and I am working in Florida (a low paying state), I am making $15/hour more than her. The reason is because I know my worth and I am not afraid to ask for a raise.
So, to my fellow traveling nurse practitioners: please always negotiate the rate offered; ask for a raise or bonus when extending; and don’t be afraid to ask for your worth!
