Did Strategy& decrease its U.S. associate salary and stop offering relocation?

salary salary negotiation strategy&
New answer on May 06, 2021
3 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on May 04, 2021

I received an offer letter from Strategy& for the associate role (entry level). The base salary is $85,000. Management Consulted lists the base salary as $90,000, and I know that website is accurate because they base these numbers off of real offer letters. There's also no compensation for relocation. Did Strategy& decrease its base salary in the last year? Have consulting firms in general decreased their pay in the last year?

I also am in a Masters program, so I was expecting more than $90,000, since most of the people who start in this role only have undergraduate degrees. Do consulting firms allow negotiations for entry-level roles?

(edited)

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Ian
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replied on May 04, 2021
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

This is a bit odd but not out of the question. Management consulted goes off of averages. A $5k difference is not massive and could be explained by your entry point, specific office, or other cirumstances.

That said, have you had a job before your Master's degree? If so, you should feel comfortable negotiating a bit. Reference the baseline $90k salary expectation based on market numbers AND flag that you will have to relocate and were hoping for relocation assitance.

^These are pretty standard negotiation points. Feel free to reach out and I can help you maximize your offer (Just for myself and advising a few close friends and I have now gotten around $200k in extra compensation across a range of negotiating scenarios)

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Anonymous A on May 04, 2021

(Author here) I do not have any work experience, but I had previously read that the Big 4 pay more if you have a Masters (even without experience). Since PwC owns Strategy&, I thought they would pay more since I have a masters. Is it unlikely they will raise the base salary through negotiations since I don't have any experience? There's also mention of incentive compensation (bonus) in the letter, but it is not quantified as an amount or percentage. Is this normal?

(edited)

Raj
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replied on May 06, 2021
FREE 15MIN CONSULTATION | #1 Strategy& / OW coach | >70 5* reviews |90% offers ⇨ prep-success.super.site | MENA, DE, UK

This can vary depending on some offices and I haven't heard of reductions. Almost certainly you should negotiate a relocation package. I've also helped candidates negotiate offers up but this only applies if you have some experience. If so, I would say you should benchmark against other firms based on any friend's offers. What would most strengthen your position here would be to get a competing offer.

Feel free to PM me for any more info

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Clara
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replied on May 06, 2021
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

if you are certain about those numbers, is a good anchor point to kindly negotiate your offer (or try), also bringing to the table the points you mentioned.

I have been involved in quite some salary negotiations, feel free to PM me

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Ian gave the best answer

Ian

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