Practice choosing between three job offers, and evaluating them based on the criteria that are most important to you. You will work through all sections of the document , filling in your responses in

Practice choosing between three job offers, and evaluating them based on the criteria that are most important to you. You will work through all sections of the document , filling in your responses in 1

NGPF Activity Bank

Career #3

COMPARE: Choosing Between Job Offers

To find a job, you’ll probably need to apply to many different companies all at once. Sometimes, you’ll receive multiple offers in a short period of time and you’ll have to make a decision.

Every opportunity is different. Some companies may offer a lot of money, but be no fun to work at. Others might have an excellent culture, but the work isn’t truly what you want to do. When making this decision, it’s important to consider a wide range of factors that will impact whether a job is right for you.

Part I: Review your job offers

You are a recent college graduate who is looking for work. Below are the descriptions of three different jobs that you have been offered. Read each job description fully and keep in mind which factors appeal the most to you and which appeal the least to you.

Factor	Job A	Job B	Job C
Compensation Salary	$80,000/year	$40,000/year	$60,000/year salary
Compensation Bonus	Up to $20,000 bonus at the end of the year based on your performance	Profit sharing -- employees split 2% of any profit the company makes If company makes $1M in profit, you get an additional $20,000	Up to $5,000 bonus at the end of the year based on your performance
Compensation Health insurance	Included	Included	Included
Compensation 401(k)	50% match up to 5% of salary	None	100% match up to 5% of salary
Compensation Vacation	10 paid days/year Earn 1 extra day each year of employment Max days 20	Unlimited vacation as long as you’re performing well	10 paid days/year Earn 2 extra days each year of employment Max days 20
Compensation Other	Discounted employee cafeteria Onsite daycare	Work from home up to 3 days/week Free lunch daily	Commuter pass for public transit
Responsibilities	You will learn a few new skills, but for the most part your work will be concentrated on performing those few specific skills repeatedly each day Many describe your work as generally “boring”	This company is small, so you will be getting the chance to lead efforts in a few areas You must learn and adapt quickly You will be taking on many new responsibilities and setting a vision for the company	You’ll be placed on a small, established team Generally, you’ll be performing similar skills to what you practiced in college but you’ve been told you’ll have the opportunity to try new skills after a few months
Opportunity for Career Advancement	Fortune 500 company with established veteran management Will take at least 10 years to reach management level Many people leave after a 2-3 years to pursue opportunities elsewhere	It is a tiny start-up company, so career advancement possibilities are high… if the company stays in business If the company grows, you will move up quickly	The company prefers to promote from within, but because of it’s small size, that can take time. Most people at the company have been there at least 5 years Has a strong reputation for promoting the most talented employees, not the ones who have been there longest
Location	Downtown. 15 minutes via bus/train 30 minutes driving (heavy traffic) Parking included	Slightly outside downtown 30 minutes driving 40 minutes via bus/train (must switch once) Parking NOT included	Across town 45 minutes driving 50 minutes bus/train (must switch once) Parking included
Workplace Culture	Company is well-known for being incredibly successful, but also very demanding of it’s employees Average workday is 8 hrs/day in-office and 1-2 hrs at home Some weekend work Employees must drop everything to complete a task if management asks	Company prioritizes employee happiness Most people work 10+ hrs/day, in-office but often with breaks for games of pool or foosball Company organizes bi-weekly social events	Employees are treated with respect, but people generally keep work separate from their personal lives Older management and younger employees tend to socialize separately Average workday is 8 hrs/day with few night or weekend expectations

Upon initial review, which job appeals to you most? Why?

What, if anything, worries you about that specific job offer that otherwise appeals most?

Part II: Analyze the jobs

Let’s compare the offers in a more quantitative fashion. Follow the directions below to determine how important each factor is and how well each job ranks in that factor for you. Based on that, you can “score” each job and identify which one is the best fit for you. You’ll be recording each of your weights and codes in the 3 tables below.

Weigh each factor on a scale of 1 to 5 based on how important it is to you, personally, and give it a weight number in the weight column.
1. 5 means the factor is very important to you
2. 4 means the factor is above average importance to you
3. 3 means the factor is of average importance to you
4. 2 means the factor is of below average in importance to you
5. 1 means the factor is of little importance to you

Now, review each job offer carefully and use a code to show whether each job is positive (+), neutral (0), or negative (-) with regard to each factor. Base your judgments on the information you have obtained from your research.
1. + I feel excellent about what this company is offering; it makes me want to work there
2. 0 I feel neutral about what this company is offering; it doesn’t affect whether I’d work there
3. -- I feel unhappy about what this company is offering; it makes me less likely to work there

Multiply the weight by the code (W x C), and enter the product as the Score. For example: (4 x +) = 4, (3 x 0) = 0 and (2 x -) = -2.

Add the Scores to find the TOTAL for that job offer.

Copy the TOTAL for each job into the Final Score table to quantitatively compare each job offer.

Job A

Factor	Weight	Code	Score
Compensation
Job Responsibilities
Opportunity for Career Advancement
Location
Culture
TOTAL

Job B

Factor	Weight	Code	Score
Compensation
Job Responsibilities
Opportunity for Career Advancement
Location
Culture
TOTAL

Job C

Factor	Weight	Code	Score
Compensation
Job Responsibilities
Opportunity for Career Advancement
Location
Culture
TOTAL

Final Score

Job A	Job B	Job C

Now that you’ve turned each job offer into a “score,” does your “winning job offer” match the job that appealed to you most in question 1? Explain why you think it does/does not match.

What other information, not currently provided, would you want to know about each job offer before making a final decision?

Compare results on which job you’d ultimately choose with others in your class. Do they match? Why or why not?