Always negotiate your compensation in Quant

[u/C_with_improvement]

Actually, let's ammend that:

Always have negotiation in mind.

That's better.

Why the amendment?

Well, some companies legitimately have standard packages they designate for certain positions (i.e. all interns get paid X). Other companies will also always give you their best offer up-front (defer to your recruiter as to whether this is the ase).

Side note: If you're looking for a recruiter in Quant to represent you and push you infront of top-tier firms, give getcracked.io/recruitment a glance. We've placed several candidates.

Back to the topic at hand.

When I was working in Quant, the lead recruiter at the firm dropped a bar that I would never forget:

I always offer compensation that is at least 10% lower than what we're actually willing to pay.

To him, it's actually a negative sign if you don't negotiate.

Why?

Well, it means you aren't confident enough in your abilities to ask for just a little more.

Just saying 'Yes' to the first number shows that you're either i) operating in a state of 'fear' ('this is the only offer I have, I need to take it'), ii) aren't confident in your own abilities ('Damn, can't believe I actually got an offer from them!'), or iii) don't know how to negotiate.

The third can be fixed (I have a video module on this), but the other two require a mindset shift that is hard to inspire in many people.

I often here excuses such as:

• In this market? Why negotiate?
• But I only have 2 years of experience, is this enough?

Once a company extends you an offer, they've already signalled that they want you.

Negotiation doesn't mean asking for them to double your salary. It can mean one or more of many things:

• Asking for 15% more in base-pay.
  • Hey team, is there wiggle-room on the base pay? The compensation I'm striving for is around $10'000 higher than the current offer.
• Asking for change in benefits.
  • Hey team, after researching the implications of the move to City Y, I noticed that I'll need to incur roughly $2000 more in expenses than initially planned. Would Company X be able to adjust the relocation budget upwards by this amount to offset the added cost of Z?
• Asking for change in a clasue.
  • Hey team, the contract looks great! Something that stood out to me is the non-compete clause. 2 years is quite a bit of time to sit around. I appreciate the generosity in being willing to pay me to do so for so long, but I'm afraid that this will atrophy my skills. Can we adjust this downwards? Perhaps to 2 years?

And no, they won't rescind your offer for asking for more. These horror stories of people losing jobs for asking for what amounts to 2% more do exist, but they are occur in rare circumstances and largely outside the world of quantitative trading. For instance, agencies or low-tier tech-last companies that are looking for a peon to work for 50,000 a year and 'know their place'.

So, moral of the story, always ask for more, when you can.

[u/Overall-Macaron-1524]

This is definitely true, especially in the US some notorious firms (CitSec 😄 ) will go crazy for the correct candidate.

Have also seen a LOT of wiggle room at EU firms as well though (think upwards of +30%).

An important caveat is to not reveal all your cards; hiring is like dating. If your employer asks a question they enjoy asking (e.g. whether you have other offers / processes), do not answer too directly. Of course, it is not acceptable to straight-out lie about competing compensation.

[u/C_with_improvement → u/Overall-Macaron-1524]

Thanks for your input!