Salary Negotiation Etiquette

[hebel]

Any tips or general advice on this?


I'm in the process of serious talks with a hospital and was wondering what's considered ok as far as counter offers?

Resources for typical jobs suggest countering anywhere from 110-130% of the initial offer. Does this apply to our salary ranges (e.g. would it be absurd to counter 360k for a 300k intial offer)?

Any advice or experiences with this process in general are appreciated!

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[wolfvgang22]

No, it's not absurd. However, you should know what the typical salary range for your area and type of work is to guide your request. Don't forget to negotiate about hours, patient load, time off, CME stipend, bonus, benefits, student loan repayment, etc. Sometimes there isn't much room to go up on salary but there is room for other quality of life improvement.

 

[WisNeuro]

I'd agree with wolfvgang for any job, consider the entire compensation package, not just salary. Everything can be monetized in that contract. Last interview cycle I had, one job offered about 15k more than another, but overall compensation was about 18k lower when other things were taken into account (amount of PTO, retirement contributions, employer contributions to insurance). Additionally, always good to have multiple offers, I was easily able to get an increase in starting salary when it was clear that I had other offers and was more than willing to entertain those offers.

In general, though, you have to know what your walk point is. What are your must haves, and what is negotiable?

 

[dl2dp2]

If you counter 360, you'll settle somewhere close to 330. A couple of big things in terms of pure numbers: 1. retirement contribution match. 2. paid time off. Everything else is somewhat minor in terms of pure numbers.

 

[WisNeuro]

If you counter 360, you'll settle somewhere close to 330. A couple of big things in terms of pure numbers: 1. retirement contribution match. 2. paid time off. Everything else is somewhat minor in terms of pure numbers.

Just a couple thousand, but the ratio of how much of the insurance premium employer vs employee pays can be several thousand a year between some jobs. Generally a smaller part of the money picture, but can still add a small weight to the scale.

 

[Sushirolls]

Get a lawyer and let your lawyer be the mouth piece for negotiation. I created a thread about this months back, 'Got a contract? Get a lawyer.'
Contracts have clauses that say you had time to get counsel and did get counsel... so get counsel.
They can then email the point counter point to the job, and present you with the finalized clean copy to sign.

 

[hebel]

Thank you for your thoughts so far. I agree there's much more to consider than just base salary. In my case, the benefits are actually some of the best I've seen anywhere. Comp wise, I'd prefer a bump in the salary and will ask for a larger sign-on bonus, but did not want to come off tacky or selfish by countering too high.

I do have relatively firm parameters for various logistical details related to patient load and overall work flow that look like they will be honored. Sushirolls, I'll definitely go check that thread out, thanks for the heads up.

 

[Sushirolls]

...did not want to come off tacky or selfish by countering too high.

This is business. Check your emotions at the door. That's why its beneficial to have a lawyer. They are the emotion filters.
Long gone are the days of loyalty, and caring about the large corporate or large medical group employer.
They are a business and won't hesitate for one second to turn on you and throw you under the bus.
Bringing your emotions to the negotiating table is usually a free monetary gift to the employer.

The worst they do is say no.

 

[Merely]

Thank you for your thoughts so far. I agree there's much more to consider than just base salary. In my case, the benefits are actually some of the best I've seen anywhere. Comp wise, I'd prefer a bump in the salary and will ask for a larger sign-on bonus, but did not want to come off tacky or selfish by countering too high.

I do have relatively firm parameters for various logistical details related to patient load and overall work flow that look like they will be honored. Sushirolls, I'll definitely go check that thread out, thanks for the heads up.

Tacky or selfish? I hope you’re joking..

 

[Merovinge]

Thank you for your thoughts so far. I agree there's much more to consider than just base salary. In my case, the benefits are actually some of the best I've seen anywhere. Comp wise, I'd prefer a bump in the salary and will ask for a larger sign-on bonus, but did not want to come off tacky or selfish by countering too high.

I do have relatively firm parameters for various logistical details related to patient load and overall work flow that look like they will be honored. Sushirolls, I'll definitely go check that thread out, thanks for the heads up.

I've noticed that companies seem to have a certain number of things they are willing to be flexible on and get annoyed the greater number of items you want to change. I've found it best to focus on the big items (PTO, salary, CME, moving expenses, signon) and let some of the other stuff go. Contracts are just there to screw you over, thats going to be the case anytime you sign with an employer.

Keep in mind that moving some salary to sign-on is pretty easy if your finances are tight given a provision that you pro-rate pay it back if you leave early, however if you arent in a dire need for money I would rather just have a higher annual compensation if at all possible. Many things are still based on annual compensation (like x multiplier of annual compensation for life insurance or disability) so having this number as high as possible is ideal. That said if you just had a baby and need a down payment for a house, then shunt some future salary to sign-on.