As a traveling NP, when searching for an assignment, some agencies list the jobs and pay on their website. Keep in mind that this pay rate is not concrete. The same thing goes when a recruiter emails you a potential job and it says what the hourly pay is. Remember, everything in locum tenens is negotiable.
I usually have an hourly rate I have in mind that I will communicate to my recruiter. Then depending on how well the interview goes or how eager the site seems; I may ask for a higher rate. So, the best time to negotiate a higher pay rate is after an interview with a site, once the site makes an offer to move forward.
This is the best time because the site has made it clear that they want to move forward with you. The recruiter will do everything in their power to make sure you say “yes”. As a seasoned travel NP, you may also have multiple job offers at the same time. You can play these offers against each other to have your preferred choice match the other offer from another agency/job.
It is a disservice to yourself if you only work with one agency and are only interviewing for one job at a time. This will decrease your hourly rate potential.
I also like to keep in mind if the area is rural, then they will have a harder time finding a locum. In this case, I would ask for more per hour than is offered. On the other hand, if I interviewed with a site that I know interviewed multiple candidates in an ideal location for me, I am less likely to ask for a higher rate since I know there is a lot of competition and they may go with a provider asking for less.
Don’t forget to negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.
