NEGOTIATING
Negotiating your Contract
Negotiating compensation is often the most
stressful part of the employment process. If
you are working with one of our Liaisons or
Physician's Agents, you will not discuss this
directly with the employer at all. The Liaison or
the Agent will handle all negotiations for you (see:
Working with Liaisons/Agents).
If you are not working with a Liaison or Physician's
Agent and are negotiating compensation yourself, we
recommend the following guidelines:
Do not bring up money during the interview.
Always let the employer broach questions of
compensation.
Defer negotiations until the employer is ready to
make an offer. If you are unsure, then ask "Are you
ready to make an offer at this time?" If they say
they are not ready yet or still need to interview
other candidates, tell them that you are confident you can come to a suitable arrangement once
they have made their decision. This allows you both
to evaluate how well your needs and those of the
practice will match without clouding the issue with
financial concerns.
When they are ready to make an offer, remember
to consider the full range of a compensation
package. Often, a lower starting salary will turn out
to be a great offer when combined with benefits like
loan repayment, paid malpractice insurance,
continuing education funding, or percentage earnings
from the practice. Remember that you are only
negotiating your first year's salary. Once you've
had the opportunity to demonstrate your value to the
practice, your employers should be open to
re-negotiate the contract. |
