How common are signing bonuses?
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Anonymous
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And for what reasons are they given?
I have about 10 years experience, and am looking to make a lateral move to a different, more challenging role in the financial services industry. The job I am considering would definitely be a challenge for me - I bring experience to the table, but I would not say I am exceptionally qualified for the role (in terms of technical skills - I'm confident I can learn it and perform well). However, because it's not necessarily a promotion, my salary will likely be close to what I am making now. A new job will likely require a longer commute and we will need to purchase a second car (I now work from home or a metro-accessible office most days). A signing bonus would help offset the cost of getting a new car, especially if my salary will not be increasing. My question is, when are signing bonuses generally given or considered? I received one once from a Big 4 ($5k, payable back to the company if I left within a year), and the reason was that they couldn't come up on the base salary any higher, but were willing to give me the bonus instead. In that case, I think they just wanted to keep my base salary lower so that future increases, etc would be based off the lower number. But as a Big 4, I felt like signing bonuses were pretty typical, and pennies in the grand scheme of things. Do smaller firms offer them? Is it ever a really bad thing to ask for one? |
Anonymous
| Signing bonus comes to those who are a prize to the firm. Usually they offer. In this job climate, maybe unlikely unless you are a star. |
Anonymous
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Depends on industry. In banking, typically a signing bonus is meant to replace the $ amount of a bonus you're losing to switch mid-year. That can obviously be fairly sizeable. But it's a net zero to the firm, which will lose people to other firms and therefore not have to pay their bonus.
Typical to include proviso that it gets repaid if you leave within a year. |
Anonymous
| I've always asked to be bought out of lost bonus. Fairly simple argument |
Anonymous
| I have seen people who ask 100k for a 120k job get a signing bonus of 5k. |
Anonymous
| A friend who started at Deloitte as an analyst right out of college got a signing bonus- not sure how much, I think 5k; to be repaid if she left within 5 years. This was within the last 5 years. |
Anonymous
| My sign on bonuses were $5k, $15k, $20k and $100k over the coarse of my career |
Anonymous
| I got $7K when I started in my current position around 2007. |
Anonymous
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I got an extra month off for one of the jobs because they could not give me much cash. |
Anonymous
what career lawyer? |
Anonymous
That was a few years ago. I have not heard of any bonus in my field since 2009. |
Anonymous
Smaller ones were Pre MBA, bigger one post. Finance. |
Anonymous
| I got a 10k signing bonus last year. |
Anonymous
| I got a $50,000 bonus, deferred until completion of first year. Paid on the anniversary. |
Anonymous
You and I sit next to each other at the office. Hi 
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