Salary Negotiation

Assuming you are talking about MBB and Tier2, and not about smaller boutiques or Big4 (management consulting roles).

The salaries are not within a band, they are fixed (both the base and variable part). This way they avoid internal conflict arising from differing salaries for the same role.

Moreover, people get promoted on an yearly basis (and there's up or out). So any change arising from the negotiation would be short lived. So there isn't really a reason to waste time on negotiations.

So, if you want to negotiate, it would have to be on sign up bonus, or relocation support. And even here there isn't much room to negotiate. You would have to provide good reasons that apply to your specific situation.

As Pedro mentioned, fixed salaries are not negotiable with MBB firms - these consistent for each career level. When it comes to signing bonus and especially re-location allowance, there typically is some flexibility, especially if the candidate has cross-offers from one or the 2 other MBB firms.

Would be careful with trying to negotiate though - in the grand scheme of things (i.e. salary progression you can expect) 5k up or down won't move the needle.

Hi there,

Salaries are fixed but negotiate with them on the signing/relocation bonus!

I personally doubled mine during the negotiations.

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the (alleged) offer!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• First of all, when there are salary bands, you will have room for negotiation. I assume, however, that you mean fixed total compensation for each role.
• Generally speaking, with strategy consulting companies, you will most probably have little to no room for negotiating your fixed or variable component of compensation. You might still squeeze out a signing bonus or an increased relocation bonus, but this will most probably be about it.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best negotiate different aspects of your total compensation, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Salary negotiations may still be possible even if a company has a fixed salary band system. You can negotiate by highlighting your skills and experience and how they align with the job requirements. You can also research the industry standards for similar positions and present that information to the employer. Additionally, you can negotiate other benefits such as bonuses, additional vacation time, or flexible working arrangements. It is important to remember to be professional and respectful during the negotiation process.

Most top-tier consulting firms have fixed salary levels as per the positions. Some tier-2 and beyond firms do employs bands as well.

If the salary levels are fixed (such as MBB), you will not be able to negotiate the base pay or bonus. Rather, you can try to negotiate relocation bonus, sign-on bonus, and other criteria such as any lock-in periods