Managing multiple offers is a nice problem to have, but don’t rush it! You don’t want to make any hasty decisions that you might regret later.
First things first find out exactly how long you have to make up your mind. Whereas those large multi-national company’s may allow a couple of weeks for a decision, smaller companies normally need to know within a couple of days.
In making the final decision don’t forget to:
- Gather as much information as possible about the job offers, the role and each company
- Keep all parties involved up to date (company’s and recruitment agencies if appropriate) with what’s going on during the process
- Reject your other offers as pleasantly as possible to make sure you keep all doors open for any future opportunities.
Positives and negatives
Once method to help in choosing the right job is to draft up a quick list of each offers positives and negatives. Take into consideration everything which may affect your decision including company benefits, basic salaries, opportunities for career progression, the daily commute and even the size of team you’ll be working in daily.
Don’t forget to give those selections which are particularly important to you extra weight. For some, money will be the ‘be all and end all’ and they will be able to work in any type of corporate culture as long as the money is right whereas someone else may believe the everyday working environment to be the most important factor. If you find yourself in the latter then don't choose the position with the increased salary because in this scenario it’s all too common for someone to stay just a short duration before they ‘get out’.
If you’ve considered all the above advice and both offers look very similar on paper, go with your instinct. In the end only you can really know what the best choice is.