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Leavey School of Business Santa Clara University

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Make the Most of Your Job Offer

SCU’s Career Center provides some advice to students on what to look for and consider when reviewing a recent job offer.

As the interview season winds down, you may be starting to receive job offers. Although you may be incredibly elated, you may also feel daunted by the company’s terms and conditions. How do you make the make the most of your offer? Here is some advice from SCU’s Career Center.

The first piece of your offer to consider is the salary. After looking at the numbers, you may feel the need to negotiate your salary. However, before negotiating, consider whether you are being offered a fair market value for your skills, or if you have any qualifications beyond what is listed in the job description. If you cannot find a compelling reason to change your offer, do not feel pressured to do so. However, if you do decide to negotiate, start by expressing your appreciation for the offer. When you move onto the ask, only negotiate a couple of items rather than the whole offer, and frame the conversation in an impersonal way. Even if you are not able to raise your salary, be flexible and open to alternatives.

Some alternatives to a salary can include the benefits that are part of your offer package. Even if it has a lower salary, a job with great benefits can prove to be more beneficial in the long-run than a job with higher salary and no perks. Some benefits to consider include health insurance, 401k retirement plan, paid vacation or sick time, life insurance, stock options, and flexible spending accounts. If you are not sure if you have these benefits as part of your job offer or want to add them, be sure to talk to the human resources representative at the company.

Still have some questions about salary and a potential negotiation? Reach out to the Career Center to schedule an appointment to talk about your process. Good luck!

 

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