3 Steps to Rate Every Job Offer

It’s a good news/bad news dilemma: Yes, they’ve finally given you that job offer you were hoping for; but, no, you’re really not sure if you should take it. Parts of the offer seem excellent, but not everything – definitely not everything.

Deciding whether to walk away from a bona fide job offer, though, is something that requires serious consideration and meaningful analysis. Fortunately, the “R.I.G.H.T. Job” assessment can help with that.

Use the chart below to capture your sentiments about the five key elements of the job offer: Responsibilities, Income, Growth, Happiness and Team:

Step 1 - Record

As you see, the basis of this assessment is that any job that’s R.I.G.H.T. for you will grade well across the five key elements identified above. Use the following questions as prompts, list your impressions, pro and con, in the boxes provided. Reflect on and record any other realizations you may have about each aspect of your assessment:

• Responsibilities: How do the responsibilities match your skills and interests? Does the position offer sufficient span of control to manage those responsibilities effectively? What factors might expand or contract those responsibilities over time?
• Income How satisfied are you with the overall compensation package? Does it meet your needs? Exceed them? What, if anything, is missing?
• Growth: What is the organization’s commitment to your ongoing growth and development? What opportunities are likely for you in this regard? How soon before you “max out” learning-wise?
• Happiness: How happy do you see yourself in this job? Is the work sufficiently meaningful to you? Do you feel it’s a fitting end to your job search?
• Team: What were your impressions of the people with whom you’d be working up, down and across the organization? How influential do you envision yourself to be with them? What did you notice about the company culture?

The next step in the “R.I.G.H.T. Job” assessment is to take a break! Yes, step away from your thoughts and go do something outside for a while. Do whatever you do to clear your mind and relax your psyche so you can just “be” for while.

Step 2 - Score

Review the information you’ve already recorded. Tweak as necessary. Then, assign a “value” to each column based on which of the following phrases most closely matches your prevailing thoughts about each key element:

Now add up these values and enter that number as your total R.I.G.H.T. score.

Step 3 - Interpret

Your total “R.I.G.H.T” score should render some ready conclusions:

• A total score that’s less than 10 suggests you should probably walk away, as at least one element of the job is completely unacceptable to you and the others probably aren’t doing much for you, either.
• A total score that’s between 10 and 15 suggests you might want to reopen negotiations to see what can be done to improve things before saying yes or no.
• A total score that’s between 15 and 20 suggests you also might want to reopen negotiations, just to see if they’ll “sweeten the pot” any, before you accept their offer.
• A total score that’s more than 20 — well, the choice is pretty clear!

It’s important to realize, of course, that these conclusions are just guidelines, not absolute truths. Your particular situation and circumstances may provide you with more or less flexibility when making a decision. Regardless, using the "R.I.G.H.T. Job" assessment will help you simplify your decision and clarify your next steps.