Getting two job offers sounds a lot like a dream, but it’s not as uncommon as you think. At least, at some point in their career, plenty of people should make a decision whether they want to stay at their current job or take the new job offer or decide which job offers they should choose.
How do you decide which job is the right one for you? In this post, we are going to talk about the things we need to consider before making any decision to choose between two job offers.
You’ve been through the grueling process of polishing up your resume, updating your cover letters, and adjusting them to match each of the job positions you applied to.
Then you started to have interviews and do some tests required as part of the selection process, over and over again during a certain period of time. You’ve done plenty of research beforehand, to make sure you do your homework and prepare yourself to perform best for your interviews and tests.
Finally, all the hard work paid off. You get the offer, and not just one offer but two (because that’s how good you are!). Now, you have to choose, which offer you want to take?
Choosing between two good job opportunities meaning choosing between two different career paths. This is not an easy task, since making the wrong decision could mean having life slipping through your fingers.
Okay, a little bit of exaggeration perhaps, after all, people are making career switches all the time anyway, but still, you need to think carefully before making any life-changing decision.
So, how do you choose and decide between the two job offers?
1. Assess Your Competencies
Competencies, in general, mean the ability to do something successfully or efficiently, that you gain and develop over time through various training/ formal education.
Thus, before deciding which job suits you best, it’s imperative that you know your competencies. Assess/evaluate yourself, including knowing your interests, aptitudes, skills, and knowledge, as well as your personality/behavioral traits.
Then look carefully at the job descriptions and try to match the requirements with the competencies you have. Are you and the job a good match? Well, the recruiter thinks that you are, and that’s why you got the offer in the first place.
Now you need to look at yourself to find the answer. Look back on why you applied in the first place, what makes you think the job will suit you and that you have what it takes to do the job. But now that you have another option, you need to dig deeper.
2. Consider Your Personalities and Personal Value
There’s a reason why you applied for the positions in the first place, but what attracts you to an opportunity will be different from what keeps you engaged. Therefore, when you have two options to choose from, focus on opportunities that align with your personal core values.
For example, after I became a mother, I don’t want to work for a company that produces cigarettes or alcohol. The thing is, I came from a developing country where the government doesn’t have strict regulations regarding the sales of those products, and as the consequence, underage children could buy them freely.
So, my refusal is a way for me to not contribute to the already horrible situation. For some others, their refusal to work for a company that produces alcohol comes from growing up with an alcoholic father, for example. Other people might have other personal core values that guide their behaviors, decisions, and actions.
Take the time to reflect on your personal values and take them into consideration before you make any decision. If your personal core values align with the company values, you will have a sense of fulfillment in doing your job, which will be beneficial for you in the long term.
3. Know Your Priorities
When deciding between job offers, knowing your priorities should be in your top 3 criteria. What are your priorities in terms of what is most important for you, job satisfaction or financial success?
Would you rather have a low take-home pay but be happy with your job, since it’s always been your passion, or because you know you will make a difference somehow in other people’s lives in a good way? Or would you prefer to have a big salary, plenty of incentives and supporting facilities, and wouldn’t mind the stress from the fast-pacing environment and endless deadlines?
Priorities can shift over time too. For example, when I was single, I completely enjoyed my job, even though I had to work like crazy. I had one that required me to travel a lot, another one that required me to work until late almost every night, and the other one where I needed to work on the weekends.
But now, after I got married and have a daughter, I wouldn’t even consider a job with a normal 9 to 5 regular office hours, let alone a job that requires me to travel often, work until late every day, or work on the weekends.
Now, I only want to do a part-time job where I need to work only a couple of hours per day when my daughter is at school or a freelance job where I can have flexible working hours.
In conclusion, any career path that you pick is not going to be a life sentence. You are free to start somewhere and adjust as you go, based on the changes in your life priority. But for now, decide what your top priorities are and figure out which of the two offers is more suitable for you.
4. Determine Your Goals
To be able to answer the question regarding how you decide which job is right for you, first you need to determine your goals. What are your short terms and long terms goals?
One of the main reasons people change jobs is to advance their careers. Thus, long-term ambitions should serve as your end goal, and whichever choice you make now, should move you further toward that end goal.
Then you need to research the company culture and financial stability in the long run. Where the company will be in five years? Does the company’s product or services have a good and continual economic performance?
In the pandemic era, we have to put that into consideration, more than before. Does the company or the industry get severely impacted by the pandemic? Because if it is, they will need a couple of years to recover.
