How To Decide Which Graduate Job Offer To Accept

Many people say that graduate Jobs are like buses, you wait for what seems to be an eternity to get one, and when you do, you get more and more. It may be the case that as usual you applied for numerous Graduate Vacancies, but this time you have received offers of Graduate Jobs from all of them!

This is usually great for your self esteem and ultimately soon to be for your bank balance. But there is a downside to having more than one offer, you'll need to decide which offer to accept. Surely it's a quick decision, who will pay the most money? Unfortunately it's unlikely to be that straight forward and there may be different pros and cons to each offer.

Firstly, begin with the pay packet, don't just look at who's paying the biggest salary though, take a look at the benefits (if any) that are being offered alongside the wage.

Benefits may include a pension plan, medical, life or disability insurance. These benefits could make a huge difference to your life, especially if you think you may have a long term career within the organisation.

Speaking of the organisation that has made you an offer, how much do you know about them? Are they a stable outfit that is likely to grow and develop as you do in the role? You should consider the description of the role being offered to you by the company, as they may differ, while your doing this, take a look at the amount of prospects available to you in the future. Some companies may well have schemes and Jobs for Graduates initiatives, take time to research this.

The next piece of the job deciding puzzle would be the personal benefits. By this I mean the amount of paid holiday available to you and if you are required to work public holidays, or if you get to stay at home fully paid for them. If you didn't know, a lot of companies offer 20 days paid holiday as a starting point. 23 days or more, with the additional paid public holidays is a very good paid leave entitlement in the current market. You should also check what other discounts or memberships you could receive as an employee, you may be able to get free or discounted gym memberships or even free meals, cinema trips or other social activities.

Finally you should do a few additions. Take a look at the pay packet, consider the hours per week that you will be required to work, the travel time and cost and then the benefits. Depending on your circumstances, it may be in your interests to consider graduate vacancies lower paid offer if it has better chance of progression in the future than a good salary in what could be considered a dead end Graduate Job!