Signing Offer

If you negotiate plan on having a reason for it, ie knowing the industry average for your qualifications. With the current economy they have more leverage than you so unless you have a good reason for wanting more you likely won't get it, especially if you don't have a set of skills or knowledge that really sets you apart from the pack.

is it the norm to be able to negotiate in consulting? i would image you dont really have any room to do that

Are you an experienced hire or from OCR? If the former, you can definitely negotiate if you have a good reason and if you have leverage (i.e. you don't need this job and they really want you). If the latter, just take what's offered. There's generally no room for negotiation.

Your post doesn't make any sense to me. "Very highly rated consulting firm" okay so that means McK, Bain, or BCG.

"Not MBB" means not one of those three, which would imply you got a job at a crappy consulting firm that would be embarrassing to have on one's resume.

I don't understand what you mean. I think you meant to say "not not MBB."

DukeofDuke is a troll, duh, don't engage him.

I just signed at MBB as a UG hire.

The consensus of these boards is, "Don't negotiate, you've just graduated, take what they offered and be glad you have a job."

The advice I got from experienced professionals went along the lines of, "You're probably not going to get any better salary or bonuses by negotiating since you're so 'green', but you absolutely certainly will not if you don't ask. Nobody ever pulls a job offer if someone decides to negotiate. So, negotiate. If you don't, they'll think you were a pushover."

I spent 6 weeks in negotiation with MBB. Keep it cordial and you'll be fine.

I for a while thought I was going to get a bigger bonus for my efforts, but in the end I got nothing, and I took the job anyway. Now they know I've got large, saggy, swaying balls and I am not afraid to whip them out if needed.

The negotiation is easy to start. Email the HR person who sent you your offer. Thank them for the offer, and ask for more money. I think I said two or three sentences, and that was that. Then they'll have someone call you and ask if you have other offers. I did not, so I told them I was seriously considering graduate school. Do not lie, they know everyone in the industry, and they know what competing firms are offering. They know to the cent amount.

Good luck and congrats on your offer.

persimmon:

The advice I got from experienced professionals went along the lines of, "You're probably not going to get any better salary or bonuses by negotiating since you're so 'green', but you absolutely certainly will not if you don't ask. Nobody ever pulls a job offer if someone decides to negotiate. So, negotiate. If you don't, they'll think you were a pushover."

I wholeheartedly agree with Persimmon's advice. I recently negotiated an offer with MBB as a recent grad and my logic was the same as yours about not wanting to leave anything on the table. I chose to go against the predominant voice on this site that says new hires shouldn't negotiate for fear of losing an offer and I was successful.

I admit I was a bit nervous initially, because of all of these WSO horror stories, but prior to choosing the consulting path I had a target minimum starting salary that I thought I deserved in the field or else I would choose to pursue different options. My initial offer was actually right where I needed it to be, which was a relief, but it made me realize that I must've been naive before and that there had to be a lot more on the table than I initially thought.

So, I actually phoned my HR contact, for fear of poorly wording things or coming off as an ass via e-mail, and I politely inquired about whether or not there was room for flexibility in regards to my base. She pulled my file and went over the numbers the compensation team (or w/e) had sent her and told me that I was already pretty near the max for my entry level position. I told her I was weighing other options (never got too specific) but I also reassured her of my interest in the firm, she took all of this well, we had a pleasant chat (her pitching the perks outside of salary) and the conversation ended with her saying she'd contact her supervisor for me and get back to me.

The next day a little after lunch time I had a brand new offer in my inbox with an increased base salary. It wasn't a huge increase by any means, just a few thousand actually. But, I did appreciate the effort that she went through to make this happen and it makes me think that if I'm closer to the top of the pay scale for my position , then if I choose to remain with this firm, God-willing I will continue to receive promotions in the top range for each subsequent position.

I called her, thanked her, and accepted that offer the same day; she seemed really relieved.

Now... I'm trying to figure out how a first year guy with no real expenses should go about budgeting wisely and saving aggressively.

Congrats on your offer and best of luck moving forward buddy.

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When coming out of undergrad or MBA, the gist is that everybody is supposed to start at the same level. The last thing MBB HR needs to deal with is the drama of one MBA getting a $125k base and another getting $130k base, because people WILL talk about it. The worst-case scenario is that, while you get $2k to $10k more now, but it just results in a much higher likelihood of you being not sponsored for the MBA or being let go earlier because of the bad blood you ultimately create.

Several ex-associates in my MBA class (from all three firms) have peers who negotiated a slightly higher salary (these kinds of guys always talk about it) and were subsequently given a smaller bonus so that their total compensation was the same as everyone else's. You hear about it more at McKinsey, but Bain and BCG have the exact same practice.

2x2, my whole point is that negotiating is good thing to do whether you need the money or not. It proves you're proactive, that you value yourself highly, and that you're willing to stick your neck out. In short, that you have balls to go after something important.

Negotiating is almost no trouble at all. A couple of emails, a couple of phone calls, all of which take no time in preparing, so I don't know why you're so averse to this.

And, if all goes well, you get more money, which absolutely will better one's quality of life, so I don't understand your qualifier: "Unless the additional money will actually better your quality of life..." When, in this situation, would it not? I think you need to grow a metaphorical pair.

Note to self: Don't be one of "those guys"

Done.

Thanks for the insight RedNinja, much appreciated and duly noted.

Now... if you could elaborate on how you ending up spending/saving/growing your pennies or what a new guy like some of us should expect, THAT would be even more greatly appreciated.

My firm's annual and promotion raise is tied to the current salary. So if you make more starting off, you'll generally get less raise year end and get sort of even.

Thread hijack here Say you're entering at the MBA level but not with an MBA. Say you're coming in with a PhD...hypothetically. Let's also say that you've received an offer from a boutique that is about 10k lower than a top tier that you're currently interviewing with, but have yet to receive an offer from. I'd love to hear opinions on negotiating that offer and I'll add that this hypothetical person probably wouldn't be a reputation whore.

By the way, this thread has provided a great variety of perspectives and I'm finding it pretty useful and informative.

It's funny to stumble across this post because I just had a talk with a Partner at Deloitte about this in the last week. I asked him how I should go about negotiating in general for someone in my position. He told me that from his experience, the employer is generally not trying to screw you out of money that you deserve for the amount of work you will put in. Generally good employers, like the one you will soon work for I'm assuming, will make reasonable offers and try to create a win-win situation.

Having said that, he did say that you should at least try to negotiate, he always leaves a little room for candidates to negotiate upwards just to see 1. If they have the balls to do it 2. Whether or not they have a longer-term focus. Combining the negotiation with questions such as how is bonus allocated? What goals do I have to hit to get the maximum bonus? where is the next pay threshold? how can i get there? What will I be able to make in two years from now? all these signal to them that you are career committed and not looking to jump ship after your first year with them. That being said, he told me that if someone negotiates past what he has let room for, then he will tell them that they "are out of bounds" and that the last offer he made is what is there to take. He also mentioned it wouldn't be a bad idea to research the average pay for someone in your position, start from there. Also ask, compared to other new hires, where you stand? Lower end, average or above. The first two can be negotiated, the latter you should just be thankful. Say all this while maintaining a respectful tone and general approach. You should be fine regardless, they won't pull your offer just don't ask for something ridiculous. Take all this with a grain of salt, and use your best judgement. Good luck!

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