If you join them now or even in the next couple of years when things are looking better, there is still uncertainty. So, you need to decide whether it’s going to be a risk worth taking or not.
5. Do Your Research
Get information on both companies as much as you can. See if there’s something, either positive or negative, that could help you make any decision. The more information you collect, the closer you are to making the best decision.
Another way to do research is by talking to current or former employees. Try to get some information about how is a typical day in the office looks like.
What is the workplace culture? how is the dynamic inside the team? do ideas being listened to and appreciated? does taking initiative encouraged or frowned upon?
In other words, try to get the “feel” of the environment. Your interviewer might only be informing you about your salary and incentive packages, and there’s a chance that what he/she told you about the work environment might be a bit biased.
Therefore, an employee or a former employee might be more straightforward and honest with their opinion. If you talk to a former employee, ask the person if he or she doesn’t mind sharing what makes them quit their job there.
Who knows, perhaps they are willing to answer and the answer is something significantly related to the job or your priorities and personal values, which then could affect your decision.
If that’s not possible, at least take time to seek out information such as the company’s performance and reputation within its industry and among employers so that you can get an idea of what working at that company could be like.
6. Look at What Both Industries Have to Offer
Think about both of the company’s industries in the long run. How competitive and sustainable each of them is. Since you have the advantage of having double offers, think about your own growth.
When we talk about growth in our career, we are not just talking about promotional opportunities, but also our personal growth as a professionals in our fields. To keep on growing, we need to challenge ourselves and get out of our comfort zone.
We also need to take risks, calculated ones, of course. So, look at both of your options and decide which one is more challenging for you, as choosing the obvious and comfortable path is sometimes not always the best option.
7. Evaluate Each Offer Meticulously
Make a side-by-side comparison for each job. Make a list of the top five or ten attributes that are most important to you such as salary, bonus, working hours, office location, growth opportunities, health insurance, number of paid holidays, company reputation and values, and so on.
Weigh them in by giving them scores or categories such as “must-have” or “it will be nice to have”. Which company wins when it comes to its offering package? Do these material values mean more than your other consideration mentioned in points 1-6 above? Will it only be another thing to consider or totally a game-changer?
But if you want to make a decision unbiased by the salary and the financial package, ignore them and focus on what excites you the most about the two offers instead.
8. Consider Where You Could Negotiate
Now, take a look at your “it will be nice to have” list, and consider which items you will be okay not having and which ones you want to be on your “must-have list”, then try to negotiate it with the companies.
For example, if you have a young family or other responsibilities, then the ability to work from home or work with flexible hours will be something worth trying to negotiate.
It’s worth trying because you’ll never know, perhaps they will grant your request since the pandemic force many people to work from home anyway, or maybe they may offer facilities like childcare that could solve your issues.
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9. Trust Your Gut
The interview process offers you a chance to gain an understanding of how the company operates and often indicates how you’ll be treated on the job.
Pay attention to the red flags during the interview. Did you get any impression or sign that it’s a potentially toxic work environment?
What do you think about the interviewer? Were you comfortable talking to the person? Did you like him or her? Think about your experience through the hiring process. The procedures used when hiring a new employee can give you an idea of how an organization operates.
Did you get a glimpse of the people working there? Do they look calm and happy or look stressed out? Pay attention also to the time, especially if you come for your interview close to lunch hours or close to the end of the day. Are they still busy working?
Put these things into consideration. Don’t push aside important factors like your potential future boss and your work-life balance in favor of a big financial package.
Over To You…
Choosing between anything is not easy, let alone choosing between two job offers that will affect you and your career in the long run. Therefore, before making any decision, you’ll need to assess your competencies, personality, and personal values, know your priorities, and determine your goals.
You also need to do your homework by doing intensive research on the companies and their industries in general, to see what they have to offer. Then evaluate each offer meticulously and negotiate well.
In the end, you need to trust your instinct, because the one thing that can’t be negotiated is the company culture and your co-workers.
Your boss and your team will have the most impact on your success and your well-being. Therefore, you need to put your sanity and happiness as your primary focus, because no amount of money and incentives could buy you your happiness and satisfaction.
Have you been in a situation where you have to choose between two job offers? What was your consideration in choosing one over the other? Did you agree with what I wrote above? Do you have something to add? What is your main consideration when looking for a job? Leave your comment down below
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