When faced with multiple job offers, how do you decide which offer is the best for you? If you’ve served in the military, you probably used the military decision-making process or MDMP. It is an analytical process used to decide if, what and when a decision should be made from several different options. You can use a modified version of the MDMP to decide which job is right for you if you have several offers on the table at the same time.
The Decision Matrix
Set up the matrix by listing job options important to you along the left side. Options can include:
- salary
- stress
- benefits
- learning potential
- advancement potential
- commute
- flexibility
- work/life balance
Next assign a weight to each option as far as importance to you as an individual. Now list your job offers along the top.
Finally assign a value from 1 to 10 under each offer as far as how it relates to each job option. The higher the number, the more it offers of that option.
Now do the math by multiplying the weight value times the value of each option of each of the job offers. Total the numbers. In the following example, you can see how the numbers stack up in for each offer.
| Job Offer Decision Matrix | ||||
| Job Options: | Wt. | Job Offer 1 | Job Offer 2 | Job Offer 3 |
| Salary | 1 | 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Stress | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| Benefits | 3 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Learning
Potential |
5 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Advancement
Potential |
6 | 10 | 7 | 8 |
| Commute | 2 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| Flexibility | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| Work/Life
Balance |
8 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| Total | 225 | 232 | 267 | |
In comparing the totals, the third job offer scored the highest overall. Using these numbers alone, it would be your logical choice. But other things can impact your final decision, such as:
- attractiveness of the location
- crime rate
- housing prices
- weather
- cultural/arts scene
- quality of schools
… and other areas that may be important to you and your family.
While you could add them to your Job Offer Decision Matrix, it can get confusing and unwieldy; a better route to go would be to create a separate matrix on these items not directly based on the job and more about the city and surrounding area where the job is located.
And finally do the old “gut check” just to validate what the data is telling you. If it feels right, go with it. If not, it might be better to take one of the other job offers or decline all of them at this time and wait for something better to come along.
