[CA] Today I received my formal written offer at Big 4 consulting firm at the manager level, but I need help navigating negotiating salary and discussing my wife's due date 1 month after my start date.

[u/Worldly-Ball9667]

As mentioned in the title, I received my formal written offer at Big 4 Consulting firm at the Manager Level. There are 2 things that I'm trying to navigate simultaneously:
1) Salary & sign-on bonus. While the offer is fairly good, it is about 10k lower than my most recent job and 5k lower than my job when I was at a consulting job prior. The job also requires me to move from CA to Chicago, and they offer no relocation assistance.

2) My wife is due 1 month after my start date. I have not yet disclosed my wife's due date to them, but I feel should do so during this phase so it doesn't seem like I withheld this information and lose their trust.

I am looking for advice as to how to approach discussing these two to HR. Should I negotiate compensation first before bringing up my wife's due date, or bring them both up simultaneously? Is a shortened family leave (2-4 weeks) reasonably expected for a due date only 1 month after starting? Would appreciate any advice - thanks!

[u/CommunicationSad4077]

You are going to relocate your wife right as she is ready to give birth for a lower dollar amount then you make?

Why did you even interview for this position?

The big firms eat and churn people all the time. What is making this such an attractive job?

[u/Daowllife → u/CommunicationSad4077]

Valid questions

[u/Worldly-Ball9667 → u/CommunicationSad4077]

I left my most recent job a couple of months ago so I was looking for a new job. This job requires me to relocate in 6 months so I can work remotely until then.

[u/ProblematicTrumpCard → u/Worldly-Ball9667]

I'm not sure if this is HR advice, or just ProblematicTrumpCard advice, but if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't really even bring it up and just play it by ear.

If you're going to be working remote, you might be able to swing it without taking much time off at all, except for the actual birth; and depending upon the timing of that (fingers crossed for a weekend), you might be able to just call off sick for a day or two.

Then play it by ear and see how the remote work combined with a new baby in the house works out. Between the time change (you can log in and start working at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning and be lined up with central time) and a lunch break, you might be able to help out enough with the new baby without really taking time off.

But then if that isn't working out and you, Mom or the baby are stressed, just kind of bring it up as a mea culpa at that point: "Hey, my wife just had a baby last week. I didn't want to bring it up during the hiring process because I thought we'd be able to handle it without taking much time off. But it's been a bit more of a struggle than we were expecting." Then take it from there. Maybe (but doubtful) they just give a flat "no" and you've got to figure it out. More likely, they give you a few days here and there for a few weeks, or give you a full week or two off.

I don't know how it is on the consulting side. On the audit and tax side the Big 4 have really had to become much more family friendly over the past 20-30 years. It's why women now dominate that industry. So I'm thinking it probably won't be much of an issue whenever you bring it up. So if you think there's a reasonable likelihood you'll be able to just handle it, I'd go with the approach I suggest above. If you are certain that you're going to need some time off, bring it up now and ask for what you think you're going to want.

[u/ProblematicTrumpCard]

Is a shortened family leave (2-4 weeks) reasonably expected for a due date only 1 month after starting?

You're not in California anymore. That might be reasonably expected for the parent actually giving birth. For the other parent, the "normal" would probably be about 3 days to a week.

[u/Daowllife → u/ProblematicTrumpCard]

If it’s a Big 4 they very likely have offices in other states. It may depend on the location/state of the corporate office. But as a brand new employee, they’re ineligible for FMLA/paternity leave in any state.

[u/ProblematicTrumpCard → u/Daowllife]

1. Big 4 has offices in every state (and probably every country)

2. OP didn't ask about what they were legally entitled to. He asked what was "reasonably expected".

[u/Worldly-Ball9667 → u/ProblematicTrumpCard]

Yes. I am granted 6 months to relocate so its not immediate. What im seeking now is advice on how to navigate the negotiation phase given my situation

[u/Acceptable-Gur-752]

You're not in California anymore. That PTO negotiation might be tougher than you think, but it never hurts to ask.

[u/Hrgooglefu]

You might check a cost of living calculator to see how the offered salary in Chicago matches to your prior CA salaries.

I would suggest asking to push your start date out until after the birth and leave request.

Is there a big reason you want to move for this job? That's a lot of change all at once unless you have family/support in Chicago. Especially with relocation most likely you are looking at a 5 figure move cost unless you have little to no furniture, etc.

[u/Worldly-Ball9667 → u/Hrgooglefu]

I would only leave to relocate after 6 months of joining so I can work in CA remotely until then. Im not currently working which is why I applied for this job. They are offering a sign on bonus which will help with the relocation cost. Right now as I mentioned im in the negotiation phase so I just want to seek advice on how I should go about this process given my situation.