MM junior analyst offer with no guaranteed bonus - am I getting duped?
Been in SS IBD+ER ~8yrs - I know not super conventional - and just got an offer from Big 4 MM as a junior analyst.
I can get behind their rationale they're discounting some work experience given the career transition between IBD/ER, but am quite shocked with the offer package where they came back with: ~180k base / no guaranteed performance bonus / negligible signing bonus (that barely makes up for foregone bonus this year). I know of direct acquaintances with <5yrs in just SS who got guaranteed bonus between 70~130% of similar base.
Haven't applied through a recruiter so am a bit lost how to negotiate. Besides - even if I do point to the market data and they do bump up their offer a bit as a response - I think I would be pretty turned off with how they've been trying to skim so dramatically in the first place.
Thoughts?
You don’t have to take the offer… It does seem a bit low and like they’re discounting some of your prior experience. Not all first year bonuses are guaranteed, sometimes it’s just a handshake 50-100% pending PM performance.
Are you switching sectors or is it the same sector you’ve been covering on ER? They probably wouldn’t count your experience as much better than a 2-yr IB candidate if you need to ramp on a new sector.
Agree with the above, a lot hinges on how those 8yrs are split between IB and ER and whether you're going to cover the same sector you had in ER. If you've been doing that same sector for over 2 years, the offer is a little low. If you've been at it for at least 4, they are definitely playing you.
Thanks a lot - it's 5yrs IB / 3yrs ER and been in the same sector broadly across both, while verticals/regions have shifted. My current role only partially covers the scope of the HF role (say 20% of my current role).
I saw another recent thread here where I saw a SS lead analyst getting similar (lowish base and no guaranteed) so wanted to check again on this forum if this was actually not unheard of.
Given the comments I guess I can at least try to negotiate and see what they say
Agreed, this is the hurdle with hiring experienced people. They see the offers and say “wtf other people are younger and getting more.” Well that other pod could be bigger, could be paying up for someone in a specific sector or specific knowledge. The other pod PM may have zero desire to give growth to that person hence paying up front.
As someone experienced it really should not be that tough, you take your comp from the last 3 years, you smooth it out based what you consider normal. You 2x, that # and call the PM and say “look man this is what I get, explain to me the math how we get there, how we go higher”. If PM cannot explain the math then you move on.
Lastly, I think all experienced hires should use recruiters for this exact sort of anxiety. Do not care if BD hit you up on linkedin, you should have someone you find comfort in hand holding.
Thanks a lot for the advice, it's super helpful. Been covering the same broad sector since IBD but yes verticals shifted here and there as well as region. The role I got the offer for is the same sector but rather specific regions I don't have a whole lot of experience in (cover it partially in current ER role)
It's my first time recruiting actively (last transition from IBD to ER was internal) so didn't think down the road on implications to work with BD.
Just one thing - re your point on 2x avg past comp, could you clarify what you mean by the 2x? Is that the going rate to get a sense of pro forma in HFs in X years?
Dumb question, as i've never recruited through a recruiter. What can a recruiter do to alleviate "this exact sort of anxiety" that you can't do yourself?
Same sector - more details in the comment below.
Yep definitely gut reaction was to consider not taking the offer but then again roles for my sector in my region don't come by too often (probably
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