Low Job OfferI was offered a job in a Leadership Development Program at a significant St Louis based investment firm with a starting salary of $39,600 and a basic benefit package(401K with a $500 match, 2 weeks vacation, profit share, and performance bonus). The problem is that I am an MBA who will graduate in May and sit for the CPA in the summer and I feel that the offer may be too low, as I think they are offering the same package to others with only undergraduate degrees. I do not have much relevant experience outside of an internship but I am wondering what I should I base my counteroffer on if appropriate, and, generically, what to expect from the employer in response? Thanks First of all, congrats on the offer and your upcoming graduation! I just graduated myself (BA Accounting), and certainly remember all the hard work that it takes. I' m by far no expert (just ran into a similar situation myself), but where I started is deciding how much I needed to live on. I found a bare minimum number by creating a REALISTIC budget, then tacked on $4K for my minimum acceptable salary. So first, you have to see if you can actually live on that (without eating Ramen Noodles or never going out to eat, of course!). 39 K with the benefits package may go much farther in St. Louis than it would in, let' s say New York City. And, don' t forget that benefits count alot towards your total compensation. If you decide you can live on it, then I' d go and get an estimate of what other people are making with similar job titles in St. Louis. Don' t rely on the exact number' s- just to see if your offer is in the same ballpark. If your total offer package (salary+bonuses+benefits) is WAY off from what you are seeing, that' s when you may want to ask if it' s negotiable. Lastly, this may sound harsh, but right now you really aren' t that different from an undergrad who just got their Bachelor' s Degree. Sitting for the CPA exam and working towards your Masters is different than actually having the degree and passing the exam. Also, you said yourself that the only experience you have is an internship. Another thing I discovered from my interviews is that many companies are looking for fresh B.A grads with little-no experience for even higher up than entry-level. Not only do they come cheaper, but they don' t have as many established habits from working. First, your benefit package sounds far from "basic"--it sounds pretty good! Second, if the job does not require an MBA, why would they pay you more than someone with an undergrad degree? If your degree doesn't add value in their eyes (not in yours), there's no reason for them to offer you more compensation than somebody without the degree. I agree with the previous poster--see if you can determine how that salary stacks up against similar jobs in that area and against the COL. That money may be equivalent to, say $50k somewhere else. You have to regionalize the number before you start asking to negotiate. That may be great money for St. Louis--I don't know, I've never researched that area, but you should. Frankly, this sounds like an entry-level sort of position to me. And based on the fact that you don' t have a lot of real-world job experience yet, this sounds like an attractive opportunity to me. A Leadership Development Program sounds like a training program and if I could pay my bills and make ends meet on the salary that' s been offered, I' d take the job. This sounds like an ideal chance to get your foot in the door, learn and much as you can as quickly as you can and prove, based on your actual job performance, that you' re worth more. Here' s another point, and I wish every MBA student would read it: If I' m the employer, why would I ever pay a premium for a candidate with an advanced degree that' s not needed to successfully do the job? Furthermore, because this sounds like an entry-level job and you don' t have much relevant experience, I think it would be a terrible mistake to try to negotiate more. Entry-level jobs pretty much pay what they pay and the title of the job for which you' re being considered says it' s a "development" position. If you try to up the ante based on you advance degree - not required to do the job - you could find yourself being shown the door. I' d take this job if I were you. | |
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