If you’re wondering how to decide between two job offers, then your hard work has paid off: you’ve been through multiple rounds of interviews, and wowed the judges.

But now you’ve actually got the job offers on the table, you’ve got a decision to make. And it can feel like a big one.

But to help you decide between the two job offers (or more if you’re really in demand), then we’ve put together a few steps that we give to the candidates we work with, to help them decide.

Write a Pros and Cons List

This is a classic, and for good reason. Putting pen to paper can help visualise the difference between the two roles. Just a few of the things for you to consider are:

• Does the company culture and values align with your own?
• Which has the better opportunities for progression?
• Which job will offer you support with the training you desire?
• What industries and markets will you get to work in?
• Does one job have a better location than the other? Will you have a shorter commute?
• What do they offer around hybrid/ remote/ flexible working?
• Does one job have a better list of employee benefits or perks?
• Which job has a higher salary when you take into account bonuses and commission etc?

What really matters to you in your next role is subjective. To some, hybrid and remote working is more important than anything else. But to others, it’s all about the money! So when you write a pros and cons list, it’s important to give them weight of how important they are.

Consider Which Job is Best For Your Long-Term Career

When you’re deciding between two job offers, it’s crucial to consider your long-term career goals, and which position will best support these goals.

Because while one job may look better in the here and now, with a better salary and a higher holiday entitlement, it may not be the best long-term choice.

If you’re just starting out in your digital marketing career, it becomes even more important to choose a role that will offer you the training and development you need. Meanwhile if you’re already established in your career, training and development is still important: But opportunities for upwards or sideways progression can be a greater priority.

Meanwhile, some companies and digital agencies use a high salary to replace any opportunities for training, development, or progression. Which brings us to our next point…

It’s Not All About the Money

When you have two job offers on the table, it can be easy to default to the job offer that pays you more. Because obviously, being paid more is always nice.

But what can be more important, is a position that offers the opportunities to progress within the company. Or will offer the support to learn the skills and gain the experience you need to progress in your career. Because these will help you to earn higher salaries sooner in your career, and more overall.

And don’t forget, a salary offer is always negotiable.

And don’t be fooled by a dream salary! In digital marketing, the majority of salaries are fairly standard. And if a company is offering a significantly higher salary for a similar role, it can indicate that the role is lacking in other areas: no opportunities for progression, high workloads, long working hours, and high employee turnover to name a few.

Of course, a higher salary could just show how much the company wants you on their team. But it’s always worth doing your research, asking the right questions, or looking on glassdoor to see what employees have said about working there.

Remember Why You Started Looking for a New Job in the First Place

When you started your job search, there may have been a few core, or one main reason, that pushed you to look for a new job: 

Maybe it was a toxic company culture, and you weren’t enjoying your work anymore. Or perhaps you hadn’t received a pay rise in years.

Whatever the reason, when you’re stuck on your decision, look back at why you decided to search for your new job in the first place. This can help remind yourself what’s really important for you in your next role.

Is the Company Culture the Right One for You?

One of the most important things about your new job, is actually enjoying it. If you don’t enjoy going to work every day, then you’re going to pretty quickly be in the same position you are now: Searching for a new job.

And crucial to enjoying your work, is the company culture. Is the company culture of the business one where you will thrive? Something that will

• Some businesses offer a lot of autonomy to their employees: But maybe you want somewhere that will offer you support, and where you’ll get to work as part of a team.
• Or maybe you’re offered a remote role, but you want somewhere with a really social atmosphere, where you’ll go for drinks after work with the team every Friday.
•  Or perhaps the business prides itself on being a work-hard, play-hard atmosphere for high achievers, and you’re looking for somewhere a little more relaxed?

None of these different company cultures are better than the other, but they can make a huge difference to your individual situation and needs.

Don’t Be Afraid to Request Another Meeting

Sometimes you don’t have enough information to choose between jobs. You might have questions that need answering. Or maybe it’s time to negotiate with the hiring manager, to establish what you need from them for you to accept their offer. At that time, there’s absolutely no reason to not reach out and ask for another meeting to learn more about the position. 

After all, if they’re making the job offer, they want you to take the job. So if they need to do a little convincing, then that’s their job too.

If you are entertaining another job offer, it can be worth your time to be upfront with the hiring manager about that. Of course this doesn’t come without risks: The hiring manager may think that you’re playing the two job offers against each other to score yourself a better offer from one of them… Or they could pull your offer if they think you aren’t likely to accept, so they can offer it to a different candidate before they lose that opportunity!

Talk it Through with Your Recruiter

If you’re lucky enough to be working with one of our talented recruiters here at Herd Digital, they can help you decide which job to take. Because it’s a recruitment consultant’s job to be experts in their industries and markets.

A Recruitment Consultant can give insight about a specific company or role, and can often give you advice on career goals and the steps you need to take to reach those goals.

If you’re working with a recruiter, then they will obviously have a financial interest in you choosing their job. But if you’re working with a good recruiter, then they’ll be more interested in helping you choose a job that is the best for you.

Here at Herd we’re more focused on offering a quality service and building long-term relationships with our candidates. Offering a service they would recommend to colleagues, and would use again in the future.

Meanwhile, persuading you to take a job where you wouldn’t be happy, would only result in you accepting a role where you may end up leaving, damaging the recruiters relationship with the client, costing them both money, and damaging the recruiters reputation.

Here at Herd we’re passionate about helping people like yourself find jobs that they love. If you’re looking for your next digital marketing job, we would love to help. Reach out today, and see how we can support you.