How do you start the negotiation process with prop firms for Junior/Grad Trader roles?
I have an offer from Prop B and prop C that are lower than Prop A, but I know that Prop A has a pretty defined range that they'll negotiate with and I'm looking for Prop A to give a higher offer. Since Prop B and C are slightly lower, I don't know if I'll have any leverage there but is there a way I could word it to get Prop A to come back out with a higher offer without having to reveal the offer from Prop A (additionally the offer letters obviously say confidential and not to disclose).
Could I say something like, thank you Prop A for the incredibly generous offer I've enjoyed getting to know Prop A and their traders throughout the process and I'm incredibly humbled and excited to receive an offer. "I do have offers from firm B and C and would appreciate the week to consider what would be the best fit to start my career at as well as take some time to consider some of the financial aspects of all three offers."
Or could I replace the "" with, Based on the previous work experience I have (2 internships from trading firms that are competitors in the space and the firms I got offers for) and my specialty in the product I want to trade (it's crypto so 1.5 years in the industry before I graduate is actually pretty significant.) If you could offer X amount (260K instead of 220K when I know they negotiate up to 300Kish) I would no longer have to consider offers from firms B and C. If not, I would appreciate a week to consider all offers before coming to a final decision.
The stuff in quotes I don't really know how to rephrase to subtly hint that I would accept Prop A if they added a bit more to TC. For those asking why I wouldn't just take Prop A it's due to the product I'm trading, career upside, and responsibility early on. Prop B is a bigger firm with a bigger name in the product, but the pay cut I'm taking by accepting Prop B is not balanced by the career upside tie to P/L I'd get. All 3 firms are great so I'm looking to get the highest TC here. Prop B and C also have recently started graduate trader programs or analyst programs and their comp in the space is a bit more opaque than someone like Optiver/Citadel/Jane where Prop A would know exactly the TC of those offers and how much to match.
Disclaimer: I do realize that as a junior/intern some of that experience is obviously less valuable than a full time employee so pitching that as a reason for a comp increase could be difficult. However - the two offers from firms B and C are from direct competitors in the space so perhaps asking for a comp raise here to keep me away from the 2 competitors would be the main pitch for that?
To be perfectly honest given that trading has both very high expected comp and very high variance in career success/longevity I would not overly focus on a few tens of thousands of signing bonus and would not recommend that being a large part of the decision. If you really have no preference between the firms I would suggest choosing the one with the shortest/least restrictive non-compete instead.
I completely understand that, however I do know that some of these firms are known for being open to negotiations so I definitely want to make sure I'm getting the best offer possible and don't see the downside to at least ASKING a firm for higher comp. Of course the higher comp doesn't skew my decision, but I'd just be saying it might to get the actual increase in signing bonus.
My main concerns for the firm I choose are - Choosing the place that gives me the best training/mentors/opportunities to grow while not sacrificing early TC since I do have student loans that could be paid off immediately with a relevant signing bonus. Unfortunately, I was not in the boat of being able to graduate without student debt after COVID happened since I had contributed a lot to my parents as they were laid off in 2020. Therefore the opportunity to get an extra 40K signing just by figuring out the best way to word an email or ask in a meeting is very appealing to me.
Between Firm A, B, C, I'd say that A is the most well-known in the traditional space, has a dedicated trader training program, and an ability to be tied to the upside early on. Firm B is one of the most well-known in the crypto space, has no graduate program (training/mentors could be iffy), firm C is well-known in the crypto space, has a graduate trader training program + official mentor/continued education program.
Out of all the 3. B pays the lowest, C is 1.5x B and A would be 2x B. I think my best opportunity here is to go with firm A or C since I'm more-so interested in the opportunities, training/mentorship programs, rather than just the name of the firm who trades the product.
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