In this labor market, it’s not unusual for skilled candidates to juggle multiple job offers at once. A fortunate conundrum, yes — but still a challenge that professionals must learn to navigate.
We share our top tips to help you weigh each job offer, so you can identify the right opportunity for you and keep your professional integrity intact.
Oftentimes, employers or hiring managers verbally extend job offers as a way to gauge the prospective employee’s excitement for the role. Before you can officially make a decision, however, it’s important to get an estimate when the company will be providing an official offer in writing, so you can use it to compare — or negotiate — the terms with competing job offers.
Even if you’re waiting on an expected offer or need time to consider, you should still communicate your enthusiasm for the opportunity in a timely manner. There are several ways to properly handle this without having to immediately accept, such as expressing your appreciation for the opportunity and asking for time to properly review the letter. It’s also in your best interest to ask for a timeline of when they’d like a response by, so you can coordinate evaluating your other opportunities accordingly.
This part can get complicated, as it requires you to fully examine your career aspirations and determine how each opportunity stacks up against those goal posts. You can develop your own system for comparing and contrasting job offers, but assessing the following key factors can be a great starting point: job title, core responsibilities, compensation and benefits, growth/training opportunities, company culture and work/life balance. Use this experience to either negotiate a better offer or to provide some clarity on what ultimately matters most to you in a career opportunity.
No matter where you land in the decision-making process, it’s imperative you respond to all parties within their preferred timeline, and either accept or deny their job offer. Always be appreciative in your message and thank the hiring manager for their time and interest. You never know when another opportunity may arise, so you want to keep your working relationship positive and professional.
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