Quick answer: Compare both offers over the same period, separating base pay from conditional rewards. Then compare employee benefit costs, working hours, commuting expenses, eligibility dates and the work itself. Use written terms, mark missing information as unknown, and check your non-negotiables before choosing. CareerOneStop recommends evaluating an offer against your budget, schedule, commute, working conditions and career goals—not salary alone. (cloudfront.careeronestop.org)
A useful comparison should answer two questions: Can I afford this job, and can I realistically do it under the stated conditions? A higher salary is not enough if the schedule is unworkable. Equally, attractive flexibility should not distract you from an income shortfall.
This guide uses U.S. benefits terminology. The worksheet can be adapted elsewhere, but local employment and benefits rules differ.
1. Gather written terms and set your priorities
Before calculating anything, collect each offer letter, benefits summary and any separate bonus, commission or work-arrangement documents. Check the job title, pay, start date, reporting manager, response deadline and outstanding conditions. Berkeley’s career guidance recommends requesting missing benefits information before deciding. (career.berkeley.edu)
Create a folder for each offer. Record where every important detail came from: “offer letter,” “benefits guide” or “recruiter email.” If two documents conflict, ask which terms apply rather than choosing the more favorable version.
Next, write down three non-negotiables. For example:
- A schedule compatible with classes or caregiving.
- A minimum reliable income.
- A workable location or maximum commute.
Keep preferences separate: extra vacation might be desirable, while a particular finishing time might be essential. Applying the same ranked criteria to both offers is more useful than judging each in isolation. (career.berkeley.edu)
2. Complete a side-by-side offer worksheet
Copy this table into a document or spreadsheet. Enter unknown wherever information is missing; do not treat an unanswered question as a benefit.
| Item to compare | Offer A | Offer B |
|---|---|---|
| Role and reporting manager | ||
| Employment type and expected duration | ||
| Base salary, or hourly rate and confirmed hours | ||
| Pay frequency and first expected payday | ||
| Bonus or commission: formula, conditions and payment dates | ||
| Signing payment and any repayment conditions | ||
| Equity: award type, vesting and access to sale proceeds | ||
| Normal weekly hours, shifts and unpaid breaks | ||
| Evening, weekend, travel or on-call expectations | ||
| Overtime expectations and compensation arrangements | ||
| Work location and required on-site days | ||
| Commute: annual expense and weekly travel time | ||
| Equipment, internet or travel reimbursement | ||
| Health coverage: employee premium and coverage tier | ||
| Health coverage start date and plan documents | ||
| Retirement: eligibility, contribution formula and vesting | ||
| Paid leave: amount, availability and approval process | ||
| Probation or introductory period: duration and written terms | ||
| Training, supervision and review schedule | ||
| Start date, acceptance deadline and outstanding conditions | ||
| Unresolved questions and person responsible for answering |
Treat this as a question list, not a requirement to assign every item a dollar value. A predictable schedule may matter greatly without having a precise price.
3. Separate reliable pay from conditional rewards
Build your first comparison around base pay for the same period. Use a full year for an ongoing role, but also examine the first few months if starting costs or delayed benefits matter.
For an hourly offer, multiply the rate by confirmed paid hours. If hours vary, create separate low-hours and expected-hours scenarios. Do not assume an annual salary equivalent proves that those hours will be available.
Keep additional compensation in separate rows:
- Bonus: Ask about eligibility, performance conditions, discretion, prorating and payment dates.
- Commission: Request the written formula, sales-credit rules and payment timing.
- Signing payment: Check when it is paid and whether repayment conditions apply.
- Equity: Request the award documents. Leave it outside your essential-spending calculation unless you have verified when and how it could become usable money.
These are checks to make against the employer’s actual documents, not assumptions about what either offer contains.
Run a conservative version with conditional rewards set to zero. Then add a clearly labeled scenario using the written formula. This shows whether you would still choose the job without the hoped-for payment.
Do not describe an annual base salary as a promise of a full year’s employment. Keep the pay rate and employment duration as separate questions.
4. Compare usable benefits, hours and work arrangements
For health coverage, request the Summary of Benefits and Coverage, or SBC. HealthCare.gov explains that this standardized document supports comparisons between plans. Ask separately for the employee premium for the coverage tier you need. (healthcare.gov)
Use the documents to check:
- Deductibles and other cost-sharing.
- Out-of-pocket limits.
- Provider networks and prescription coverage.
- Eligibility and the actual coverage start date.
Avoid declaring one plan “better” from its premium alone. Verify your important providers and medicines with the insurer rather than relying on a general recruiting description.
