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I am currently working as Consultant (Contractor) for a Fortune 5 company for the last 6 months and I worked in this financial services company in different divisions/lobs previously (8 years back) as a full time employee (band 6 associate) for about 2 years and then as a contractor for about 2 years in the past.

They are interested in extending a full time employee/associate position for me and was told by my consulting company’s account manager and by hiring manager (who I am currently reporting to) that HR will be contacting me soon in regards to it. I like the work environment and the company as well.

I have about 15+ yrs of IT industry experience with MBA in Systems & Finance and PhD in CSE from an US state university though it is not a top tier university. I am also PMP certified.

I currently make $70/Hr on 1099 (not sure how much my consulting company is billing the client though) Given this not sure what is the salary that I can negotiate for?


Hiring manager’s (who I am currently reporting to) job band is band 4 with job title and corp. title being Sr Tech Manager and VP. It is also common in this company where the manager’s band/job title/corp. title same as the subordinate’s band/job title/corp. title.


I spoke to couple of band 3/band 4 colleagues/friends who are in different teams in the company. First question they asked me is what band this offer belongs to, for which I don’t have an answer yet… They told me that band 4 is a possibility and that I can also negotiate for job band/job title in addition to salary negotiations.

Any suggestions on what is the base salary, job band, job title and corporate title that I can negotiate.

I am hoping/believe that I am eligible for Band 4, Sr. Tech Mgr or Sr. Consultant role and VP Corp title
I am also thinking to go easy on the salary part (given that it is not really low) but try to negotiate on Job Band, Job Title and Corp Title. That way I can get the salary raise in the following years to make up. For me to be in Band 4... the job title need to be Sr. series (Sr. Tech Mgr, Sr. Consultant, Sr. Architect etc.,)


Please advice how I can market/prepare to negotiate on if I did not get what I believe that I can get.
Current project I am assigned is very interesting and highly visible initiative across the enterprise.

Also my account manager mentioned that if I don’t accept job offer then I would end up losing the contract and may have to find another job with another company/city.

I am currently working as Consultant (Contractor) for a Fortune 5 company for the last 6 months and I worked in this financial services company in different divisions/lobs previously (8 years back) as a full time employee (band 6 associate) for about 2 years and then as a contractor for about 2 years in the past.

They are interested in extending a full time employee/associate position for me and was told by my consulting company’s account manager and by hiring manager (who I am currently reporting to) that HR will be contacting me soon in regards to it.

I have about 15+ yrs of IT industry experience with MBA in Systems & Finance and PhD in CSE from an US state university though it is not a top tier university. I am also PMP certified.

I currently make $70/Hr on 1099 (not sure how much my consulting company is billing the client though) Given this not sure what is the salary that I can negotiate for?

Hiring manager’s (who I am currently reporting to) job band is band 4 with job title and corp. title being Sr Tech Manager and VP. It is also common in this company where the manager’s band/job title/corp. title same as the subordinate’s band/job title/corp. title.

I spoke to couple of band 3/band 4 colleagues/friends who are in different teams in the company. First question they asked me is what band this offer belongs to, for which I don’t have an answer yet… They told me that band 4 is a possibility and that I can also negotiate for job band/job title in addition to salary negotiations.

Any suggestions on what is the base salary, job band, job title and corporate title that I can negotiate.
I am hoping/believe that I am eligible for Band 4, Sr. Tech Mgr or Sr. Consultant role and VP Corp title
I am also thinking to go easy on the salary part (given that it is not really low) but try to negotiate on Job Band, Job Title and Corp Title. That way I can get the salary raise in the following years to make up. For me to be in Band 4... the job title need to be Sr. series (Sr. Tech Mgr, Sr. Consultant, Sr. Architect etc.,)

Please advice how I can market/prepare to negotiate on if I did not get what I believe that I can get.
Current project I am assigned is very interesting and highly visible initiative across the enterprise. Though I was assigned to this project about 4 backs months back, it really did not kicked off until last month.

Also my account manager mentioned that if I don’t accept job offer then I would end up losing the contract and may have to find another job with another company/city.

If I were that fortune 5 HR:

$70/hr translates to $140,000 with benefits = $105K (assuming 25% benefits) + 4 week vacation + 10 day sick + 10 - 15K bonus + stock options.

If I were you with similar qualifications, hypothetically say @ BoA in NY city. This is how far I would go.

Band: 3 (VP IT)
Base: $185K - $225K
Bonus: $40 - $56K
Vacation: 5 weeks
Sick: 10 days
401K match
Stock Options
Misc Perks: Parking + Travel + Dress allowance etc...
Expense Account: Matching your role

So you have to make that big leap in your compensation. My facts would be

a. Market rate
b. My past performance the company (Show the difference you made to company bottom line)
c. My future potential to the company ( Show much you will bring to the company bottom line)
d. Consultant reporting does not have to translate to existing structure. You could be hired as the account manager's boss as well(for the right skill set).

It alls depends on your desperation and marketable skills. You could really turn the table on the account manager, if you could get an offer outside to show your worth.

