Congratulations on your job offers! Now you must decide which one to accept. Rarely, in this situation, is an offer so good that the choice is obvious. Every position has pros and cons. No two jobs are exactly alike, but there are some common questions you should ask yourself and factors you should weigh before accepting or declining any offer.
The ABC Factors to consider with any job offer:
A. Alignment
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- Does the role align with your career goals?
- Is this role in alignment with your long-term professional objectives?
- Where will this role take you in 6 months? 1 year? 5 years?
- Who will mentor you in this role?
B. Balance
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- How will this new role contribute to your work/life balance?
- Does the culture of the new company feel right?
- What kind of colleagues will you have?
- What will the commute be like?
- How will this role affect your lifestyle?
C. Compensation
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- Consider the salary, benefits, and other perks that make up the compensation for each offer
- Be sure you have the whole compensation package including retirement, 401K, bonus potential, student loan reimbursement, etc.
- Beware of giving too much importance to compensation
The Decision-Making Process
Once you understand the ABC factors for each job, the best way to compare offers is to use the Decision Matrix Analysis process. Decide on the importance of each ABC factor. Use a score of 1-5 for each factor with 1 being the least important factor in your decision. Now score each of the ABC factors for each offer using a rating scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best rating. Next, multiply each score by its importance factor. Then total them up for each offer. Once you have completed the last step, the offer with the highest score will be your best choice. Use the table below to record your numbers.
| ABC Factors | Alignment | Balance | Compensation | Totals |
| Importance (1-5) | ||||
| Job Offer 1 | ||||
| Job Offer 2 | ||||
| Job Offer 3 |
Example below:
| ABC Factors | Alignment | Balance | Compensation | Totals |
| Importance (1-5) | 5 | 4 | 3 | |
| Job Offer 1 (1-5) | 5*5=25 | 4*4=16 | 4*3=12 | 25+16+12=53 |
| Job Offer 2 (1-5) | 3*5=15 | 5*4=20 | 3*3=9 | 15+20+9=44 |
| Job Offer 3 (1-5) | 4*5=20 | 3*4=12 | 5*3=15 | 20+12+15=47 |
In this example, job offer number 1 is the winning offer. While it did not offer the highest compensation, it did offer the best alignment, which held a higher importance rating.
Implement this decision-making tool to choose the job offer that is best for your career, life, and wallet.