For retirement benefits, distinguish eligibility from vesting. Eligibility concerns when you can participate; vesting concerns ownership of benefits. The IRS explains that your own contributions are fully vested, while employer contributions may follow a separate schedule. Request the plan’s eligibility, contribution and vesting details. (irs.gov)
Then test the schedule against an ordinary week. Ask:
- What time would I leave home and return?
- Are the stated hours typical, or only the minimum schedule?
- Are remote days fixed, manager-approved or subject to change?
- How much notice is given for shifts?
- What changes during the introductory period?
For commuting, estimate fares or driving expenses, parking and tolls using your actual route. Calculate travel time separately. Do not count remote work as cost-free: list any additional equipment, connectivity or workspace expense you would personally incur.
5. Work through a fictional comparison
The following offers and all figures are fictional assumptions, not market rates or employer claims.
Suppose both roles are ongoing salaried positions. For this exercise, assume:
- Offer A pays $64,000, with a stated 40-hour week and five on-site days.
- Offer B pays $60,000, with a stated 37.5-hour week and two on-site days.
- Both have 48 commuting weeks per year after assumed leave and closures.
- A’s commute costs $20 per on-site day and takes one hour round trip.
- B’s commute costs $15 per on-site day and takes 45 minutes round trip.
- Employee health premiums are $200 monthly for A and $100 for B.
- Other costs and benefits are held equal solely to isolate these differences.
| Annual comparison | Offer A | Offer B |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $64,000 | $60,000 |
| Employee health premiums | $2,400 | $1,200 |
| On-site days: days per week × 48 weeks | 240 | 96 |
| Commuting expense | $4,800 | $1,440 |
| Salary less these two expenses | $56,800 | $57,360 |
| Annual commuting time | 240 hours | 72 hours |
The calculations are:
- A: $64,000 − ($200 × 12) − ($20 × 5 × 48) = $56,800
- B: $60,000 − ($100 × 12) − ($15 × 2 × 48) = $57,360
Under these assumptions, B comes out $560 ahead on this limited comparison, despite paying $4,000 less in salary. It also requires 168 fewer commuting hours.
This is not take-home pay or a complete valuation. It excludes taxes, retirement deductions, medical spending, variable rewards and other expenses. It does not establish that the health plans are equivalent.
Now test uncertainty. If B required three on-site days instead of two, its assumed commuting expense would rise to $2,160. Its comparison figure would fall to $56,640—slightly below A. That makes the work-arrangement clarification worth obtaining before deciding.
6. Send focused questions before the deadline
Use your worksheet to ask only what remains unresolved. A concise message could read:
Thank you for the written offer. I am reviewing the details and would appreciate clarification on the points below before I respond:
- What are the normal weekly hours and any evening, weekend or on-call expectations?
- Could you confirm the required on-site days and whether that arrangement is expected to continue?
- Could you send the health-plan SBC, employee premium information and coverage start date?
- What are the retirement eligibility, employer contribution and vesting terms?
- What changes, if anything, during or after the introductory period?
- Could you provide the written bonus conditions and any signing-payment repayment terms?
Please also confirm the acceptance deadline.
Ask the hiring manager about daily working expectations and the recruiter or benefits contact about documents. If clarification changes the offer, request an updated written version.
If necessary, ask for more time before the original deadline and propose a specific response date. An extension is a request, not a certainty. (career.berkeley.edu)
7. Avoid comparison mistakes and make the decision
Watch for these errors:
- Comparing different periods: Keep annual pay, monthly premiums and per-day expenses clearly labeled.
- Spending a target bonus in advance: Keep conditional rewards outside the conservative baseline.
- Double-counting benefits: Do not add the full employer insurance cost as spendable income.
- Ignoring eligibility dates: Record when a benefit becomes available, not just whether it exists.
- Pricing every advantage: Keep time, supervision and role fit visible without inventing dollar values.
- Averaging away a deal-breaker: A high overall score should not conceal an impossible schedule.
For a final check, complete these statements:
- I have compared the same time period and coverage tier.
- I know which payments are base pay and which are conditional.
- I have checked work hours, location and travel expectations.
- I have recorded benefit start dates and introductory-period terms.
- I have tested a less favorable but plausible scenario.
- I have identified any unknown that could change my decision.
- The preferred offer meets my non-negotiables.
Finally, finish this sentence: “I prefer Offer ___ because ___, and I understand I am giving up ___.”
Aim for an informed trade-off—not a spreadsheet that claims to predict everything.