The Complete Guide to Negotiating Locum Rates

May 22, 2017

1. Start high
2. Look for an agreeable outcome
3. Be aware of supply in the area
4. Rates are not permanent
5. Negotiate other aspects of your rates

Locum Jobs

An advantage of taking up locum jobs to boost your income is that you have some flexibility to work. You choose the schedule that you are available to fit into. Also, it can improve your CV for future job applications at other institutions by showing that you have a diverse set of employers.

For new nurses, doing locum allows you extra time and exposure to choose how you want to plan out your nursing career. Like selecting a specialization. You can read more on the advantages of doing locum to increase your income here.

People seem to be paralyzed into inaction when it comes to setting rates, simply accepting whatever the clinic offers to pay you. While this article focuses on nurses doing locum jobs at private practices, we hope that these points will still be able to help doctors, pharmacists, dentists, and other healthcare practitioners as well.

1. Start high

Start by negotiating high

source: @dan_carl5on

Start out by always proposing a rate higher than you would. It doesn’t have to be a lot.

Say your desired rate is RM20 an hour. Just mention RM25 as your starting rate. You can slowly reduce it to the price that you sought out initially when discussing with the clinic or institution.

You don’t want to be working with people who feel like they have to squeeze the most out of their budget to accommodate you. Such scenarios do not lead to healthy long-term relationships. It’s better to make them feel like they’ve got a good deal.

2. Look for an agreeable outcome

Agreeable outcome

source: pixabay

Remember, the owner of the clinic wants to fill some gaps in his workforce, and you want to get paid. Think of it as a bridge. Both of you are on either side. The best outcome is if you both meet in the middle.

Don’t rip people off. Good negotiation is about both parties walking away feeling like they both got a good deal. If you think that milking out money from people to the point where they are reluctantly agreeing to your prices, think again. That relationship isn’t going to last very long.

The best employer (whether they employ you full-time or otherwise) is one that continuously offers you work. They can’t do that if they don’t like you.

3. Be aware of supply in the area

Oversupply

source: pixabay

A lot of nurses doing locum jobs in the area? That might affect your locum fees. Try to look for clinics or institutions that have an under-supply of part-time nurses. The main reason why your locum employer is paying you below average is probably because a replacement for you is so easy to find.

Price is a reflection of the demand for the locum jobs and the supply of those capable of doing it in the area. This is commonly known as the law of supply and demand in economics. It applies here as well.

4. Rates are not permanent

Not set in stone

source: here

Rates are not set in stone. Even if you’ve negotiated quite a while ago, you can still make some changes if you approach the employer tactfully.

Explain that you’ve been here for a while, and that you haven’t let him/her down. So you’d like an increase in your rates.

The worst thing that can happen is they say no. Don’t worry. It’s not the end of the world. At least you tried.

5. Negotiate other aspects of your rates

emergency

source: pixabay

While there is a fixed rate for your schedule, try to consider other aspects as well. Things like emergency calls, or last-minute requests to come in for locum.

Make it clear to the employer that these are out-of-the-norm occurrences, and that you would like to be compensated accordingly.

6. Losing locum jobs is not necessarily a bad thing

why

source: blupics

When increasing your rates, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Doubling your rates but losing half of locum opportunities is great. You get the same amount at the end, but work half as much, which frees up your time.

Plus, sometimes someone who charges RM40 per hour looks more professional and qualified than someone who charges RM20 per hour.

Conclusion

Don’t just look at financial rates; benefits are important as well. Is the job good for your reputation? Are they likely to recommend you to others?

Is the work consistent and secure? Do you trust the employer?

Remember these 6 steps when negotiating your fees. If you don’t value your time, no one else will.

Browse through MIMS Career for an easy way to find locum or part-time jobs in your area. MIMS Career is a premier, healthcare-focused job portal site for Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia. Our simple sign-up process allows you to easily apply for jobs you might be interested in with a single click. Job locations include hospitals, nursing homes, and private practices. It’s free, easy to use, and safe.

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Set up a job alert and we’ll notify you by email whenever positions that suit your preferences are available. All of our pages are mobile-responsive, so you can take your applications with you on the go.

