Making a Decision Between Two Offers - How to Know Which is Your Best Bet

Andrea is a registered clinical dietitian with 6 years of experience, working at a large hospital as an outpatient dietitian earning a good compensation and benefits package. She loved the working culture of the hospital and loved providing nutrition education to different kinds of patients. Her colleagues were supportive, she was kept busy and most importantly, her workplace was only a 10-minute drive from her home.

Over the past year however, Andrea had a gnawing realization that her career wasn’t growing; she was stuck in the same role ever since the time she first joined the hospital. Andrea wanted to broaden her scope and do more than mere making meal plans for patients. She wanted to conduct research, specialize in weight management and launch nutrition courses to educate people. To fulfill her dream, Andrea obtained a specialized certification in weight loss management and became a certified weight loss expert.

Andrea excelled further by producing studies and publishing reports on weight loss and nutrition which elevated her position from an outpatient dietitian to a niche expert. The hospital considered promoting her to a senior position as the Dietitian in charge of The Weight Management and Bariatric department where she would be helping the Surgeons and physicians with creating customized meal plans and working in close coordination with medical experts to diagnose, prevent and manage diseases caused by weight and nutritional problems.

Andrea’s published studies attracted a rival hospital that had a weight management department running for the past five years. Unfortunately, the department did not do well due to the lack of certified experts and financial resources. It was only recently that the hospital’s new management decided on reinventing the department and were on the look-out for hiring serious professionals. The department still lacked a team and was looking for an individual who could not only revive the department but also create a new team of competent professionals. Andrea was offered this role along with a hefty salary range and more perks than her current organization.

Which position did Andrea take up? What would you do? Before we let you on to Andrea’s choice, we want you to know a few important pointers to observe when making a decision between two offers.

How to Know Which is Your Best?

Making a decision between two offers can be difficult. You want to make the best choice for you but suddenly, you’re confronted with new options and you’re at loss over which of them would benefit you the most. How do you know which is your best bet? Here’s what you need to know.

The Salary

It goes without saying that a salary package is sometimes the ONLY defining factor for someone to opt for a job. Do not make this mistake - when you decide on a job offer purely on the basis of how much you’re being paid, you risk making an uninformed decision. That being said, conduct your research and determine your market value by comparing your level of expertise, years of working experience, geographic location and education level to determine what you should adequately be compensated.If you’re being paid twice the market rate for a position, there might be a catch (for example more workload, less benefits). If you’re paid far lower than the market rate, it might be that the market is saturated with dietitians. In this case  try negotiating for what you’re worth.

Benefits and facilities

Some organizations offer better benefits than others. In addition to comprehensive health benefits, some may also provide free gym memberships, free or reduced meals and tuition reimbursement. They may also have state of the art equipment or innovative software that would be  beneficial for you and your patients. Come up with a list of priorities and identify which of the two organizations offer you the benefits or facilities most important to you.

The Commute

Some people dislike a long work commute, whereas some people are willing to put up with a commute of up to 2 hours, as long as the work is something they love to do. If you fail to factor in your commute, you will find out later that  long-distance traveling can tire you to the bones, leaving you no room to enjoy any life after hours. Jot down your preference for your maximum traveling time and match it against your job’s current location.

Brand power of the organization

For some people, having a big name on their CV is important, while for others, the name or brand power of the organization doesn’t matter as long as the work is challenging. Again, jot down your preferences - of two job offers, which one of them has more brand power and does that matter to you?

Scope of Work

Although most job titles appear to be attractive, they usually have very limited job roles. When deciding on a job offer, do not base your decision on merely the title. Base it on the scope of work, the requirement of your role and growth opportunities. It’s very important to realize where your skills, knowledge and expertise would be most fully utilized. You do not want to waste your time working at a place where your full potential is not recognized regardless of the money or the benefits you are being offered.

What Did Andrea Do?

Based on all the above pointers, Andrea eventually decided to opt for the new job offer. Although she loved her current job, she was not offered the position she was qualified for and neither did she have much room for growth. The only setback for Andrea was that her new job would demand a 1-hour commute daily, but she gets compensated for that by having a flexible working schedule where she doesn’t have to punch in at the same exact time each day. She was also granted remote access to the electronic health software, so she could work from home if needed.  Andrea realized that her skills, education and expertise would be completely utilized in the new organization. She did have to compromise on a few benefits, but it didn’t matter to her because she loved this new role and the opportunity for growth that it presented. For Andrea, her priority was the scope of her work, greater autonomy and flexible. The salary and benefits were secondary.

Are you ready to advance further in your career? Submit your resume  and get the chance to be hired for excellent dietitian jobs with our  top clients. Let us help you build a career you’ve always dreamed of.