How to Evaluate a Compensation Package and Job Offer
How to Evaluate a Compensation Package and Job Offer
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What is a compensation package?
It includes more than just salary. It’s everything of value, monetary and non-monetary, that an employer provides in exchange for the work you do — like incentives, benefits and perks.What can be included in a job offer varies greatly depending on the company and position, but most leading employers offer some combination of
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What is a compensation package?
the following elements in a compensation package:– Salary– Bonuses and commissions (as applicable)– Paid time off (holidays and vacation and sick days)– Medical, dental and vision insurance– 401(k) or another retirement savings plan– Childcare, including off-site
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What is a compensation package?
and on-site options– Flexible work hours– Subsidized training or educationBut that’s not all. As employers strive to attract top talent in a fiercely competitive hiring market, they’re adding new benefits and perks or updating their existing array of options. Most human resources managers (88%) responding
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What is a compensation package?
to a recent Robert Half survey said their organization was adding new offerings.Other trends in benefits and perks we’re seeing include:– Candidates prefer health-related benefits over leisure-related ones, like unlimited vacation time.– Firms are giving employees more opportunities to boost income, from increasing their
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What is a compensation package?
401(k) match percentages to incorporating profit-sharing options.– Many remote workers expect their employers to cover the costs of home office equipment to help them be as productive at home as they would be in the office.– Job seekers are looking for enhanced schedule flexibility, ranging from hybrid and fully remote arrangements to
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What is a compensation package?
four-day work weeks or the option to work the hours when they’re at their best (also known as windowed work).
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What’s most important to you?
Values, goals and lifestyles vary from person to person, so there’s no one-size-fits-all perfect compensation package. For some, health insurance and a 401(k) plan might be the only must-haves. Remote or hybrid work schedules might be the deal-breaker for some individuals. And perks such as
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What’s most important to you?
an on-site gym or tuition reimbursement could make all the difference for others.The point is that you must decide early in your job search what your must-have perks, benefits and working conditions are. You’re in good shape if all of them are included in the job offer you received. If not, now’s the time
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What’s most important to you?
to talk to your potential employer about what’s missing and why a particular perk is something really important to you.
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What’s your benchmark?
It isn’t easy to evaluate acompensation package without a basis of comparison. To get a reliable benchmark for your starting salary and more, check out the Robert Half Salary Guide, which you can access for free.Our Salary Guide provides up-to-date compensation data for hundreds of jobs in a wide
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What’s your benchmark?
range of fields. It includes starting salary ranges based on position, experience level and more, in addition to data and insights about perks and benefits, hot jobs, and hiring trends across several industries.
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What details do you need to know?
Once you have a job offer in hand, get all the fine details about benefits and perks from your potential employer. Take health insurance: Offerings can vary greatly from one company to the next — and just because the firm provides health coverage doesn’t mean you’re good to go. Ask for a summary of key programs so you understand what they
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What details do you need to know?
include (and cost), or even request policy documents so you can read them in full.It’s a similar story with flexible working schedules. For example, if you’re offered a hybrid schedule of three days in the office and two at home, how much freedom will you get to choose which days fall in which category? Does full-time remote really mean full-time
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What details do you need to know?
remote, or will you be expected to come to the office for training days, team meetings and similar gatherings?Depending on your circumstances, you may also want to consider questions like these:
- What are the out-of-pocket costs for benefits such as health insurance?
- What level of coverage is
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What details do you need to know?
there for dental and vision insurance? - Does the company offer employees the opportunity to buy its shares? - If so, is there a discount? - If you’re in a same-sex or domestic partnership, is your partner eligible? - At what intervals will your performance and salary be reviewed?
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What are the benefits eligibility requirements?
Keep in mind that you may not be eligible immediately for all the job benefits and perks an employer offers. Some programs are open only to employees who have reached a certain tenure with the company. Others, such as tuition reimbursement, may depend on your manager’s approval. The good news is that you may be able to negotiate.
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What are the benefits eligibility requirements?
For instance, if you’re currently working toward a certification or an advanced degree, one condition of employment may be that the company pays for the rest of your education. Ask how much flexibility there is.You can’t be overinformed when it comes to a compensation package from a prospective employer. Ask about everything that’s
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What are the benefits eligibility requirements?
included — and about things important to you that may not be in it. You don’t want to be caught off guard after you’ve started your new job.