Offer comparison scorecard: weigh two job offers fairly

A weighted scorecard for comparing job offers

Salary is only one part of an offer. This scorecard follows the method in Colorado State University's Career Management Center exercise: pick what matters, weight it, score each offer, and add it up. Fill it in with your own numbers. It helps you think. It does not make the decision for you.

Step 1: Choose your factors

Colorado State suggests choosing the factors most likely to influence your decision. You do not need all of them. Its list:

- Compensation and benefits: salary, bonuses, health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off

- Work-life fit: hours, flexibility, remote or hybrid, workload, travel

- Location and lifestyle: location, commute, cost of living, closeness to family or friends

- Growth and learning: advancement, training, mentorship, development

- Culture and values: company culture, manager and team fit, values

- Role and work: daily responsibilities, meaningful work, autonomy

- Stability and reputation: job security, company stability, industry outlook

Pick five to seven.

Step 2: Weight them so they add to 100

Give the most important factor the most points. Colorado State's example: if salary is weighted at 50%, and you rate an offer 90 for salary, that factor contributes 45 (90 times 0.50).

Factor 1: ______ weight ___ > Factor 2: ______ weight ___ > Factor 3: ______ weight ___ > Factor 4: ______ weight ___ > Factor 5: ______ weight ___ > Total: 100

Step 3: Score each offer from 0 to 100

100 is an excellent fit and 0 is a very poor fit. Score each offer on each factor. Use real details, not a feeling about the logo.

Offer A: factor 1 ___ , factor 2 ___ , factor 3 ___ , factor 4 ___ , factor 5 ___ > Offer B: factor 1 ___ , factor 2 ___ , factor 3 ___ , factor 4 ___ , factor 5 ___

Step 4: Multiply and add

Multiply each score by its weight, then add them for each offer. You get a total out of 100. A higher score suggests that the offer lines up more closely with the priorities you named.

Look at the whole pay package first

Before scoring compensation, check what is really in the offer. Washington University in St. Louis says benefits such as life insurance, health plans, vacation, retirement and holidays typically add another 20 to 40 percent to many salaries. Questions it suggests asking:

- Health insurance: What are the monthly premiums and deductibles, and what coverage choices exist?

- Retirement plan: How much does the employer contribute, and how many years until you are fully vested?

- Time away: How many vacation, sick and personal days?

- Reviews and growth: How often are performance and salary reviews, and how is performance measured?

- Professional development: Training, conferences, tuition reimbursement?

- Signing bonus: Is it tied to accepting by a certain date?

- Relocation: What is reimbursed?

USC's career center adds: do not accept or decline based on salary alone, bonuses should not tempt you into a job you are unsure about, and if equity is offered, evaluate it and consider negotiating. It also suggests making a budget to check you can afford the role, including startup costs like work clothes.

Step 5: Do the gut check

Colorado State says the offer with the highest score is not automatically the one to accept. Notice your reaction. Are you excited that one offer won? Disappointed that another lost? That reaction can tell you something about what you value that did not make it into the table. If so, go back and adjust your weights, then check what changed.

Before you decide

- Get unanswered questions answered, in writing if you can.

- Read the full offer and benefits documents.

- Talk with someone you trust, or a career counselor.

- Ask for time. A short extension is a normal request.

- If one offer is almost right, you may be able to negotiate. Be careful about using one offer only as leverage to get another.

Never job hunt alone.