One of my clients landed two offers, both at brand name global media companies and for similar strategy roles. One offer came with a higher base and unclear bonus potential, while the other had lower cash compensation but a higher bonus target. Which would you choose?
This is a trick question because you don’t know nearly enough about these offers or my client to make an informed decision. Sure, we could say this is about choosing between guaranteed compensation (a higher base) or more upside (the higher bonus). But that’s just one factor of many in a job offer. More importantly, I haven’t told you anything about my client – his financial obligations, risk appetite, other priorities.
The best next career move takes into account multiple factors. Even for something seemingly straightforward like compensation, there is base salary, performance bonus, company bonus, profit-sharing, equity, retirement contribution, growth potential, guarantees, and downside protection like severance. Compensation itself is just one category of factors that can influence a decision – benefits, the nature of the job, boss and colleagues, work environment, and company mission are additional categories, all with many different options available to negotiate for, to influence how much you want the job, to impact your relationship with that company.
Wanting a new job is not specific enough – what do you need to see in an offer to know it’s right for you? Wanting to advance is not specific enough – do you mean a higher title, more money, a bigger team, increased responsibility or something else? Wanting a change is definitely not specific enough – that could mean a new job, a promotion or a different career altogether, even starting a business.
When you are clear about what you need and prioritize those needs, you are better able to find the best fit. For my media client, he ended up getting the high-bonus company to match the higher base of the other offer. He wanted that high-bonus company anyway because of his prospective boss and the scope of responsibility (it’s never just about one factor!). He ended up staying at that company for over five years and got promoted even before the end of his first year. He moved on to take a C-level role elsewhere.
I helped my client get clear about what he wanted and to negotiate exactly that. You too can get my recruiter’s perspective on your job search. Check out Behind The Scenes In The Hiring Process, my online course with 48 video lessons on all aspects of the job search – from identifying what you want to negotiating and closing the offer.
