Salary negotiation at boutique

I'm expecting an offer from a NYC boutique. It doesn't appear to register much on prestige scale but office is lavish /high rent for what's that worth. My research puts range in 110k to 140 k base. But that info comes mostly from the biggest firms. So am I out of line for saying 140k ? Thanks .

 

@ what level will you be coming in? 2nd year analyst it appears from the range that you quoted. In which case 140k would be at the upper end of the range but not unfair. Probably good to start at the upper limit as there will be a bit of back and forth which should see the final offer settle somewhere in between the limits you mentioned. Good luck.

 

Ok if 140 is median then should I shoot higher? Also anyone have any idea what bonuses (sign on and reg)are like at boutiques? I really want to be at 200k all in. They said hours are not killer, 10ish hr days and almost no weekends - does that mean lower pay ?

 

I don't think a NYC shop, even small/low prestige/low hours, etc.. can get away with anything under 110k base for associate. Seems like if they went any lower they would not be able to attract any worth while talent. and since they are in the business of bringing in clients they will need to pay up in order to get good talent. I could be totally off on this as I am only going by anecdotal stories from friends.

 

Definitely don't be afraid to ask for more than you actually want. Everyone expects that the number you propose will be negotiated down so don't start too low or you'll regret it. See if you can connect with some current or former analysts/associates at the firm on Linkedin or something and set up time to talk to them about their experiences. People are generally willing to help so the likelihood that one of them at least throws out a ballpark figure to aim for is pretty high.

 

Also, have you checked out the firm, or comparable firms on the data base here and on glassdoor and other places to see if there are any salaries posted?

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Best Response

depends what country your friend is moving to and what kind of M&A boutique he's going to work for (elite vs average).

Given my relevant, albeit limited, work experience in Latam, I would say:

-Brazil: Same as US salary up to a 10% premium -Argentina & Chile: ~20% discount to US salary -Colombia & Mexico (perhaps Uruguay?): ~30%-40% discount to US salary -Peru: ~40%-50% of US salary -Pretty much everywhere else: +50% discount to US salary

Again, this is my own sense from talking to industry professionals and taking my own experience into consideration. In no way do I have numbers to back this up so I would definitely cross-reference this info with somebody else how might have a different perspective.

hope it helps tho.

Capitalist
 
esbanker:
-Brazil: Same as US salary up to a 10% premium

Gonna have to disagree on this. I'd say ~20% discount and Sao Paulo is possibly as expensive as NYC (very possibly more).

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