Think About These 5 Things Before You Decide On A Specialization

5 Things Nurses Need To Know To Be Paid More

10 Ways Malaysian Nurses Can Increase Their Income

Other Articles

Résumé’s (also known as CVs) are great. They sumarize your experiences onto a few pages so your employer can quickly get a sense of who you are before hiring you. However, employers have to go through a lot of résumés in their search for a potential hire, so making a great résumé can result in a good first impression. Traditionally, résumés have been blocky, information-dense pieces of paper that you send out to employers you’re checking out. With the advancements in personal computing, software and printing, people have been more and more creative with how they craft their résumé’s. The more traditional approach can look more professional and neat, but a creative approach can often help you stand out from the crowd. Choose a method that best presents you in a positive light. Before you write your résumé Before you write down your résumé, sit down and take note of what you’ve done. Any interesting projects taken? Achievements? List it down. Also verify the dates of your education background. It can be easy to forget, especially if you’ve left your academic studies for a long time. Also try and find out the full course or programme names of your certificates, degrees, doctorates. Doing great things lead to a great résumé. Take up as many opportunities as possible that can be put on a résumé, like volunteer work, teaching, skills training, etc. The traditional approach Easy way: Use a predefined template from Word, Pages, or Docs. Tools needed: A PC, tablet, or smartphone. This is as simple as it gets: Open the word processor, and select from the list of templates given. You can add, remove, or move around certain sections which do not pertain to you. For example, for a fresh graduate, your education background would come above your work experience because the former is more important at that stage of life. Vice versa for those already working. Want more templates? Check out https://r ésumégenius.com/résumé-templates . Normal way: Build it from scratch. Tools needed: PC, tablet, smartphone. Word editing software needed. Building your résumé from scratch allows you to customize every single aspect of that you can present to your future employer. Start by writing down your info. Be concise, truthful, and accurate. Then add your work experience , or educational background. As previously mentioned, this depends on whether you’re still studying or have already worked. Put it in reverse-chonological order; meaning the latest job first, and the first job last. Same with education. Add in your skills. It helps employers a lot if you could put in the degree of proficiency. To keep it simple, just rate it from 1-5. For example, ANSYS = ⅘ , SolidWorks = ⅗, verbal communication ⅗, and so on. Some skills to add include software (ANSYS, SPSS), or equipment handling (telemetry, ECG, cardiographs). Don’t forget to add in your language ability. When working in sectors like healthcare, where you deal with a diverse set of people (especially in multi-cultural Malaysia!) it helps to be bi- or trilingual. Employers love that. Now that you’ve added all you have to add, start by styling the text appropriately. A good rule to follow is to enlarge each point by a few titles, then bold it, so the reader can quickly skim through your résumé. Ensure there is enough spacing. Think of whitespace as breathing room. You want your text to be able to breathe in order to be legible. A cramped document is not fun to read. Add in the headers and footers. A good use of headers would be your name and contact number , in 9-pt font. Employers often put your résumé in a stack, and putting something to identify you there would help a great deal. You can put a page number on the footer for continuity purposes. View over the entire document. Ensure the margins are properly aligned. Is the font legible? Clear? Then head over to save and print it out. You’re done! The creative approach With easy application processes from job portals like MIMS Career, employers now are as equally likely to read your résumé in a digital format, on a screen. This allows for some creativity, as current screens can now reproduce millions of colors, in different shapes and sizes. Remember not to overdo a creative design; keep it subtle, keep it clean, and keep the information legible. Easy way: Use an online résumé builder. Tools needed: PC, with keyboard and mouse recommended. An internet connection is important. My favorite résumé builder is, by far, Novorésumé . Very intuitive controls. A good degree of customization available. Their presets are killer design. They’ve matched out complementary colors in each of their templates so you don’t have to. They’re all subtle, yet sophisticated. Clean, yet intricate. It’s also multi-lingual, so you can craft your Bahasa Malaysia résumé in it as well. Have a look at Elon Musk’s résumé, generated by Novorésumé. It’s simple, packed, and most importantly, eye-catching. It already looks superior compared to a lot of the résumés we have seen. It also proves that you don’t need many pages to list down your info, despite being one of the world’s most successful visionaries. There are also other résumé builders online: Reed is one of them. Just do a Google search, you’ll eventually find out with layouts or usability that you really like. The Normal way: Design it yourself! Tools: PC, Keyboard + Mouse, Drawing tablets optional, PhotoShop/Illustrator/Any online sketching tool. To do this, you might need some additional skills with illustration software. The idea is to create a layout that draws attention but doesn’t compromise on information legibility. You can have a look at great designs from dribbble.com, a site where great designers like to post their work. Have a look at the ones you like, and determine what you like about them and incorporate them into your design. It’s good inspiration. You need to keep in mind 4 things: Typography Use 15-25px only. A too large text-size can look goofy and awkward. Like a kids book. Use a big font for headlines, and employ a low font weight. Like Helvetica or Lato. Since you’re sending this over the web, and it will be read on screen, go for a sans-serif font for easier legibility. Colors Use only one base color. A résumé with too many colors will make it look amateur and is a pain to see. In the end, your résumé is an official document used to represent you in a good light. Never choose black for your base color. Black never appears in the real world. It is sombre, demure, and lacks energy. It is always a bad idea to use black for anything that is to be displayed on-screen, other than text. Icons Icons can help increase aesthetic features and help you stand out. Use icons that are recognizable, like a suitcase for work experience, a graduation hat for education, etc. I recommend the use of icon fonts. They are scalable at various dpi on-screen. Whitespace layout Whitespace is space where there’s no stuff. Use it to define hierarchy by putting some space between your education, work, skills, and information sections. Use that whitespace to build flow for the résumé reader. Conclusion That’s it! It all depends on how much time and effort you can put in to your résumé. Remember to keep it simple, accurate info, and not too long; 2 pages should be the absolute maximum. You what would be a great use of that résumé? Use it when applying for jobs in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia with our job portal, MIMS Career .. A lot of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare practitioners have been using the service, and many of them have landed the jobs at the location they’ve always wanted. Signup and apply now using our 1-click application feature. It’s fast, safe, and free. Any problems? Email us at mycareer@mims.com for more inquiries.

