McKinsey Offer Negociation

Congrats on the offer- you should be proud of this milestone. 
I was in your shoes, got hired into McKinsey Middle East office as an experienced hire. McKinsey does not negotiate or improve offers for candidates. There might be some flexibility in offering a relocation allowance if you are moving from another country, or a higher sign-on bonus if you can prove that you will be foregoing your end of year bonus with your current employer when you move to the firm, but other than that there would not be any flexibility.

McKinsey does pay 10-15% less than some competitors at the BA - AP levels. This is compensated by McKinsey Partners and Sr. Partners earning more than their counterparts in other firms. The rationale behind that is that the McKinsey brand plus the development you get in the firm far outweighs the monetary benefits that you can get by getting 10-15% in another consulting firm.

Also remember, you will get 30-55% in annual bonus depending on your rating, so its not only the basic salary.

Hi there,

Congrats on the offer! McKinsey typically has limited flexibility on base salary since it’s banded by role and office, but there can sometimes be room to negotiate signing bonus or relocation support, especially for experienced hires. There's nothing to lose if you ask politely though.

Hey there

McKinsey’s offers have limited flexibility, especially on base salary. Bonuses can sometimes be discussed, but the firm has structured bands, so there’s usually not a huge room to negotiate. It’s worth asking politely if there’s any flexibility, but most experienced-hire candidates focus on total compensation including relocation, sign-on, and benefits rather than base/bonus alone.

Best,
Alessa

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offer from McKinsey!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• First of all, typically, it is unfortunately impossible to negotiative your base salary or performance bonuses.
• Moreover, while base salary and performance bonuses are usually non-negotiable, you may consider negotiating a relocation bonus if applicable. You can find more on exactly this topic here.

You can find more on this topic here: Salaries in the consulting industry.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

The base + annual bonus is not negotiable. It's tied to salary bands at role level (I'm assuming you are aligned with one of the typical role bands and not some specific expert profile). 

Typically, what's flexible / negotiable is the signing and/or relocation bonus for the offices that do provide it. 

Best,
Cristian

At MBB the salaries are standardized within each tenure (though between countries there may be a cost of living adjustment). 

No room for negotiation unfortunately. 

If you are in consulting, you shouldn't be in it in the short-medium term for the pay. If you are in it for pay, it's should be a long term game - i.e. make equity Partner. And if it's a long term game, then whatever you are earning now doesn't really matter because Partner salary is great. 

Those things are not negotiable. You may be able to get a sign on bonus to sweeten the deal and cover for any difference you may face in your first year.

Hopefully, after the 2nd year and afterwards, the consulting steep curve will result in a meaningful improvement for you.