How do I inform two firms that I am debating between two offers?

Excellent news and congratulations! Indeed a great position to be in, a testament to your great prep and efforts!

You should definitely leverage the opportunity but bear in mind that consulting firms have standardized salary structures - meaning negotiating a higher base/bonus is very unlikely. However, you should actively negotiate other offer components, such as:

• negotiating a higher sign-on bonus - more flexible as it is a one-off payment vs. the recurrent salary
• coming in at a higher level - especially if you have previous industry or consulting experience
• receiving upfront tenure - to ensure a faster promotion cycle
• delaying your start date - to enjoy some well-deserved break :)

It's better to discuss over a call so you can gauge which components they are more flexible with - and once you agree on the updated terms you should get everything in writing via email, before receiving the updated contract.

Hope this helps!

Rami

Hi there,

Congrats on two offers - fantastic job!

You should absolutely leverage this! 

Let the firm know that you are very interested in them but you have received another competitive offer from x MBB firm. Then, ask if they can do anything as you prefer them.

I'd say do either email or call…this depends on you and what you feel more comfortable with.

It's not a bad idea to hire a coach! $200-400 to ensure you get $10k+ extra compensation!

Hi there,

This is a great spot to be in and they will each want to fight for you.

The way to do this is by phone, not email:

1. Ring up the recruiter and tell them about the 2x offers and that you prefer them and how excited you are for their offer (this is really important)
2. Next, make clear that your ultimate decision is not just based on your preferences but also the package you're receiving - show some confidence here, this is not a bad thing at all (some people feel weird about this part)
3. If you're a decent negotiator, you know what to do from that point onward. Otherwise, get some coaching on this - the base ROI you'll ever get!

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

Hey there, 

Congrats on the offers, it is a great situation to be in. Although broadly offers at senior associate level are standardized you can negotiate better signing bonus, joining dates or some other perks that HR can tweak 

Thanks

Ashwin  

Remember that any upside you get will be one-shot or short-lived. You should not decide purely based on the financial conditions, but on how likely you are to be happy and successful within your firm of choice. 

You can contact them (and even if you just accepted right away one of the offers it would be good to let them know you had another offer, as it increases your perceived value), but you should know what you want to obtain. Think about what is important to you. Is it about starting date, being able to focus on a specific industry initially, relocation expenses, etc.? Beware of just focusing on financial gains, unless one of the offers is clearly better than the other. If you have similar offers, just asking for more money as the deal breaker will actually reduce your perceived value, since it means you are not trully aligned with the company's culture and people.

Hello!

Congrats!

This is the best problem that one can read of in this chat :)

You can and should inform them, and enjoy the part in which they fight for you! However, I would do it via phone vs. in an email. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Hello,

Congratulations on the offers! I think there's some great advice on these threads. I think either call or email is fine, and I think Ian's framing of informing them that you have two offers, but asking if there's anything they can do for you as you prefer them (i.e., make it clear you are interested) is really good advice. I think a higher bonus or starting salary is typically the most common points of negotiation (and there's no harm in at least trying to negotiate this). Later starting date could also be quite straightforward to get, if that's something you want. Any concessions regarding tenure or starting position will likely depend on your job experience, but there's no harm in asking if you are interested.