How to Write a Great Resumé

Résumé’s (also known as CVs) are great. They sumarize your experiences onto a few pages so your employer can quickly get a sense of who you are before hiring you. However, employers have to go through a lot of...

Read More
Finding a new job can be very tiring, and time-consuming. It can be difficult to schedule some time to your job-seeking activities. However, the end of the year is a period of time you don’t want to miss if you want to maximize your chances of landing that precious new job. Here are four reasons why: 1. Employers are getting ready for the New Year Traditionally people wouldn’t advise you to hunt for a job at the end of the year, when employers have maxed their yearly budgets and are just closing the financial year with some wrap-up activities. But growing evidence seems to suggest otherwise: as employers return from the holidays with a renewed vigor, new goals, and new KPIs, they are more inclined to act upon your application immediately. 2. Employers have plans for 2018 Whether its a big hospital, a small clinic, or a humble retirement home, everybody uses the last few weeks of the year to reflect back on their performance in order to stay afloat. It is normally during these periods of time that they make the decision to allocate budgets to hire new staff… So get to applying! 3. You’re ready to apply for one The best time to apply for a job is also whenever you feel you’re ready. When you want new experiences, new training, different exposure, or an increase in salary… you know it’s time to go. So update your resume, acquire new skills, and hunt for that job. 4. You’re starting to feel miserable at your job Find yourself feeling unnaturally tired? Even if you’ve been getting enough sleep? If you’ve been exhibiting signs of stress due to your current job like fatigue, headaches, migraines and depression, it’s probably a sign that you should cut your losses and look for opportunities elsewhere. Don’t think it’s your fault for not being able to fit in… sometimes the shoe just doesn’t fit.

4 Reasons You Should Apply For A New Job NOW

Finding a new job can be very tiring, and time-consuming. It can be difficult to schedule some time to your job-seeking activities. However, the end of the year is a period of time you don’t want to miss if you want to maximize your...

