How do you decide between potential jobs?

[Terribleluck]

After feeling all sorry about myself, I now have 4 good leads that could potentially turn into offers. The two jobs that I really want haven't, haven't heard back from them yet (but no news is good news as far as I can tell). Salaries and responsibilities vary widely. Most are remote, one has a fairly long commute. One is very flexible about work-family balance. They all have pros and cons, but I don't want to just decide either because it's the first offer I get, or because it's the one that offers most money... Any tips are welcome!

Weigh up money, commute, progression, benefits and, most importantly, the one you felt most comfortable at when you interviewed.

I was in a similar position not long ago. I weighed up everything, salary, responsibility, flexibility, travel costs, progression and how I felt about the interview (did I get on with the people interviewing, values and culture of the organisation). Money isn't everything, cost of commuting can easily negate a higher salary.

I really had to take a look at what was important to me and what I wanted out of the job I chose. It's really easy to forget that interviews work both ways- you're interviewing the job too and it has to fit with your priorities.

I also spoke to people from the potential employers to find out what kind of place it was, luckily I knew people in the two contenders so got honest answers.

@majestically it's true that higher salaries can be eaten up by longer commutes and extra wrap around care. We think I'd have to get an electric car to make it work.

That's why I went with a remote role, I have the odd bit of travel to meetings once a quarter or so but travel and accommodation is paid for so it saves a small fortune! Meaning the salary being ~£5k less is actually more money in my pocket.

The time cost is so much better, at the moment my dc are young and I'd rather spend an extra hour to two a day with them than travelling. But the remote role has good progression and development. The higher salary role I was offered also had a really toxic culture of expecting lots of unpaid overtime, one of the interviewers said she hardly sees her dc because work was more important and it just raised a massive red flag for me.

It helps to write down what you want and then compare any offers against your priorities. Look into the companies and see how their values fit with your own, you can check reviews from current and former employees on glassdoor and ask lots of questions at interviews or in negotiations to make sure you're confident it's a good fit.

Thank you! Yes values are quite important this time around. When I changed jobs in April I only wanted more ££ and didn't think about much else. My previous employers turned out to be a very unethical crowd...