How to choose between two job offers

List every factor that matters to you

Before you score anything, write down every dimension you care about. Do not filter yet. Common factors include base salary, bonus structure, equity, benefits, remote flexibility, commute time, career growth, manager quality, team culture, job security, and work-life balance. Personal factors matter too: does one role require relocation, a visa transfer, or a schedule that conflicts with family commitments?

Aim for eight to twelve factors. Fewer than eight and you are probably missing something. More than twelve and the scores become noise.

• Compensation: base, bonus target, equity vesting schedule, pension or 401(k) match
• Benefits: health cover, parental leave, learning budget, equipment allowance
• Flexibility: remote days per week, core hours, time-zone requirements
• Growth: promotion timeline, mentorship, access to senior leadership
• Stability: company funding stage, revenue, recent layoffs
• Personal fit: commute, relocation, visa sponsorship continuity

Assign a weight to each factor

Give each factor a weight from 1 to 5, where 5 means you would turn down an otherwise strong offer if this factor were bad. Your weights should add up to whatever they add up to; you will divide later, so the total does not need to be a round number.

A common mistake is giving everything a 4 or 5 because everything feels important in the moment. Force yourself to have at least two factors at 1 or 2. If salary is a 5, then something else has to be a 2. This constraint reveals your real priorities.

Write your weights before you score either offer. If you score first, you will unconsciously adjust weights to justify the offer you already prefer.

Score each offer on every factor

Score each offer from 1 to 10 on each factor, where 10 is the best you could realistically expect in the market right now. Use concrete anchors. For salary, 10 might mean at or above the 75th percentile for your role and location. For remote flexibility, 10 might mean fully remote with no core-hours requirement.

Multiply each score by its weight. Sum the weighted scores for each offer. The higher total wins on paper. Here is a short example with three factors:

1. Salary (weight 5): Offer A scores 8, Offer B scores 6. Weighted: A = 40, B = 30.
2. Remote flexibility (weight 4): Offer A scores 5, Offer B scores 9. Weighted: A = 20, B = 36.
3. Growth (weight 3): Offer A scores 7, Offer B scores 8. Weighted: A = 21, B = 24.
4. Totals: Offer A = 81, Offer B = 90. Offer B wins despite the lower salary.

Check the numbers against your gut

Look at the winning offer. If you feel relieved, the framework confirmed what you already knew. If you feel disappointed, that reaction is data. It means you weighted something incorrectly or left a factor off the list entirely.

Do not override the framework lightly, but do not ignore a strong emotional signal either. Go back and ask which factor is driving the disappointment. Maybe you underweighted manager quality because it felt soft, but you have had a bad manager before and it cost you a year of progress. Adjust the weight, re-run the numbers, and see if the result changes.

If the scores are within five percent of each other, the offers are effectively tied on your stated values. At that point, small practical factors can break the tie: which company responded faster, which recruiter was more straightforward, which team did you enjoy talking to more during interviews.

Negotiate before you decide

A weighted score is not a final answer until you have tested whether the weaker offer can close the gap. If Offer A loses mainly on remote flexibility, ask whether the policy is firm or negotiable. Many companies in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia have informal flexibility that never appears in the written offer.

Be specific when you negotiate. 'I have a competing offer and I would like to discuss remote flexibility' is more effective than a vague request. You do not need to name the other company. Give the employer two to three business days to respond, then make your decision.

Do not use negotiation as a stalling tactic. Recruiters notice when a candidate keeps asking for extensions without moving toward a decision, and it can sour the relationship before you even start.

Decline the other offer professionally

Once you have decided, decline the other offer within 24 hours. Recruiters and hiring managers remember candidates who handle this well. Keep the message short, warm, and final.

A workable template: 'Thank you for the offer and for the time your team invested in the process. After careful consideration I have decided to accept another opportunity that is a closer fit for my goals at this stage. I hope our paths cross again.' Do not over-explain, do not mention the other company by name, and do not leave the door open unless you genuinely mean it.

What if you only have one offer and are waiting on another

Ask the company with the offer in hand for a decision deadline extension. Most employers will give you five to ten business days if you ask politely and explain that you are in process elsewhere. In the US and Canada, two weeks is a common and accepted window. In the UK and Australia, one to two weeks is typical.

Contact the other employer the same day. Tell them you have an offer and ask whether they can accelerate their timeline. Some will, some will not, but asking is always appropriate. If the second company cannot move fast enough, you will need to decide with the information you have rather than the information you wish you had.