It’s important to know and understand what your deal-breakers are so that you can communicate this during your travel nurse contract negotiation.
First, lets define what is meant by the term deal-breaker.
Know your Deal-Breakers
deal breaker (plural deal breakers) An issue which causes a relationship (especially in business) to fail.
– Wiktionary
Example Deal Breakers
I have my own deal-breakers. One is pay. I HAVE to make a minimum amount, anything over this is an added benefit. This is probably a deal-breaker for everyone. Figure out what your minimum pay is and stick to it!
Another personal deal-breaker for me in the past was Spring Break….this was a very important week for my family and I was not willing to budge on it. If a contract fell during this time, I would negotiate for the week off by adding a week to the contract (and most times having to pay for the housing for the week). This requires knowing when the dates are, well in advance. I’ve had great success with travel companies and recruiters meeting this deal-breaker by being up front about it.
Define your Deal Breakers
I suggested that you write down your thoughts on the previous posts to help you with defining your deal breakers for your travel nurse contract negotiations. This is important because as a travel nurse, you will NEVER get EVERYTHING that you think you want.
I want you to take a look at your notes that you took from the first two steps in the travel guide. (If you haven’t yet made these lists, go back now and make them.)
We discussed Determine Why You want to Travel, What you Want/Need Out of Travel Nursing and Where and When Are You Willing to Go. Go through your notes and determine which items you simply cannot live without.
Highlight or circle your DEAL-BREAKERS so they are easily identifiable. You will want to refer back to these during your early travel nurse contract negotiation discussions with your agency/recruiter.
Re-visit your list frequently and re-evaluate if those items are truly deal-breakers. What may seem of utmost importance right now may change.
Travel Nursing is a negotiation process.
In How Does One Become A Travel Nurse?, I suggested that in preparation to become a travel nurse, you should: Work as a car salesman for at least a year to get your haggling/negotiating skills in check; you’re going to need them when dealing with all the recruiters and different companies out there. I’m actually attempting to be funny in this post/statement…but if you know me, you already know I have a horrible sense of humor! Seriously though, learning to haggle and negotiate is KEY to SUCCESS in travel nursing.
I would love to hear what your deal-breakers are, please share in the comments below.
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