Graduate analyst salary negotiation?

I have offers to start as a graduate analyst and have been thinking about salary negotiation.

Maybe I'm crazy even to think about negotiating salary as a IBD graduate analyst, but just wanted to run it through with you guys.

I already have an offer with another bank that I did my SA with and was meant to start with them this summer as a graduate analyst, but they decided to defer my offer. That gave me a bit of time to try the job hunting process again I was able to get offers with better banks.

While interviewing with these banks, I told them about my current deferred offer - in which most didn't mind. The thing is, the new offers have base salary that is very SLIGHTLY lower from my current deferred offer, along with some less favorable 401k contribution terms.

Since the MDs really liked me (they told me they wouldn't want to lose me to another bank), I thought maybe I could gently ask the HR if any terms were negotiable.

If not, I'll back off and just sign (the pay difference, as I said, is not very big), but if they say they can negotiate, I was thinking of asking them to match my old deferred offer. I do understand pay structures are very rigid for entry analysts, but since the difference isn't much and since they really liked me, I was thinking I could give it a shot.

What do you think? Could I risk looking like a total ass and ruin this whole thing?

10 Comments
 

This is ridiculous. Analysts don't negotiate salaries. EVERYONE gets paid the same.

Fighting and being a pain in the ass for just a couple thousand dollars is just RIDICULOUS.

 

what do you mean by "slightly"? are these all BB/MM or like small startups?

and like everyone else said, to negotiate or even bring this up for a couple thousand is crazy

 

The deferred offer with higher base is MM. The new offer with lower base is BB.

Thanks for the input guys. Yup, the difference is around $2k only, but it's interesting that the MM will pay higher salary - perhaps an attempt to attract talent, or maybe its an indication of lower bonus? It's just that my friends were saying I have a bit of bargaining power since I haven another offer with better terms - but they are also banking newbies like myself so I guess we're all just kidding ourselves...

I won't be greedy then. Better work hard and aim for a nice bonus instead :)

 

So you're talking about $70k vs. $72k? I wouldn't worry about the extra $40 per week. Go BB, if that's what you want to do. Don't let the $2k play a difference (or make you look foolish by trying to go to HR at a BB and negotiate analyst salary).

 

No, I have and undergraduate degree. It's the official name that the bank has given us: "Graduate analyst class 2010" - but in any case, I'm going in as a 1st year analyst.

 

I had similar issue, was offered job few weeks ago as analyst in BlackRock (supposed to be graduate role) but the pay is ridiculously low for UK plus vert early morning start...however I decided not to negotiate,work for some time and see what is the bonus like (,where again I had no indication what it could be).

 

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