How to decide between two job offers
1. Think long term
One of the main reasons people change jobs is to advance their careers, so when you’re deciding what next career move you want to take, you’ll probably want to keep this underlying factor in mind.
Every decision you make now will impact your future career development and progress, so it’s crucial that your choice is made thoughtfully and responsibly.
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2. Ask yourself what factors prompted you to want to change jobs in the first place.
When considering each job offer, ask yourself if it meets the characteristics and requirements for which you decided to look for a new professional opportunity.
You are likely to experience “push factors” that push you away from your current position, but if the new position offered to you does not successfully address your core concerns
(a larger career path, increased responsibilities, more favorable working conditions, the opportunity of performing other types of functions, greater family reconciliation, a corporate culture more in tune with your professional personality…),
you could end up feeling dissatisfied and questioning whether the change was worth it.
3. Assess the balance you want to achieve now between your personal and professional life
Work-life balance means different things to different people, so you should assess the impact that each of the positions offered to you will have on your own needs and motivations.
For example, if you have family responsibilities, the possibility of working from home, of having flexible hours, that the company has a nursery, that the office is close to your home…
could be crucial factors when taking a final decision. However, there will be other professionals who prefer, at this point in their career and due to their current personal circumstances;
to enjoy other types of benefits more focused on the social life of the company (corporate events, international training trips, etc.).
4. Evaluate which corporate culture is more akin to you
The culture of a company is of vital importance when deciding which offer you should accept, since you have to make sure that you will enjoy your daily work.
What constitutes a good cultural fit will depend largely on each person, so you should look for clues to help you assess which workplace is more akin to you:
ask friends, family or colleagues who know some of the companies what take a look at their corporate channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…);
as well as the comments of employees and former employees on Google Review or Glassdoor to assess how you would feel in this professional environment.
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5. Reflect on the interview processes carried out with each company
During the interview process is where the magic usually happens, as it offers you the perfect opportunity to gain a good understanding of how the company operates on a professional and personal level.
While it’s difficult to build a completely accurate picture of the positions, it should give you a rough idea of what you can expect from each one.
Through the different selection phases you can imagine what it would be like to work in the company, what its corporate culture is like;
what its work environment is like and what type of managers and colleagues you would interact with, information that will significantly help your process making the final decision.
6. Do not be blinded only by the salary
While compensation is obviously an important aspect, it shouldn’t be the only factor that determines whether you accept or reject an offer.
One of the positions could offer you intangible benefits such as further training, increased responsibility or professional visibility, which may interest you more than a high salary at this point in your career.
If you want to make an unbiased decision, ignore the salary package and focus on which of the two job offers you are most excited about.
Think about the functions and positions in which you have most enjoyed your work in the past.
Which of these two job offers would come closest to recreating that context of satisfaction, self-realization and work and personal motivation?
7. Trust your gut
If you asked the right questions during your interview processes and researched both the companies and the specific positions they are offering;
you should be in a good position to make a sound and informed decision about which direction you should take.
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If you asked the right questions during your interview processes and researched both the companies and the specific positions they are offering;
you should be in a good position to make a sound and informed decision about which direction you should take.
However, taking on a new job at a new company will never be without risk, no matter how much thought has gone into this change.
Being risk averse is not a bad quality when looking to change jobs, but at some point, you may have to trust your gut and take that leap of faith!
