If you are being recruited, should you have more room to negotiate?

Question

I'm in a situation that is a little different than the normal post MBA track. Seeking advice.

I'm an experienced profressional, undergrad degree, with 8 strong years in my industry. McKinsey approached me to join their Asia office.

After 9 months of on and off interview process, delayed largely due to my lack of interest at the time, I finally got an offer.

At this stage, I am seriously considering the job, however I feel the offer is a bit junior and less money than what I can accomplish within my current firm. In such particular case, is it worth negotiating?

Answer 1

Hi A,
Shortly to mention, yes, it's worth to negotiate, but you also need to have a couple of trumps in your pocket, may be like another offer for competition.

Hope, it helps

Best,

André

Answer 2

Hi,

If it is an offer for a generalist there is no room to negotiate. You can ask for a higher sign-on bonus, but they will not let you lead the project from the beginning. You'll get back on track / salary pretty fast, dont'worry about it.

Alternatively, if you are hired as an expert - there might be some room.

Best!

Answer 3

Hi,

Don't worry to much about your entry level.
If you wonder if you are hired too low :

- you'll have less pressure to learn the job itself

- once you reached the next level you are promoted, this is that simple. So if you reach next level 6 month after entry, you'll move to next level..

Best
Benjamin

Answer 4

There is usually zero margin of negotiation, at least for the regular path as already indicated below. For more experienced hires (non-experts) who already earn significant salaries in industry, you may be able to increase the base but this would be at the cost of a lower bonus -> your total comp will still be basically the same.

And again, as fellow coaches have pointed out: your comp will increase at ~15% CAGR, with a promotion every 2 to 3 years on average. It really won't matter much in the long run.

Answer 5

Hi there,

1) Yes you can negotiate, but really on signing bonus only

2) You can rise up very quickly at McKinsey, BUT if you feel the future advancement routes are better at your current company, you should stay!