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Ask a Recruiter
I am a nurse recruiter. I am not here to promote my business. Instead I am here to provide free career advice. If you have questions about any of the categories listed below let me know.

* How to find your dream job?
* Interview Tips
* How to get leverage when negotiating money?
* How to see past recruiter speak to know if an opportunity is good?
* Make sure you are asking all of the important questions before taking a job.
* What is a fair signing bonus/relocation bonus?
* Anything else you want to know.

I am an international student currently studying nursing in LA. I was just wondering if US hospitals or other places provide working visas or permanent residency. I would really like to work in this country after I graduate, at least for a couple of years.
I also want to know what are some popular and good nursing schools in the country. Any help would be greatly appreciated Smile

Nursing Schools - The only thing that matters is that the school is accredited. The best way to determine this is by contacting your state nursing board, and ask if they recognize the learning institution. There are so many accrediting orgnizations that even though a school claims to be accredited, the accreditation may not be recognized by nursing boards to hold any value.

Work Visas - Hospitals that are experiencing considerable nursing shortages will sponsor foriegn nurses for work visas. There are two challenges that you will face though:

#1 - You may get paid less because the cost for sponsorship is generally $5,000 to $10,000. Hospitals will generally take this out of your salary to some extent.

#2 - The state department limits the number of work visas allowed from each country. Many countries have already maxed out the number of work visas allowed for nurses.

I hope this helps.

ask a recruiter
What advice can you offer for salary negotiations? I am a nurse manager and it's difficult pricing yourself, I know the hours are well over 40 and you don't get paid more so how do I find out a fair salary?
Thanks,
Bonnie Very Happy

RN-REentry
I am an RN with 18+ years of experience who has been out of the work force for a little over a year due to illness secondary to the death of both parents in 2003. I feel ready to return to work but am finding much resistance. How can I present myself that would make me marketable? I thought with the great shortage comming back would be easier. However, it seems no one wants an experienced nurse...even in a different field. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Quote:

What advice can you offer for salary negotiations? I am a nurse manager and it's difficult pricing yourself, I know the hours are well over 40 and you don't get paid more so how do I find out a fair salary?
Thanks,
Bonnie

Salary Negotiations is a subject I always get a lot of questions about. Salary negotiations should be a three step process: research, leverage, and negotiation.

RESEARCHLEVERAGE NEGOTIATION

Re: RN-REentry

tielk wrote:

I am an RN with 18+ years of experience who has been out of the work force for a little over a year due to illness secondary to the death of both parents in 2003. I feel ready to return to work but am finding much resistance. How can I present myself that would make me marketable? I thought with the great shortage comming back would be easier. However, it seems no one wants an experienced nurse...even in a different field. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

First thing you should do is call the facilities you want to work in, and ask for the department managers. Don't call in-house recruiters because they really don't know what they are doing, and they don't always know of every opportunity.

When you speak with these managers, mention that you have "over 10 years of experience" when you are telling them about your situation. Don't say +18 because you may experience age descrimination.

If you still can't find a position there, then contact a travel agency and try to get a travel assignment in the hospital you wish to find a permanent position in. Think of it as a try-out.

Travel nursing companies typically require one year of acute care experience within the last three years. It sounds like you would meet this requirement. You could do travel assignments for 6 months, and you should be eligible for perm positions once again.

Re: ask a recruiter

Bonnie wrote:

What advice can you offer for salary negotiations? I am a nurse manager and it's difficult pricing yourself, I know the hours are well over 40 and you don't get paid more so how do I find out a fair salary?
Thanks,
Bonnie

I realize that I didn't address the issue of over 40 hours in a week above. Every manager always has difficulty balancing pay with the hours involved with running the department. The best advice I can give you is try to get your potential employer to estimate the number of hours that he/she expects you to put in.

I would love to be able to tell you that there was a simple way to compare apples to apples when it comes to management positions. I would just use your experience and best judgement to figure out which jobs would have the fewest fires to put out, with comparable salaries.

As far as negotiating wages, see the post above. The strategy works for all positions really. The big difference is that hospitalls generally have a little more flexibility when it comes to salaries for managers. This is because there is less internal equity. Good luck.

RN seeking position advice
Thanks for your help...Next question how do I fulfill the reference problem...no recent references...Last hospital refuses anything other than yes she worked here for 4 years.

List co-workers as references. Or you can list supervisors from a long time ago.

You can also approach the hospital, and offer to work per diem at first to prove yourself. That would be my best advice for you.

Sell yourself, and make the references become a non-issue.

RN Recruiter...Question.
Hi! I am a nurse in South Carolina with over 10 years of experience. However, I am a Licensed Practical Nurse, not a registered nurse as of yet. I am currently pursuing a BSN degree through the LPN to BSN program offered through the college network at Indiana State University. This particular "bridge" program is still relatively new and has only a few commonalities with programs offered by what used to be Regent's in New York. I anticipate completion of all of the degree requirements in 10 months, and will become board eligible at the same time. Do you have any opportunities for LPN's or does the company that you are affiliated with restrict their clientelle exclusively to Registered Nurses? Thanks for any information that you may have!

thank you
I appreciate your assistance it helped me a great deal. Very Happy

charlotte, NC
Hi! I am looking to relocate from Mass. to Charlotte, NC, and am beginning to wade through all of the different jobs out there. First question, Can I expect $45,000 a year? I know the cost of living is much cheaper there, anything has to be cheaper than Mass. Second question, should I find a place to live first (thinking of buying a home) or should I get a job first? Thanks for ANY help you can give me! SpySly

aholcomb803
aholcomb803
Could you please email me at [email protected]? I would like to hear more about your LPN to BSN program.

