Is it possible to negotiate a "senior consultant" position?

Question

I'm wondering whether it is possible to negotiate a “senior consultant position with agreed fast track promotion” instead of a junior consultant? I am currently manager at another firm, but would most likely be “downgraded” to consultant at this firm.

With my experience I don't think a junior consultant role would be fair. However, I would imagine the HR telling me that "as long as you well perform, you will be fast track promoted. However, I would prefer having a signed contract stating the agreement to promote me to manager in 1 year. Is this doable? Really appreciate any advice!

Answer 1

Hi there,

thanks for sharing this question - quite relevant for many people here in the forum!

Short answer is yes, it is often possible to negotiate in such situation, but there are limitations and the degree varies by firm.

Contractually guaranteed promotion within a certain timeframe, is usually not something consulting firms offer / would agree to (definitely not at MBB). At least for most Tier 1 and 2 firms, promotions are fully merit-based, i.e. tied to project performance - a guarantee would go against this very principle. I've personally never seen one, at least not within MBB.

Typically, what you can do are 2 things…

a) try to negotiate for a senior consultant role (in case the firm has distinct Jr & Sr roles - some firms, like BCG, don't). Your current seniority and degree of work experience give you a solid basis to request that; IF this approach is unsuccessful / not viable …

b) … negotiate the tenure that you start with in a given role - this actually happens quite frequently. Try to get at least 6 or 12 months as a starting point. While it this does not guarantee a promotion, it will shortens the timeframe until the promotion window opens - as long as you perform well, it will give you the same result, namely a fast-tracked promotion.

Feel free to share more context via PM - happy to give you specific, actionable advice on the concrete situation, if helpful.

Regards, Andi

Answer 2

Hi there,

Yes. Though only as long as a ‘senior consultant’ position exists already in the firm, i.e., they won't create the position for you. I've seen multiple examples of this over the past years. One of the most recent ones is of a Deloitte manager transitioning to McK, being offered a role as Associate, refusing it and asking to be recruited as Engagement Manager and then restarting the interviewing process as a consequence of this.

So, it definitely is possible, but it's not easy, nor is it necessarily recommended. Negotiating to a higher role might involve going through the interview again. Or, it might turn out to be a bad idea altogether if you don't actually have the skills to match that role. I've seen this too with a former McK colleague who then struggled quite a lot in the beginning because he convinced them to start as Associate instead of Junior Associate.

In the long run these things don't matter, i.e., if you're planning on staying for many years and becoming Partner. What matters is that the role pushes the boundaries of your skills, but doesn't go way beyond them.

Answer 3

Hi there,

Yes you can try!

Now, they've likely put you in that role given 1) Your interview/case performance and 2) Your experience.

Normally, if they don't feel you're ready for the higher role, they won't throw you in there (it's hard enough making the switch at the “right” level).

That said, if you're not happy joining at the junior consultant role, you have to tell them! Strive for the higher level, ask, and if they say no, then make the decision from there.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Hi there,

I am quite surprised by the many “yes” replies.

Promotions are generally merit based. If you get hired in a junior role and don't perform, you simply won't be promoted to senior. Whether you're on fast track or not.

It's up or out and you have to earn the up part!

Best of luck!

Answer 5

Not exatly. They are very unlikely to guarantee you a certain promotion after 1 year. If they were confident you could do it… they would be giving you that rank in the first place.

What you can negotiate is being hired as a junior / senior consultant in it's second year, i.e., 1 year before being considered for promotion. This way you would ensure - not the position - but that they would give you the right opportunities during those 12 months and assess if you were ready to be promoted.

But beware that this can be a double edge sword - if after those 12 months you are not ready, you will actually be close to an up-or out situation, i.e., they may consider you were given the opportunity but didn't make it (and may be counseled out) or, more likely, will be given an extra 6 months to make it happen.

So please understand that you will be choosing a higher risk option (higher chance of being on a fast track, higher chance of being out…). I am not sure that getting there 6 months sooner is worth it, in the long run.

Two other notes: you may be underestimating how much you still need to learn. I've seen accomplished managers struggling because they were not used to the type of quality control you get at MBB. If you are a Manager at a Strategy consulting firm, you should be fine - if it is a “management consulting" firm, you are underestimating the ammount of change and required learning.

Finally, I believe there's some disconnect between you and them at a deeper level - and you should clarify that before asking for a higher rank AND a guaranteed promotion.

They are placing you as a junior consultant. And you are asking to be placed as an experienced senior consultant with a guarantee to become a manager. Before you have any conversation on rank, you have to align on how valuable your experience is and how much they should weight that into their offer. Otherwise it will just seem that you are making an outrageous demand.

Answer 6

You can try, and they will give you a fast track (i.e., after one year you will become eligible for promotion), but only if your performance in the interviews was stellar (i.e., everyone marked you as hire or strong hire) and your experience is 1 or to years beyond that of a normal consultant.
In my experience, you can aim at speeding up by 6 to 12 months at most.

Answer 7

Extremely unlikely they will put anything in writing. Promotion will depend on so many factors- your performance, client feedback, demand for your skills, budget, market conditions etc etc.

Negotiate to go at the right level which is in line with your experience and qualifications. From there, perform well, learn, enjoy the work and let the promotion happen.

All the best.

Answer 8

Hello!

For sure you must try, since as you say, you would be downgraded.

The most important thing for that conversation is preparing it well, finding cases similar to yours, comparing compensations and career, etc.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara