Negotiate Entry Level Salary

Hi guys,

I need advice.

I have been working as an intern for this boutique IB for 8 months now. Back in October 2020, they didn't have any positions open but I decided to shoot my shot and send my CV and a cover letter. They were impressed and decided to give me a chance anyway. For the first 3 months, I was an unpaid intern, but then I spent these last 5 months (well) paid.

Lately, they have been conducting interviews for an associate in a new office they are opening. Surprisingly, they decided to hire me (as an analyst though) because they were so impressed with my performance during these 8 months.

I am, of course, really happy, and I really love the job. They have been talking about all the responsibilities I will have, and I was stunned.

So what's the problem?

The problem is that the pay is much lower than I expected. It's basically what I get now as an intern...but I don't want to turn down the offer: I love both the job and the coworkers!

My plan is to negotiate the salary, leveraging the fact I am already deep into the company culture and deal-flow. If they decided to hire me instead of an "external" guy with much more experience they must have a lot of confidence in me right?

How would you set up the negotiation process?

I don't want to come out as pretentious or douchy

P.S. Keep in mind this is a small IB with 25 people working in it. There's no dedicated HR nor a standard "salary path" everybody needs to go through. I will also be the only analyst in the new office in the new country, so there will be no "you get what the other analysts get" policy

Thank you!