How to Evaluate and Leverage Competing Job Offers

When you’re job searching, the best-case scenario is being offered multiple jobs and having the luxury of picking which one is the best for you. Not only that, but when you have competing job offers, you also can use them to your advantage during negotiations with each company. The only downside to this situation is that it might be genuinely hard to choose which job to accept when it comes down to decision time. 

With any job offer, you always have a little bit of power in what you’re willing to accept to take the job. However, when you have competing offers, you hold a lot more power because there’s a safety net in place if things don’t go your way. It can help boost your confidence in asking for what you want/need during the negotiation stage, and it makes it easier to walk away from an opportunity if it’s not the best fit. 

Still, while increased confidence is absolutely a good thing, it’s essential to handle a situation like this professionally and strategically. You need to make sure you’re being assertive but not cocky, that you are respectful of each company’s time, and that you walk away on good terms with the company you decline an offer from. 

So, if you’re lucky enough to find yourself in a competing job offer situation, here’s what to do to get the best possible result. 

Initial Evaluation

Regardless of whether you have one offer or five, never accept it right away. Instead, express gratitude and enthusiasm and ask for some time to review the offer. You’ll have time to really evaluate what you’re being offered and come back to negotiate, which is going to be especially important if you’re juggling multiple offers at once. 

When analyzing your offers, remember there is always much more to consider than just the salary. You should already have an idea of what salary range you’re willing to accept as well as your list of must-haves and nice-to-haves in a job. You will want to evaluate both of your job offers with this same approach in mind, but you’ll also need to make some comparisons in the process. 

Some key points you may want to look at include:

• Compensation (including bonus plans)
• Insurance plans and premiums
• PTO, including vacation days, sick days, and holidays
• Retirement plans
• Stock options
• Work schedule, location, and flexibility 
• Extra perks (onsite childcare, work from home benefits) 

It might help to make a comparison chart so that you can look at everything side by side to get a clear picture of what each job is offering. Here’s an example of what that might look like:

After making your comparison chart, it may be obvious which job is the better option. However, there are often clear pros and cons to each, but they sort of level out, such as in the chart above. In this case, you’ll want to move to the next stage in the process: leveraging the offers and negotiating.

📖Read more: Discover how to evaluate a job offer confidently to accept the best offer. 

Leveraging The Two Offers

You must be transparent with both potential employers from the start and let them know that you have another offer on the table. Even though you have a slight advantage, you still need to be respectful. Additionally, be mindful of everyone’s time and don’t drag out the process to try to squeeze as much as you can from each employer. It isn’t a good look and could cause them to rescind the offer. 

You’ll also want to come to the conversation with a firm counteroffer already in mind. You can use your comparison chart as a guide to help you come up with appropriate numbers, and if you get a lot of pushback, you can use your competing offer as evidence that your requests align with industry standards. 

Using the previous comparison chart, here’s what a counteroffer might look like:

As with any job negotiation, remember to ask for more than you’re willing to accept since the company will likely counter your offer. Additionally, in this specific situation, be reasonable in what you’re asking for based on the competing offer because some things, like insurance premiums or stock options, are not easily changed. 

Decision Time

Once you’re happy with your final offers, make a definitive comparison chart to see which makes more sense financially. However, don’t stop there. You’ll also want to look at non-economic factors that matter to you for each job. Some things to compare include:

• Direct supervisor (personality, management style, etc.)
• Growth opportunities within the organization (are there clear paths?)
• Employee review schedules (is there a plan in place?)
• Workplace culture
• Job challenges (both positive and negative challenges)
• Day to day responsibility
• The company’s overall mission and values
• Your interview experience (how did they treat you throughout?)

Ideally, your comparison charts will clarify which offer is better suited for you and what you need at this point in your career. Once you’ve made your decision, inform the company you’ve decided to go with first so that you can get a new offer in hand before declining the other offer.

Throughout this process, it’s essential to demonstrate professionalism and respect for both companies because you don’t want to burn any bridges along the way. Even after you decline one of the offers, make an effort to stay in touch with the people you spoke to at that company because if a new opportunity comes up that you’d be a good fit for, you want them to think of you.

Always Advocate For Yourself

As exciting as having two competing offers simultaneously, it can also feel somewhat overwhelming to negotiate the offers while also constantly comparing them simultaneously. It’s a chance for you to get what you deserve, so go for it! It’s a stressful situation, but try to focus on the fact that you’re in a position where you get to advocate for yourself genuinely, and you’ll most likely come out on top. 

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