Graduate > Evaluating Offers

Graduate Students

Evaluating Offers

Students frequently raise questions about whether they should accept or decline a specific offer of employment. Ideally, students should be formulating an idea of what constitutes a solid offer well before they begin interviewing. Waiting until the last minute makes objective considerations more difficult. In any case, the Center can help with the following:

Self Help Resources:

Our principal publication, The Career Guide, has a section related to interviewing within which is a discussion of evaluating offers. The resources and links below also address these topics and should be reviewed before seeking staff assistance.

Staff Assistance/Workshops:

Career consultants are available to discuss the decision-making process that must be examined before actually receiving an offer. Waiting until a specific offer has been made, however, is sometimes too late for such a discussion, mostly because employers may impose a time limit for a decision which is earlier than an appointment might be available. Appointments can be arranged by calling 443-3616.

Evaluation of offers is frequently part of workshops on negotiating during the year. These programs are publicized in the Calendar of Events on this site and in the calendar maintained as part of OrangeLink, formerly eRecruiting.

Online resources:

The following are meant to guide job seekers to a better understanding of evaluating offers.

DISCLAIMER: Providing links to these resources in no way constitutes an endorsement by the Center for Career Services of the accuracy, currency or reliability of these resources or those to which links may be made.

Please report broken links.

Choosing Among Job Offers.
A discussion that new graduates may utilize to compare offers. These articles are offered by NACE, the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Weighing a Job Offer.
From Monstertrak.com,a collection of articles on job seeking, one group of which speaks to negotiations and offer evaluation.

Benefits Count!
Explanations of some of the more frequent components of a benefits package.

Evaluating Your Benefits Package.
Recruiter/author Brian Krueger discuss the various components of today's benefits packages. After reading this, job seekers may have questions to pose to career consultants at the Center.

Additional insight may be gained form these resources on negotiating:

Evaluating Job Offers and Negotiating Salary
A great article which addresses these frequently interwoven dilemmas.

Negotiation.
Author/recruiter Brian Krueger reinforces a crucial message about not saying yes too soon and suggests some questions every job seeker should incorporate into their questioning of prospective employers even before an offer is made.

In conclusion, students would be well-served to think about more than just their first salary when making investments in their professional futures. Career Consultants at the Center for Career Services would be happy to help students make intelligent, informed, and personally meaningful decisions.