How to compare 3 job offers without going in circles

Why offer comparisons go in circles

When you're comparing two or three offers, the intuitive approach is to lay them out and think. The problem is that thinking without constraints cycles. You focus on compensation, then culture, then growth potential, then swing back to compensation. Each factor makes a different offer look best, and you end up exhausted without a decision.

The cycle has two causes. First, the factors aren't comparable on the same scale, so you can't add them up. Second, your weighting of the factors shifts based on whichever offer is in front of you at the moment — a feature called "attribute substitution," where you unconsciously evaluate whichever attributes are salient rather than the ones that actually matter to you.

The fix is to externalise the comparison: write down your criteria and their weights before you look at the offers side-by-side. This sounds obvious and most people skip it, which is why most people go in circles.

Step 1: Normalise compensation

Before you compare anything else, get all the compensation to the same number. Base salaries are the most visible but often not the most important component.

For each offer, calculate:

• Year 1 total comp: base + signing bonus + first-year RSU vesting + target bonus
• Year 4 total comp: base (adjusted for expected raises, conservatively) + annual RSU vesting + target bonus

Use the current stock price for RSUs; don't inflate for "expected growth." For startups with pre-IPO equity, this is harder — look at the most recent 409A valuation for options, and model the outcome at 1x, 3x, and 10x valuation scenarios.

Once you have comparable numbers, you may find that an offer that looked lower is actually competitive, or vice versa. This step alone resolves about a third of offer comparisons.

Step 2: Write your criteria before you score

This is the key step. Make a list of the factors that matter to you, and assign a weight to each. Do this before you assign scores.

Typical criteria:

• Compensation (total comp, not base)
• Career trajectory (what does this role set up in 2-3 years?)
• Manager / team (your read on the people you'd work with)
• Work style (remote flexibility, hours culture, pace)
• Mission / product (how much does the work itself matter to you?)
• Financial stability (runway if startup; industry health if corporate)
• Location / commute

Assign weights that sum to 100. An example: compensation 30, career trajectory 25, manager/team 20, work style 15, mission 10. Your weights will differ — the point is to make the weighting explicit before you score, not to choose the "correct" weights.

Step 3: Score each offer on each criterion

Now score each offer from 1-5 on each criterion. Be honest rather than kind — if the manager at Company A gave you a bad feeling in the final interview, score it a 2 for manager/team, not a 4.

Multiply each score by its weight and sum the rows. The highest total isn't automatically the right answer, but it tells you where your own criteria point.

If the mathematical winner feels wrong, that feeling is information. It usually means one criterion is underweighted, or you've discovered a dealbreaker you didn't name.

Step 4: Name your dealbreakers explicitly

Dealbreakers are factors that would make you reject an offer regardless of score. Common ones:

• Fully in-office when you need remote (or vice versa)
• Visa sponsorship not available
• Role requires travel you're not willing to do
• Equity cliff longer than you'd accept
• Culture flags from the interview process itself

List these explicitly, separate from your scoring matrix. If an offer has a dealbreaker, it's off the table regardless of total comp.

Step 5: Set a deadline and decide

Pick a date — usually two to three days before the earliest offer expires — and treat it as firm. By that date, you will have made a decision and will communicate it.

Extended deliberation past that point rarely produces new information. You're usually processing the same factors repeatedly, looking for permission to choose the thing you've already leaned toward.

If you notice you keep returning to one offer — if it's the one you imagine when you picture yourself saying yes — that's your gut weighting the factors it noticed that your scoring matrix didn't. Take it seriously.

Common mistakes

Comparing base salary instead of total comp. Especially dangerous when comparing startup equity against corporate RSUs. A lower base with meaningful equity can easily outperform a higher base with no equity by year 3.

Asking too many people for advice. Each advisor has different weights and different information. Gathering opinions expands the consideration space rather than narrowing it. Limit advisory conversations to people with directly relevant experience (the same role, the same company type, the same career stage).

Negotiating past your leverage. If you get a competitive offer improved once, you can often ask once more. Going back a third or fourth time risks rescission or a soured start. Know when you've reached the limit.

Waiting too long to notify the offers you're declining. Let companies know as soon as you've decided — not just the one you're accepting. Waiting keeps their headcount in limbo and burns goodwill you may need later. The professional world is smaller than it appears.

Related reading

• Job Pin Board — free Chrome job application tracker
• The minimum viable job-application tracker
• How to track a job search without a spreadsheet