Re: charlotte, NC

SpySly wrote:

Hi! I am looking to relocate from Mass. to Charlotte, NC, and am beginning to wade through all of the different jobs out there. First question, Can I expect $45,000 a year? I know the cost of living is much cheaper there, anything has to be cheaper than Mass. Second question, should I find a place to live first (thinking of buying a home) or should I get a job first? Thanks for ANY help you can give me! SpySly

I'm not sure about the average salary there, but I would recommend finding a job first. Maybe you should take a travel assignment first, let the company pay for your housing and then take a permanent positions. Just a thought

Re: RN Recruiter...Question.

aholcomb803 wrote:

Hi! I am a nurse in South Carolina with over 10 years of experience. However, I am a Licensed Practical Nurse, not a registered nurse as of yet. I am currently pursuing a BSN degree through the LPN to BSN program offered through the college network at Indiana State University. This particular "bridge" program is still relatively new and has only a few commonalities with programs offered by what used to be Regent's in New York. I anticipate completion of all of the degree requirements in 10 months, and will become board eligible at the same time. Do you have any opportunities for LPN's or does the company that you are affiliated with restrict their clientelle exclusively to Registered Nurses? Thanks for any information that you may have!

My firm does work with LPNs, but there is much more demand for RNs at this time. I think that your best bet is to contact a large staffing agency, and ask them to present you to their clients whom meet your criteria.

I didn't want to use this site as a marketing tool. I would prefer to give you an unbiased, objective opinion of what I know of the industry. This way you know that I am not self serving, and genuinely trying to help.

Feel free to send me an e-mail if you have any other questions.

Re: thank you

tielk wrote:

I appreciate your assistance it helped me a great deal.

I am glad to hear it. If you have any stories, I would love to hear them.

Re: charlotte, NC

SpySly wrote:

Hi! I am looking to relocate from Mass. to Charlotte, NC, and am beginning to wade through all of the different jobs out there. First question, Can I expect $45,000 a year? I know the cost of living is much cheaper there, anything has to be cheaper than Mass. Second question, should I find a place to live first (thinking of buying a home) or should I get a job first? Thanks for ANY help you can give me! SpySly

$45K sounds reasonable for that area, but it really depends on your experience.

As far as buying the house is concerned, I would hold off until you accept a position. I know a nurse who was determined to move to a new community. So she moved there before securing a position for herself. Unfortunately the nurse didn't do her homework, and found out after she purchased her home that there was a RN program at one of the local community colleges. There were no jobs to be found in her area because the market was saturated with nurses.

So find the job first, and then worry about a house. I would then make sure that you get the hours you need to make it work. Some facilities are over-staffed, and send nurses home. I know...it sounds unheard of, with the national shortage and all...but there are a few pockets of the country in which there are too many nurses. For example, I have heard that the entire state of Minnesota is actually experieincing a nursing surplus.

I hope this helps. Good luck. Let us all know how things turn out for you.

Re: Ask a Recruiter

RN Recruiter wrote:

I am a nurse recruiter. I am not here to promote my business. Instead I am here to provide free career advice. If you have questions about any of the categories listed below let me know.

* How to find your dream job?
* Interview Tips
* How to get leverage when negotiating money?
* How to see past recruiter speak to know if an opportunity is good?
* Make sure you are asking all of the important questions before taking a job.
* What is a fair signing bonus/relocation bonus?
* Anything else you want to know.

hello,
i am a new adn grad. may 2004. i have not taken boards yet, because of complications from back surgery, which i had one week from graduation. i am still currently on disibility. i have nerve damage to my left leg with a drop foot. i am doing a little better, but i have trouble walking for so long or standing for long period of time. i wanted to know what kind of job are available for someone like me, with no RN experience. i do have one year of LVN experience. any info will be helpful.

thanks
melinda blanco,lvn
texas

Salary Negotiations

RN Recruiter wrote:

Quote:
What advice can you offer for salary negotiations? I am a nurse manager and it's difficult pricing yourself, I know the hours are well over 40 and you don't get paid more so how do I find out a fair salary?
Thanks,
Bonnie

Salary Negotiations is a subject I always get a lot of questions about. Salary negotiations should be a three step process: research, leverage, and negotiation.

RESEARCHLEVERAGE NEGOTIATION

I've been working as an RN (ADN) consistantly for 25 yrs., excluding maturnity leave, in the metro NY area. I have an appt. with a manager for a hospital-based home care/hospice dept. in a couple of days. I've already met with HR & quoted an hourly rate of $30.75 as their best offer. I've done my "research", the dept. is short nurses; they want a nurse to see clients already in SNF's, rather than home visits; & I've obtained the pay schedule from another local hospital's similar dept. (unionized). Even if they gave me 1 yrs credit for every 2 yrs worked, this other hospital's scale would be $34.70/hr. The dept. has several of their nurses including dept. Director, that are familiar with how I provide care to their clients & family members. I recently left a Sub-acute/LTC & had a number of their clients. I've number crunched & find I financially need $31.50, only $0.75/ hr higher. I don't feel this is unrealistic or exhorbitant. I also know this dept. made the hospital's biggest profit last year, yet they pay home care/hospice nurses less than those in the hospital. I want & need this job, I don't want to do what I've been doing. How should I handle this? Should I ask to speak with the dept. Director? What do I do? I need a response quickly. Thank you.

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