Are you spoiled for choice with the many job offers you received? Carry out a benefit analysis!

You have several job offers and you are hesitant. You weight up all the pros and cons, try to rationally confirm your gut feelings. Imponderables and uncertainties fi ll the room. Fears and good feelings go hand in hand. It all seems to be going in circles. It is time to carry out a benefit analysis. Use this decision-making tool!

The benefit analysis is an objective comparison tool which brings help in numerous not only emotionally challenging situations. It will assist you in defi ning your priorities. Take pen and paper and be prepared to make adjustments and corrections – what counts is to be sure you do not leave aside any parameter, so as to make the right decision in the end.
Variant comparison works this way: You place the variants and parameters in a table.

• The variants serve as column headers: variant A, variant B, variant C.
• The line headers are your parameters or criteria: each line contains a parameter that you consider being a decisive factor in your decision. For example: way to work, salary, team, manager, branch, development opportunities, work content, etc.

((Tabelle)) Rating of the variant: 4 = could not be better, 3 = very good, 2 = ok, 1 = hard to deal with in the long run

Weighting: Now you need to weight the different parameters. The sum of the weightings should not exceed 100.

Example:

• Way to work/Workplace: 30
• Manager: 20
• Content: 20
• Branch: 10
• Salary: 5
• Team: 5

Scoring system:
After that, you set up the scores. Example:
4 = could not be better
3 = very good
2 = ok
1 = hard to deal with in the long run

Scoring: You then assign a score to each parameter for every variant. Example: Way to work for Variant A could not be better, it is ok in Variant B, but could become a problem or require moving over the long term in Variant C.

Analysis: Now is the time to discover the outcome! You obviously cannot assign a 4 to all parameter. The weighting of the various criteria enhances the informative value. This is the end of your internal struggle, and you can determine what matters most to you. I regularly meet applicants who go round in circles. They keep coming up with a new reason to turn down a variant. For example: a family man has built a house on the countryside and wants to remain there. He wishes to forge a career in his original field and to take up a managerial role. He also wants to obtain a 15% increase in salary. Furthermore, he wishes to be home at 6 in the evening. As a result, it becomes highly difficult to find a satisfying professional change. He struggles with limited options and wonders if he has any chance to find the ideal position. A multiple reviewing and possible corrections of his scoring could help him out. You should also give it a try! You will see for yourself that you inevitably evaluate certain variants better than others. You most certainly do not know all the factors which could influence your decision in a year from now. Do not hesitate to get further information or try to consider every open point and to assess them as correctly as possible.

The decision: Once you have rated each criterion, multiply the scores with the weighting of the concerned criteria and record the result in the appropriate box. Add up the results of each column to determine the numeric value of the concerned variant. The variant with the higher numeric value is the winner.

((Tabelle)) Since the way to work is a crucial criterion and could not be better in Variant A, then Variant A is the clear winner. All other criteria recede into the background.

Seems easy, doesn’t it? Well, not quite. Because it could bring out a variant which you do not really want to come out – meaning you need to get back to your weighting and scoring. And there it is: your error of assessment! But don’t be too confident: the manager may change, or the team composition, you could adjust to the salary. Good luck!