What to do when you receive multiple job offers

Getting multiple job offers seem like the best problem to have. In this tough job market, job offers are often hard to come by so receiving even just one is a cause for celebration, what more if you've multiple offers? It may sound great but it isstilla problem as juggling more than one job offer can be a bit tricky.

You need to consider several factors before you make your final decision. For each job offer that comes your way, you have to look at the pros and cons in order to help you choose the right company to work for. Lucky for you, this article will help your decision process much easier.

Be upfront about it

The first thing to do when you get the good news is to come clean about it. Dishonesty during the job hunting process is not only unethical but is also dangerous you run the risk of having these competing companies know what's really going on behind the scenes and the outcome may not go in your favor.

Be aware that it's fairly easy for recruiters to get in touch with each other (especially in the same industry) and exchange stories. The safest thing to do is to let the companies who gave you the job offers know that you are in the running for more than one position and that you are studying your options.

Do your research (again)

We always advice job seekers to do research on companies before applying and this time our advice is the same, so go back to square one and study each company once again. Check out their websites and social media accounts"”what kind of impression do they leave on you? Likewise, read up on industry news to gain more insights into your research.

You have more information now in this part of the job hunting process so use it to your advantage. You now have gone through the job interview so pay close attention to the things that you've learned during the interview:What can you say about each company's workplace? How about the people working there, can you see yourself getting along with them?

Finally, seek out the advice of your personal and professional networks if they have information about the companies who offered you the jobs. Ask the right questions"”things like staff turnover, industry reputation and company regulations are important things to discuss with them.

Weigh the pros and cons

After gathering the important details, it's time to lay things out and analyze them one by one. For this part of the process, a chart may prove to be useful to help you compare each factor efficiently.

To do this, create two (or more, it depends on the number of offers you've received) columns which you will allot for each company. On the left side, list down the qualities that you will be judging each company offer on. Here are the qualities and possible questions to watch out for:

Salary:Company A may be offering you 3x more than Company B, but it comes without benefit packages, whereas Company B's offering may be lower but comes tied up with medical insurance, dental plan and food allowance. Which salary package would you prefer?

Location:Both job offers require you to relocate to another part of the country"”based on your lifestyle or family's situation, which offer is better?(Cost of living allowance may be different between locales. Also, if you have a family, consider how they will become affected if you choose to relocate.)

Schedule/Work Hours:How many hours are you expected to work in a day? How many days in a week? Supposing one of the companies requires you to work from Monday to Saturday but offers you the chance to do telecommuting, would that be fine with you? What are the companies' sick and vacation leave policies"”how many do they offer and are they convertible to cash if left unused? If you are a woman and are planning on getting pregnant in the future, what conditions are in place regarding maternity leave?

Career Advancement:What professional development and continuing education opportunities are there within and outside of the company?Are there opportunities for growth in the company? What are your plans for the future? Which job offer would take you to where you want to be?

Do take note that these are just some of the areas that you should look into when deciding between offers. You can add more to your list to help you during the decision process. The key here is to think of the things that are most important to you.

Let them know about your decision

Once you've come to a decision, inform each party of your choice as soon as you can. Remember, hiring managers are often working on a tight schedule so your quick response will be very much appreciated. As with all matters during the job hunting process (and in life, to a large extent), be polite to the people you come in contact with. Show your graciousness for both companies and thank them for this opportunity"”yes, even with the company whose offer you've turned down. Remember: never burn bridges! Leave a positive impression even if you didn't accept their offer.

About JobStreet.com

JobStreet.com is a leading online job board presently covering the employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. JobStreet.com currently services over 230,000 corporate hirers and over 15 million jobseekers in its database.

About SEEK Asia

JobStreet.com and jobsDB are part of SEEK Asia, which is the leading online employment market place in Asia. SEEK Asia covers 7 countries namely Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

SEEK Asia is the extension of the Australian Securities Exchange listed company called SEEK. The company's purpose is to help improve people's lives through a better career. SEEK Asia's database consist of over 500,000 corporate hirers and over 24 million candidates.

For more information about this article, or to schedule an interview with JobStreet.com Philippines, please call Mark Nichol Turija, Content Marketing Specialist, at 286-6222.