Comparing Job Offers

Choosing between job offers can be exciting, but there’s often more to consider than salary alone. This exercise can help you compare your options based on what matters most to you and see how each offer aligns with your priorities.

How to Use the Job Offer Comparison

  1. Identify your priorities. Choose the factors that are most important to you in a job. These might include salary, location, work-life balance, career growth, company culture, or benefits. See the ideas below if you need help getting started.
  2. Assign a weight to each factor. Give each factor a percentage based on how important it is to you. The more important the factor, the higher the percentage. Your weights should add up to 100%.
  3. Score each offer. For each company, rate how well the offer meets each factor on a scale from 0–100, with 100 representing an excellent fit and 0 representing a very poor fit.
  4. Calculate your weighted scores. Multiply each score by its weight. For example, if salary is weighted at 50% and you give an offer a salary score of 90, its weighted score would be 45 (90 × .50 = 45).
  5. Add your weighted scores. Add the weighted scores for each company to get an overall score out of 100. A higher score suggests that the offer more closely aligns with the priorities you identified.

Want to create your own? Download the Job Offer Comparison template and replace the example factors, weights, and scores with your own.

Example of a table for comparing job offers

What Matters Most to You?

Not sure which factors to include? Start by thinking about what would make a job a good fit for your life, goals, and priorities. You don’t need to consider everything on this list. Choose the factors that are most likely to influence your decision.

  • Compensation & benefits: salary, bonuses, health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off
  • Work-life fit: work hours, flexibility, remote/hybrid options, workload, travel expectations
  • Location & lifestyle: location, commute, cost of living, proximity to family or friends
  • Growth & learning: career advancement, training, mentorship, professional development
  • Culture & values: company culture, manager/team fit, organizational values, inclusion, sustainability
  • Role & work: day-to-day responsibilities, interesting or meaningful work, autonomy, opportunities to use your strengths
  • Stability & reputation: job security, company stability, industry outlook, employer reputation
Remember: Your Score Is Only One Part of the Decision

The company with the highest score isn’t automatically the offer you should accept. Pay attention to your reaction to the results, too. Are you excited that one company scored highest? Disappointed that another didn’t? That reaction can tell you something about what you value that may not have made it into the table.

Before making your decision, you may also want to consider any unanswered questions about the role, talk with people you trust or meet with the Career Management Center, review the full offer and benefits, and think about how each opportunity fits with your longer-term goals.