Deciding between two job offers

So you’ve graduated college and are ready to leap into the working world, determined to no longer be a low-income college student anymore. You’ve gone through the process and applied for multiple jobs. You’ve been selected for interviews at multiple companies and went through the screening process. Now, you’ve got a dilemma: two job offers from two different employers. What now?

This can be a stressful decision, as you’ll need to weigh factors for each opportunity and figure out which makes the most sense for your life. It’s not easy to know where to begin with something like this, but it might be most practical and time-saving to start with a side-by-side list. Create a list of everything that each job has going for it: benefits, salary, flexibility, culture, work-life balance, or anything you’ve been able to get a sense of from the interview process.

From there, you’ll want to list out the negatives of each job. Does one opportunity require more hands-on work than the other? Does one feel like it’s less flexible than the other? If there are things that would be red flags to you, list them out! You shouldn’t necessarily make your decision based on how many red flags each job has; instead, weigh these negatives by how important they are to you and how you think they might impact your day-to-day life in the new role.

Now, you’ll want to look at both positives and negatives of each job and start thinking about what the role might look like. It’s important to think long-term because, ideally, this is an organization you’ll be with for as long as possible. When weighing the pros and cons and thinking about the future, try not to get too bogged down by the salary. Sure, one job might offer $5,000 more per year. But how much does that come out in your paycheck after taxes and benefits?

Taking the most money seems like the right thing to do on paper. But in reality, a job is much more than money. Suppose the lower-paying offer seems like a better work environment overall, perhaps better benefits and more flexibility. In that case, that may be the best situation for you in the long run. Money shouldn’t be the deciding factor as long as you can make enough to have a quality of life and pay your bills.

What’s especially important here is that you’ll need to make a decision relatively quickly, so in the end, you must trust your gut. If one job feels like the right move for you, don’t let yourself overthink it. As long as you know that you’ll be getting what you need out of it, it’s more than likely a great fit. No job will ever be perfect, so try not to get too overwhelmed with the decision. If you take a little time to weigh it out and always factor in the things most important to you and your life, you’ll make the best choice.

— Article by Sean Kelly. In addition to being an analyst researching the latest industry trends for College Recruiter, Sean Kelly also co-founded a nonprofit local news publication in Savannah, GA called The Savannahian.