You can settle for a middle ground, if you prefer not to venture out of your comfort zone. Which is reporting back to the current hiring manager with an acceptable base in the range $125 - $150k annually @band4.

Negotiating with HR in the finance industry is like hitting the dance floor with a ballerina. Be decisive, there is no hoping, huffing and puffing. The skill set and ROI should be weighed with facts. Back it up and negotiate.

Best wishes.

Reacher;374432If I were that fortune 5 HR:

$70/hr translates to $140,000 with benefits = $105K (assuming 25% benefits) + 4 week vacation + 10 day sick + 10 - 15K bonus + stock options.

If I were you with similar qualifications, hypothetically say @ BoA in NY city. This is how far I would go.

Band: 3 (VP IT)
Base: $185K - $225K
Bonus: $40 - $56K
Vacation: 5 weeks
Sick: 10 days
401K match
Stock Options
Misc Perks: Parking + Travel + Dress allowance etc...
Expense Account: Matching your role

So you have to make that big leap in your compensation. My facts would be

a. Market rate
b. My past performance the company (Show the difference you made to company bottom line)
c. My future potential to the company ( Show much you will bring to the company bottom line)
d. Consultant reporting does not have to translate to existing structure. You could be hired as the account manager's boss as well(for the right skill set).

It alls depends on your desperation and marketable skills. You could really turn the table on the account manager, if you could get an offer outside to show your worth.

You can settle for a middle ground, if you prefer not to venture out of your comfort zone. Which is reporting back to the current hiring manager with an acceptable base in the range $125 - $150k annually @band4.

Negotiating with HR in the finance industry is like hitting the dance floor with a ballerina. Be decisive, there is no hoping, huffing and puffing. The skill set and ROI should be weighed with facts. Back it up and negotiate.

Best wishes.

Appreciate your detailed reply and suggestions.

I think I will try to settle for a middle ground... since I can try to venture (and go out of comfort zone) with other internal opportunities after 6 months or an year after being FTE within the company. Also I am currently neither in NY City nor supporting capital markets/wealth and investments division.

I got an email from the HR today with the following content ?If you have not already done so, please go to careers website and complete a general profile in the system. Please make sure to include your SSN- as we will need that to complete the Applicant Screening Investigation. After you have a profile, please send me an email. Please also provide me with your current hourly rate. You will then receive an email from Corporate Security with instructions. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns- Thanks?

Please suggest should I use the hourly rate that I get on hand or that I have been billed by the consulting company for negotiation purposes. I believe the billing rate by consulting company would be at least $10/Hr more than what I get on hand.

Could you provide some pointers/references that would help me to generate a profile and a decisive statement detailing ROI/Past performance/future potential (backed with skill sets and facts), which I can use for backup and negotiation?

Is it worth to use a professional help in generating the profile and ROI statement. I need them ASAP and not sure how long it would take for the outside resources to generate the profile economically and satisfactorily.

Try Glassdoor.com for salary information about the positions you are targeting in the company and in the said location. You should be able to get reasonable information from that site.

A year of work comprise approx. of 2000 hours and with your 1099, you are making $140K per annum as a consultant. Add to 30% profit margin for your consulting company and the client will be billed at $182K per annum. Since consultants are hired for short-term projects, the companies generally pay a bit more for consultants than perm employees and if you apply a discount factor of 25% of $182K, then your total CTC (Total cost comprising of Base Salary + Benefits + Indirect Hiring Costs) should be around $136.5K. With your benefits and 401(k) Match plus other overhead hiring costs of 20%, your based salary should be 80% of $136.5 which is roughly equal to $110K. Please ask for $110K Base excluding benefits. Best of Luck!!

tish;374531

Please suggest should I use the hourly rate that I get on hand or that I have been billed by the consulting company for negotiation purposes. I believe the billing rate by consulting company would be at least $10/Hr more than what I get on hand.

Either you are very naive or have not tried to keep up with the knowledge of the prevailing market rate for your experience. Based on your profile you have presented here, consulting company would be billing atleast $120/Hr. Assuming you work 2000 hrs/year, company is paying $240K to your consulting company would be my guess and would not be too far from the actual figure.
So if you ask them to match your current remuneration as a base pay with usual perks (bonus+401K match+ RSUs+Stock options+ ESPP+paid leave+unpaid leave in emergencies+medical benefits+company holidays) which is usually around 35-40% of one's base pay, the company should not be negotiating too much with you especially if it's the capital beltway region.

LI: You are making an assumption that roles and responsibilities will remain the same in the switch over. I dont think hats ever the case when a consultant is bought on-board as an employee. As a full time employee he/she may have additional responsibilities.

I think OP should look at the glassdoor data and negotiate for the right banding/designation. Working backwards from the hourly rate of a consultant is not a right way to approach this.

Ahirman - I assumed that consultant will perform the same role as an Employee since it's regular Contract-to-hire process. I agree that if roles/responsibilities differ, then salary will vary accordingly and it also depends on type of Industry/Company/Brand and what he/she is going to bring into the table!!