Comparing job offers: how to choose between two offers

Two job offers: what to compare beyond salary

If you have two job offers, it is tempting to pick the one with the highest salary. But two offers with the same salary can be worth very different amounts once you look at the rest of the package. Make a list with the same points for both offers, and write down what is stated and what is not. These are the points to look at:

• Salary and fixed allowances, before tax.
• Pension: Employers must pay at least 2% of salary into the mandatory occupational pension (OTP), but many pay more.
• Bonus and commission, and how likely it is that you will actually receive them.
• Holidays: The Holiday Act (ferieloven) gives 25 working days, while many agreements give five weeks.
• Working hours: 37.5 or 40 hours a week, and whether overtime is included in the salary.
• Commute: how long it takes and what it costs.
• Working from home and flexibility.
• Development: training, new tasks and the chance to take on more responsibility.
• Security: permanent or temporary job, probation period and how the business is doing.
• Notice period in the new job and in the job you have now.

How to value each item per year

The simplest method is to convert everything you can into kroner per year and assess the rest separately. Use the same starting point for both offers: yearly salary before tax.

Pension: Multiply the percentage by the salary. Say offer A gives NOK 650,000 and a 2% pension, and offer B gives NOK 620,000 and 6%. The pension is then NOK 13,000 in A and NOK 37,200 in B. Salary and pension together come to NOK 663,000 in A and NOK 657,200 in B, so the NOK 30,000 difference in salary has shrunk to NOK 5,800. Remember that pension is money you get later, so many people weight it slightly lower than salary.

Holidays: One week's pay is the yearly salary divided by 52. On NOK 650,000, an extra week of holiday is worth NOK 12,500. Bonus: Only include what is likely, and ask what has actually been paid out before. Working hours: Convert to an hourly rate. NOK 650,000 for 37.5 hours a week is about NOK 333 an hour, while the same salary for 40 hours is NOK 312.50. You will find the formulas in the guide on converting hourly, monthly and yearly pay.

Commuting and working from home in hours and kroner

Commuting is easy to forget when you compare offers on paper. Say one job means 40 more minutes of travel each way. That is 80 minutes a day, and with 220 working days a year it adds up to about 293 hours.

Add the cost: tickets, road tolls, fuel or parking. Say it comes to NOK 1,000 more a month. That is NOK 12,000 a year before you have counted the time.

Working from home pulls in the other direction. Two fixed days at home a week remove 40% of your commuting days. If you also get the flexibility to pick up children from nursery or avoid the rush hour, that is worth something even if there is no price tag on it.

Which one should I choose? What cannot be counted in kroner

Some of the most important differences have no price tag: who your manager will be, what you will learn, what tasks you will get and what the working environment is like. Give each point a score from 1 to 5 for both offers, and multiply by how important the point is to you. The total is not a final answer, but it forces you to think through what you actually care about.

Also look at security. A permanent job is safer than a temporary one, and the probation period can last up to six months. The notice period is one month under the Working Environment Act unless something else has been agreed, but three months is common in many contracts. A long notice period gives security, but also makes it slower to change jobs later. Check the notice period in your current job, because it decides when you can start.

How to ask for time to decide

It is perfectly normal to ask for a few days to think. Thank them for the offer, show that you are interested, and say when you will get back to them. If you have only had the offer verbally, ask for it in writing at the same time. If you have one offer and are waiting for another, you can be honest about it, but never use an offer you do not have as leverage. If you want to use one offer in a negotiation, the guide on how to negotiate salary can help. Examples you can use:

• “Thank you very much for the offer. I am very interested and would like a couple of days to go through it. Could I give you my answer on Friday?”
• “I am in another process that will finish soon, and I would like to make one overall decision. Would it be all right if I reply by Wednesday next week?”
• “Could you send me the offer in writing, with pension, holidays and working hours, so I can look at the whole package?”

How to decline a job offer politely

Once you have decided, let them know quickly, ideally by phone, and confirm by email. You do not need to explain everything, but a short reason is courteous. Many industries are small, and you may meet the same people again. If you have already signed a contract, read what it says about resignation and raise it directly with the employer. An email could look like this:

• “Thank you for the offer and for a good process. I have thought it over carefully and have decided to accept another position that better matches what I am looking for right now. I appreciate the time you have spent, and I hope we can keep in touch.”

Compare job offers with Selja

With Compare job offers at Selja, you upload two offers as a PDF, an image or text. Selja reads the terms, such as salary, pension, holidays, working hours, working from home and notice period, calculates the value per year and puts the offers side by side. You choose what matters most to you and get a recommendation based on that. You also see what is missing or unclear, and what you should ask about before you say yes. The tool is included in Pro and Premium, see the prices.

If you want to know whether the salary in the offers is at the right level for the role, you can check it for free in the Salary check.