Read More
See if the offer is too good to be true There is a fee to be paid to "process" your employment You get the job right away Unprofessional job interviews Job scams In 2013, a South African registered nurse was approached by a man outside the hospital she worked in. The 25-year old man was a recruitment agent for the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Health . He offered her a job at another institution, for better pay and work hours. The nurse saw this as a great opportunity. She accepted it, and he produced a contract and offered her the job. Then he requested USD220 in cash for the job. Thankfully, the nurse grew suspicious, and realized she was being scammed. She immediately alerted hospital staff who arrested the man. Grey's Hospital, where the incident happened. That could have ended a lot worse. Luckily in that nurse's case, she was able to spot the scam job offer. It is hoped that this post can help you to spot these harmful acts and avoid costing you your precious time, money, and dignity. Scammers know that finding a job can be tough, and they trick people by advertising where real employers do. Scams are endlessly creative! This list might not encompass all of them, but it will help you in detecting these harmful job scams. 1. See If The Offer Is Too Good To Be True If it seems like you’ve landed yourself the best offer in the world, DON’T . The hiring managers will say something to you like: You can earn as much as you want, there is no upper limit on your salary. You decide what you earn. You can earn USD5,000 in one week by working at home! Run away as fast as you can. These scams like to prey on those desperate for a new job. They take advantage of your desperation by having you excited of their offer. Once they’ve gotten you on their hook, those “employers” can start to demand money, information, and time, just to get your application moving. Watch out for: Really high pay with low amount of working hours Ability to work anywhere, anytime Really shady phrases, like “ Drive the sports car you’ve ever wanted after only a few months’ work! ” or " Earn USD3000 by only working FOUR HOURS a week! " The person contacting you is the President or CEO or other executive level staff. Most of the time, the highest-ranking person contacting you for a job offer is some type of manager or human resources employee. 2. There is a fee to be paid to "process" your employment If the hiring manager contacts you again and informs you that you have to pay [insert amount here] to complete your application, forget it. You might see overseas job offers requiring you to pay a few hundred dollars to "process" your application. They'll claim it's to secure your employment. To sweeten the deal, some of them claim that you'll get back the money within days after you get in the company/institution. Here are the most common ways job scams use to cheat your money, like: Buying their software Paying a fee to complete your application Sign up for some insurance program that deducts money from your account every month Job scammers make all kinds of promises about your chances of employment, and an astounding amount of them require you to pay them for their services to employ you. It's important to note that the promise of a job is not the same thing as a job. If you have to pay for that promise, it's most definitely a scam. 3. You get the job right away You get the job, without much interviewing, or even applying through anything. The "offer" gets sent to your inbox. They often mention that they got your email from Jobstreet, CareerBuilder, or LinkedIn. Most of the time, these job offers are sent with emails that are similar to emails of legitimate employers. Be careful! Imagine if a David Chen from Ramsay Sime Darby emailed you about a sweet job offer. If he really worked at RSD, his email would be something like david.c@simedarby.com. Watch out for david.c.simedarby@gmail.com, david.c@gmail.com, david.chen.HR.simedarby@yahoo.com, etc. When in doubt, call up the company and ask for that employee! A real company would want to talk to a candidate before hiring him or her. 4. Unprofessional job interviews Look out for interviews online, such as over Facebook Messenger . Worse still, are interviews using a software that the scammer asks you to install on you computer. You will risk having your computer infected with harmful malware that can record what you type , activate your webcam without notifying you , and hold your personal information as ransom . Look out for interviewers with bad grammar or spelling. If it doesn't seem like what a real professional company would say, don't trust it. With some common sense, and a bit of suspicion, you can easily spot scam job offers. The rule of thumb is that if it looks too good to be true, sounds too good to be true, and seems to good to be true, then it's definitely not true. Also look out for shady characters and language. As mentioned above, there is no limit to the creativity of these scam artists and their job offers. The tips mentioned above might cover ALL the scam job methods out there, but at least you'll be better prepared, and more aware that these things can happen. As a healthcare-focused job portal site, MIMS Career takes the legitimacy of any employer and job posting very seriously . We screen employers thoroughly, contacting them at various levels, to determine authenticity of said employers. Our privacy policy also dictates that we never share your personal information to unrelated third parties, nor do we sell them. The next time you're in search of a job, apply through MIMS Career . Sign up, fill in your details, and apply for job vacancies from top healthcare institutions in Malaysia , Singapore , Indonesia , and the Philippines with one click. Browse through our extensive database of job postings, updated daily. Our pages are mobile-responsive, so you can save jobs you're interested in on your desktop, and continue reading about it and apply later on your phone. Can't find what you're looking for? Set a job alert, and we'll notify you once a job with your preferences is made available. Sign up now with MIMS Career . It's fast, convenient, and secure. We do the hard work of verifying scam jobs so you won't have to. Our Most Popular Articles Think About These 5 Things Before You Decide On A Specialization 5 Things Nurses Need To Know To Be Paid More 10 Ways Malaysian Nurses Can Increase Their Income

How To Spot Job Offer Scams

See if the offer is too good to be true There is a fee to be paid to "process" your employment You get the job right away Unprofessional job interviews Job scams In 2013, a South African...

Read More