Considering and Evaluating Job Offers

Congratulations! You have successfully managed the interview process and have been extended a job offer. Perhaps you have even received offers from more than one employer. Whether it is one offer or many, your euphoria may be quickly replaced by anxiety about the decisions that lie ahead. You may be wondering, “Is this the right job for me?” or “Am I going to be happy in this job, or should I just take it because I need a job?” Careful evaluation of your job offer and some serious thought as to how well the position and organization meet your needs can enable you to make the best choice for yourself.

In evaluating your job offer, there are three critical questions you should address:

1. Consider how closely the offer matches your career goal: What is important to you? What factors regarding a job, organization, and work environment were on your “wish list”? Have these factors changed? How well does the position fit these factors? Below are factors you may want to consider in evaluating your offer.

Factors for Consideration

• Nature of work and organizational cultural
• Stability of industry and level of autonomy
• Amount of travel
• Beginning salary and increments of raises and performance evaluations
• Lifestyles of employees
• Stability of organization and quality of higher management
• Support for continuing education/advanced degree
• Level of responsibility
• Geographic location
• Work hours and benefits and variety of work
• Advancement, training and professional development opportunities
• Transferability of skills/experience from job
• Prestige of job or organization

2. Do you need additional information about the offer in order to make a decision? It is not unusual to discover that you have additional questions, lack some data, or simply need a better sense of what the job and organization are like. If you find that you need to know more about the prospective position, STOP! Don’t go any further in your deliberations until you address these issues.

3. You may need to call one of your interviewers and ask additional questions, or contact alumni from the organization. If you need a better understanding of what it would be like during a day on the job, call the employer (if the organization is local) and ask to spend an afternoon observing an entry-level employee in the job you’re considering. Most employers will be willing to accommodate you.

Are there issues you want to negotiate to bring the terms of the offer closer to your goal? Perhaps the issues that concern you about the offer can be changed. For more information, visit: http://fastweb.monster.com

When choosing between offers, new college graduates consider the following factors, listed from the most important to the least important:

• Challenging work assignments
• Reputation of the organization and job security
• Opportunities for advancement and salary level
• Utilization of acquired skills 
• Personalities and abilities and lines of supervision 
• Geographical location of the job
• Decision-making responsibilities of the job
• Benefits and health insurance
• Personalities and abilities of other employees
• Information gleaned from talking to people who held or are in the position
• Payment for advanced degree or course
• Availability of a graduate school near the organization
• Dental insurance
• Dependent health insurance
• Number of relocations required by job
• Size of the organization
• Ability to design own work program
• Organizational structure
• Available retirement plans and life insurance
• Benefits of the investment profit sharing program
• Maternity/paternity and family leave policies