In a recession-driven economy like ours, most people would beg on their knees to get even one job offer. However if you are a highly sought after caterer in Toronto, you may actually receive several offers of employment when you go looking for a job. This is a difficult situation, because choosing wrongly can leave you with lasting regrets. To help you make the right decision, we've compiled these tips for how to compare and rate job offers against one another. They should help you get your options straight in your mind.

Pros and Cons

Every job has its high points and its low points. So what are the good things and bad things about each of your job offers. If long hours operating steel coil banding machines and almost no vacation time are stacked against a relatively low key job selling auto parts and a generous medical plan, the choice is obvious. However, only rarely will one job be all positives and the other all negatives. Sometimes it will just come down to having different advantages and you having to choose between them based on your preference.

Salary

Another way to weigh disparate job opportunities against one another is to compare their salaries. Sometimes the guaranteed salary of an office job may be lower than the potential income you could make working on commission for a general contractor in Vaughan, but the job security it offers might make it more attractive. Consider not just base salary but also any bonuses you might be able to expect in the run of the year as well as their policies regarding vacation pay and sick time.

Advancement Opportunity

If you're offered two different positions as a lawyer in Burlington, it can help to look at what your prospects for advancement would be. If, for example, you chose the job with the city, you might be promoted to Assistant District Attorney and later have a shot at getting elected to District Attorney. While at a private firm, you might be promoted to junior partner and later to partner, and be asked to buy into the firm. Both are good prospects of advancement, but have very different ends, so it behooves you to think of where you want to be in a few years before you make a decision.

Gut Feelings

Although there are many practical considerations to think of when choosing between two jobs, don't discount your feelings. If you visit the Toronto office space of a company that pays great but are struck by the depressing atmosphere and discordant work relationships, you probably won't be happy there. Don't give your feelings the only say in the decision, but don't discount them, either. They're trying to tell you about the potential future state of your happiness.