It’s basically a dream come true:
You’ve been looking for a new job for the past few months. You’ve been called in for a number of interviews. Finally, you hear back from two of your top choices, both telling you they’ve decided to move forward with your application.
Of course, now the question is: Which job should you take?
While this scenario is certainly much less stressful than receiving no callbacks at all, it can still be stressful in its own right. Now, you’re faced with the prospect of making a choice – and potentially making the wrong one.
At any rate, you’re obviously going to need to make a decision, and make it quickly. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what you need to do when comparing job offers.
First: Consider Your Own Goals First
Here’s the deal: No matter how objectively ideal a job offer looks “on paper,” you should always consider how you feel about it above all else. This, essentially, is a prerequisite for comparing job offers in the first place. Unless you know what you’re looking for in a job or career, no “checklist” or “guide” can help you figure it out.
Think about your goals not just for your career, but for your overall life. Are you looking to earn a high-paying salary – even if it means working late nights and weekends? Do you want to make a difference in the world – even if it means not making near as much money as you’d hoped? Do you want a healthy work-life balance?
These – and other things – are questions you’ll need to ask of yourself before you even begin to compare job offers. Know what you want, then decide which offer will provide the best opportunity to make it happen.
Second: On-the-Job Factors
While there are obviously a number of job-related factors to consider when comparing offers, two of the most important things to consider are whether you’d fit into the culture of the organization, and whether the organization will provide opportunities for growth.
With regard to culture, you certainly want to not just get along with, but work well with, your colleagues and supervisors. Sites such as Glassdoor provide information from both current and former employees of companies that can help you determine whether or not you’d enjoy working within a given company on a day-to-day basis. Again, though: when checking out these reviews and comments, remember to keep an open mind; while some people may have hated working in a certain position, it may be because it wasn’t right for them.
With regard to growth opportunities, you’ll almost certainly want to continue learning and moving up within the company as time goes on. With this in mind, you’ll want to ensure that the organization you choose to work for provides professional development opportunities to its employees – and also rewards hard work and diligence with promotions and raises accordingly.
Third: Cost-Benefit Analysis
As we said before, you’ll want to look past the on-paper descriptors of compensation and benefits, and analyze such from a more realistic perspective.
For example, perhaps the salary of one position is $5,000 higher than the other offer; of course, this looks great. However, the other position offers free daycare – which ends up saving you nearly $1,000 each month. All other factors being equal, the second position obviously ends up being your best option.
Other expenses to consider include factors related to commuting (e.g., travel time, gas money, frustration), vacation and sick time, and, of course, benefits packages offered by each company.
The takeaway here is: don’t just look at baseline salary when considering what you’ll get out of taking a job. There’s a lot more to consider that could have long-lasting effects on your life as a whole.
Fourth: Ability to Negotiate
One last thing to consider is whether or not a prospective employer is willing to negotiate certain terms of your contract.
While not absolutely true in all cases, an unwillingness to negotiate may be a sign of further trouble down the road a bit. If, when approaching either of your choices, one employer seems more willing to work with you to ensure a mutually-beneficial relationship, chances are you can take this showing of good faith as a sign of good things to come.
What makes Panther Professional the ideal career partner?
We focus on what you want most from your career! Choose the flexibility of contract work, make smarter choices with contract-to-hire, further your career in direct hire roles. Twenty-five years in the business has given us the experience and connections to help you reach your goals.
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