benefits in Big4 Management Consultancy
 

Hi,
I am negotiating a job as a consultant in one of the Big 4. Can someone tell me more about their benefits, so that I can negotiate the salary more effectively? They are offering me 1 year contract, renewable.
Do they pay for some of the job-related training programs that I may attend in Singapore? If so, I can settle for a slightly lower salary.
What about their medical benefits? Is the family covered?
The more I know, better I can negotiate with HR.
Thanks,

Are you for real? You have the opportunity to join a top paying firm that almost every top grad from Ivy is dying to get in and you are hung up on training expense reimbursement and medical benefits?

BTW, I didn't know they open consulting associate roles on 1 year renewable contracts these days. I've always thought they hired MAs on perm basis and usually an offer is made even before a candidate graduates.

Big4 staff
 

Top paying firm - depends on what you call top paying and how many people draw such amounts. Many folks in my company (name withheld) draw a mere 2-3k per month. Some draw more than 20k per month, but these are the partners. Most others draw varying salaries (not top paying) and need to jump jobs every 2 years to kepp up with the cost of living.

Training and medical benefits - what is wrong in these? Many companies offer them, including big4.

Yes, many managers/consultants in my company (most from NUS/SMU or other private uni, none from Ivy Legue) work on contracts. Sometimes contracts become regular jobs, other times the contracts simply expire. Some of these are mid-career professionals struggling to make ends meet.

I think TS mean big4 account/audit company - E&Y, PWC, DT, KPMG. That expalin why he is on contract and asking for things like benefits.

Advise to TS, nobody out there call these companies big4 management consultancies though they sometimes do certain projects like mgt consultancy. Your title give the impression that BCG, McKinsey, Bain, Oliver Wyman (these are the big4 management consultants btw) offerd you a consulting job.

For big4 account/audit especially for contractor jobs, treat it as a good opportunity to earn some experience and build CV. Its more or less like a sweat shop with high turnover due to the stress and work hours, do not expect too much in terms of benefits or the company to invest in your development.

Think some confusion due to the title. TS probably means big4 audit firms and not big4 management consultancies.

I am also confuse over the title like the rest, base on above post i assume u r talking about the Big 4 auditors instead?

If u have a proper job now, my advice is not to take up a contract role.

If u r unemployed for some time already, my advice is just accept and grab whatever that is offered.

I was once a contractor in KPMG as well, all I can say is they treat all jr staff regardless of perm/contract like revolving doors. You happy accept and work, not happy just get lost cauz there is usually another 10 desperate candidates they can call up.

No point talking about training & development cauz they really dun care about these at this level since turnover is so high. I can't remember KPMG's medical for contract cauz I seldom use it and probably only a thousand dollars worth a year at most.

If u r unemployed, important thing is to get something in the CV. At least give u a chance to convert to perm in the future or use this to look for another job when contract end.

unless is legally required certification, no training budget for contract staff one lah. medical insurance and usual outpatient claim got a bit, but also cap at very low.

end of the day you have to be realistic, the whole idea of contract job is to save on all the benefits and make it easy to terminate. the job is "consultant" in name only.

Ummm what is the confusion here? When people say 'Big 4 consulting', it generally means accounting big 4. If people want to refer to the top tier, they will say 'MBB'.

was on contract in EY before, no training except for those e-learning compliance click intranet type. medical nothing to shout about, just basic insurance and some outpatient claim. in general i find even contracts with stat board / glc offer better benefit than them

Base on your previous post you are jobless for quite some time already, tbh you should just accept the offer and rebuild your career. Besides HR won't take you seriously in any negotiation when you don't have a job now.

from his previous posts, I'm starting to understanding why he has been jobless!!

dun understand this boongaylim character, sometimes he sound so desperate that he is willing to take up any job he can, now suddenly turn around to talk about benefits, training, want to negotiate for more $$$ etc.

also he has been replying to other ppl threads, but abandon his own one that concerns his own offer and contract.

strange fellow.

This fellow is obviously telling lies. From the beginning, he mentioned about he studying accounting in malaysia, working in shipping industry, till now working in bank, applying for VP in BOA and now, big 4, yet he keep asking about upgrading, applying for other positions etc.

You are better off replying as unregistered user.

To be fair to him I was also unemployed for a long time a few years ago, it does strange things to your mental health. You become so desperate you will interpret any slightest positive thing people say as confirmation or build up some online persona to preserve self esteem.

I suspect he spoke to some recruiter or first level interview at a big 4, they gave standard polite small talk like "thanks for the time", "glad we had a great session" etc. and he started to jump the gun thinking they are offering him and talking about negotiation, career development etc.

Now no sound no pix after that, so he went back to his usual pattern posting random things while waiting for a job call.

KPMG Benchmarking the salary
 

I interviewed with KPMG as well. The HR girl later called me and said "we will make you an offer. What is your salary and your expectation? When can you join", etc. I answered these questions. A weak later, I inquired about the status and she said "we are benchmarking your salary. Please allow us some time." What precisely is she doing? If KPMG is not making an offer, they can tell me that much. How long does benchmarking take and what are the steps involved? Anyone who knows...

They are just BS-ing you trying to stall for time, must be some internal problem getting approval or the position shaky to start with.

KPMG already has preset salary range for each job grade, either you are within range or you are not. Unless yours is senior mgt role (i.e. >470k basic p.a.) or you are joining some super niche job, then she will need the approval of the Corporate C&B Manager.

There is no such thing as "benchmarking" your salary when already so late in the process for normal junior and mid level offer. Either it's some admin/bureaucratic c0ck up or the hiring dept ran out of budget and has to raise money now or your pay is too high compare to some similar level staff causing unhappiness.

hey. were you offered a perm position at kpmg after your contract expired? and which department were you from?

FYI!

MBB is also considered big 3 in consulting. No one really call big 4 advisory arm as big 4 consulting. But still pretty good tier 2 firms for consulting

benefits

1) plenty of chiobu
2) plenty of drinking sessions
3) lots of repressed, easily-fooled SYTs
4) lots of milfs looking for young fresh muscle

drawbacks
1) unfortunately they only go for AMDK and/or salary>$10k/mth

work hard buddy.

Not really. I would consider firms like Accenture, Mercer, Oliver Wyman etc. as more Tier 2.

The big 4 are big in terms of headcount and the no. of 3rd party services they sell, but in terms of prestige and remuneration it's more like Tier 3.

The fact that the former big 5 Arthur Andersen spin off its most lucrative and branded business into Accenture and merge its other remaining bits and pieces into the current big4 tells you much.

Agreed, Big 4 are not even known for their consulting services.

Firms like ACN, Booz and Co, Mercer and Oliver Wyman are the true Tier 2 companies.