When I got back from vacation this week, I had an Ask Brian question waiting for me that was very specific. It boiled down to: “I have two job offers. Which one should I accept?”
I did my best to help the emailer, but that sort of question is not one I can usually share here on the blog. It was too personal and specific.
But it did get me thinking about the larger issue. How to decide between job offers? I realized that I didn’t have a solid answer to this question.
So, I sent an email out to some of our ResumeWriters.com writers and asked them how they have dealt with this issue over the years. Here are the three best responses I got:
Richard has been with us for years, specializing in legal and academic resumes. His comment was as follows:
More often than not, I’ve found that people in this sort of situation are trying to decide between a job they want, and a job they think they should take. The job they think they should take usually pays better or is the next logical step on the career ladder. But so often, it’s not the job they want to take. I’ve seldom gone wrong advising people to go with their heart. Doing something that makes you happy is worth a lot more than money, I think.
Writer Sarah is a jack-of-all trades who specializes in young professionals as well as sales and accounting resumes:
If a client isn’t sure what job to take, it’s usually because they aren’t sure of their career path. If you have a goal in mind, a solid career plan, then you know which job you should take. Each and every job should be a solid advancement toward your ultimate goal. I ask people to think where they want to be in 20 years. Which job gets them closer to that goal? That’s the one they should take.
Writer Carly has been with us for almost 10 years. She’s a solid pro in the industry and I trust her career counseling advice as much as anyone. Her comment was more philosophical:
I once had a client who had landed his dream job. Absolutely landed it. But it was in LA. And he didn’t want to go there. He knew on a certain level he didn’t want to go there. He was happy where he was. His family was happy where they were. But this was the culmination of his entire career. It was the job he had dreamed of in college. What to do? If he stayed where he was, he was stuck in a sort of limbo in terms of career progress. But he didn’t WANT to go to California. His priorities were different. Even though he had dreamed of this job for 20 years.
He called me one day a couple of weeks after we had finished his resume. He said he had had an actual dream where he was in California, waking up in the morning, going to this so-called dream job. And in the dream, he was miserable. He knew he was chasing a vision of his career that wasn’t important to him anymore. So he declined the LA job. Ever since then, I’ve advised my clients to imagine waking up in the morning and actually getting ready and commuting to one job versus the other. Which imaginary commute makes you miserable and which can you tolerate? That’s the best sort of test, I think.
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8 responses so far ↓
1 Scott // Apr 22, 2008 at 8:00 am
What I would recommend is to make a two column table – one for the plus and one for the negitive of the job(s) and jot down the benefits and disadvantage of each. Which one has the most positives wins. But of course some positives or negitives could weight more than others and should be considered as such.
2 paul // Sep 29, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I am relocating back to where I grew up. I flew the 2000 kms and had 2 job interviews, one with the govt another a private coy. The govt job interview and subsaquent follow up calls all came across as big brother (just do as you’re told etc.Thet initially wanted to drop everything an move interstate within 2 to 3 weeks, If you want the job that’s the start date. The other coy was very supportive and said start when it suits you.
The govt job rang back recently and said they would wait to fit in with my plans.
Thanks to your blog I have realised that one should feel happier working for the company who doesn’t treat you like a number, so I am leaning towards the non gov’t company.I feel confident they will treat me with the respect I deserve as an employee.
3 hmm // May 7, 2009 at 12:30 pm
the thing is that the information we have about a job is very limited when it comes to consider go-dont-go decisions.
the only useful information comes when we actually start the job….then we can make informative and rational decisions.
so how do you go when you have to make a decision go or not?
I usually go with things I can measure:
money/position-level,
location
industry
if I cant measure something then I call it subjective and dont consider since I will only know objectively about it only when I start.
When 2 offers I would only go and compare the above and say which is most and first.
the miserable dream above with a location you cant go….is just one more bullshit and doesnt help anyone, it just makes it worse.
no one has to ever consider an offer to a location they see miserable dreams…unless they apply for their jobs in the first place. unless you really want to move somewhere you dont have to apply. its not a matter of deciding on which job offer, you shouldnt have considered to apply there…and to begin with. you caused such a waste on yours and other peoples time.
4 Mark Jones // Oct 7, 2009 at 9:05 am
Would you take an easy job with higher pay but is a yearly contract and your boss doesnt like you or will you take a challenging job with lower pay, better job security and your boss likes you? I don’t know which to choose.
5 confused // Oct 8, 2009 at 1:02 pm
i have a job offer form a company (company A) that is a direct competitor to my current employer. however, there is more structure, more opportunity, better pay. So, i know i could DO that job…but not sure i love what i do anymore.
I’m hoping for an offer from company B … but need to get back to Company A before I’ll be able to schedule my 2nd interview with company B…
I know that I definitely need to move on from my current company – having been there 5 years, it’s time for a change and a move forward – so regardless, i need to take this opportunity to move on..
but what do i do? ask for an extension from Company A so i can do the 2nd interview with Company B? or just take Company A b/c it’s still a move forward…just not my ideal?? location is similar; salary is similar… Also, Company A, who needs to know in the next couple of days, also wants me to start the following week. however, i need to give my current employer more notice than that… how do i approach that??
i just don’t know what to do…or what is appropriate…
6 Wondering.... what did u do? // Oct 13, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Mark- what did u decide? Condused- don’t go for A. You answered your own question.
7 Worried.. need help // Dec 9, 2009 at 5:54 am
I have been in a job for 4 years, my boss is very stressful but is also generous. I have great friends at work but the work is very fast paced and demanding. I have been offered a position with another fast paced company working with a female boss that I know is very tough and I don’t know what to do. The salary is alot more than I am currently on but I am scared of moving to a job with a tough boss and no friends at work and if I don’t work out – I will have left my job where at least I had friends at work. What should I do? Go for the salary and the challenge? I am very stressed at my current job and also don’t want to go from one very stressful job to an even further stressful one?
8 Multiple Job Offers – Choosing Between Them // Jan 30, 2010 at 9:00 pm
[...] I have much more on this topic of choosing between job offers here. [...]
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