Is it possible to negotiate benefits (MBB Offer)

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offer! In terms of your question:

Q: I would like to negotiate better benefits for eg. a housing allowance which is customary in the region since I am an expat. Is this likely to succeed?

In general, it is possible to negotiate benefits. Whether you can succeed or not mainly depends on your reasons for asking for a different amount (see below).

Normally the base salary for a given position is fixed for everyone. What you can usually negotiate is:

• The signing bonus
• The relocation bonus
• The seniority you join

The easiest way to negotiate is to have an “opportunity cost”, ideally due to another offer (or, in the case of relocation, to actual costs present). 

Good luck!

Francesco

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the offer!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• While I cannot tell whether you will succeed in that endeavour, it is certainly possible to negotiate these parts of the total compensation. You can find more on exactly this topic here.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

you can certainly try to address these elements with HR. One-time payments are the category of benefits that can usually be negotiated, so signing bonus and relocation allowance (e.g. flight, temporary housing, shipping costs).

You should calculate for yourself first as to what kinds of expenses you are expecting to incur for your relocation. Then you can talk to HR to inquire about what kinds of options they see to help out with that. It's usually also always a matter of setting precedent - if they didn't provide housing allowance for other expats in a similar sitation as you, then they likely won't in your case either - unless there was an official policy change. But it never hurts to ask - just be professional about it.

Good luck

Yes, the components that you can negotiate are the signing bonus and the relocation bonus. 

My recommendation would be for you to first do an honest assessment on your side as to what these costs would be. 

Then have a call with the recruiter and take them through the approach. 

This way you can practically ‘show’ them the amount that you should be fairly compensated for. 

Best,
Cristian

Hi there,

You can ask risk-free but likely it won't change much, especially in the current environment.

The two things that are the easiest to negotiate are one-time payments that you can argue for:

1. Hiring bonus
2. Relocation bonus

All the best,

Florian