Compare written offers on guaranteed pay, actual costs, work expectations and your nonnegotiable needs. Higher pay can be the right choice even without a larger title. A lower offer can also be preferable if its schedule, duties or benefits fit better. Make the tradeoff explicit instead of treating either salary or career growth as the automatic winner.

Put both offers on the same basis

Item Record for each offer Avoid this comparison error
Base pay Annual salary or hourly rate, paid hours and paid weeks Assuming an hourly role guarantees 40 hours
Variable pay Bonus or commission formula, eligibility and payment dates Treating a target bonus as guaranteed cash
Sign-on or relocation payment Net amount available, timing and repayment terms Counting it in every future year
Equity Vesting, liquidity and conditions Treating an unvested award as rent money
Benefits Employee premiums, coverage start, retirement match and vesting Adding the employer’s advertised package value to take-home pay
Time Expected hours, shifts, on-call duties and commute Comparing salaries without comparing time commitments
Leave Available days, approval rules and waiting period Adding paid leave to annual salary again as extra cash
Employment terms Start date, location, probation, contingencies and required agreements Treating an informal conversation as the final offer

Use the hourly-to-annual comparison if pay formats differ. Keep employee and contractor arrangements separate: a quoted contractor rate is not an employee salary with the same benefits and deductions.

Compare first-year cash and an ordinary later year

Build one comparison including any one-time payments and a second excluding them. For an invented example, Offer A pays $55,000 base plus a $5,000 sign-on payment, while B pays $58,000 base. A has $60,000 stated first-year gross cash if the full sign-on payment is earned; B has the higher ongoing base. Taxes, repayment terms, start dates and benefits still need separate checks.

Use estimated take-home amounts consistently, then subtract the costs that actually differ: commuting, parking, childcare, insurance premiums not already deducted, or required travel. Do not subtract payroll deductions twice. Keep uncertain payments outside the base budget.

The CFPB budgeting toolkit provides income, bill and cash-flow worksheets. If accepting an offer requires moving, use our rental move-in cash-flow calculator for actual deposits and due dates; it does not estimate salary or establish affordability.

Ask about the working week

Ask each manager the same questions: What would I own in the first three months? How is success assessed? How often do people work beyond scheduled hours? Who covers absences? What training and supervision will I receive? How often is office attendance required, and can that policy change?

Record concrete answers and unresolved points. A vague answer is a reason to clarify, not proof of a bad workplace. Speak with potential colleagues when the employer offers that opportunity, while recognizing that a short conversation cannot establish the whole culture.

Time is a separate comparison. An extra 30 minutes each way, five days a week, adds five commuting hours a week. Decide what that time costs you in practice rather than automatically subtracting an invented hourly value from pay.

Make a decision you can explain

First identify requirements that the offer must meet: enough dependable income, workable hours, location, accessibility, needed coverage or acceptable duties. An attractive score elsewhere does not remove a failed requirement. Then rank the remaining differences according to your priorities: income, learning, management, stability or progression.

Before accepting, request missing terms in writing and check the response deadline and any conditions. A promotion pathway is a possibility unless the actual commitment says otherwise. Compare the job available now as well as the potential next step. Use your career-move plan to decide which tradeoffs support your goal.