2 Job Offers - Having Problems

NavyIT

Ok so I received a job offer from Company A for 67,000. I got the formal letter and accepted it. 2 days later I got an offer from company B that I had interviewed with a couple of weeks ago for 64,300 (after negotiations), but the benefits were much better and the amount of travel required was 50% less. I decided that the offer from company B was better because they have better benefits such as healthcare, profit sharing, a better 401k match and an employee stock ownership program. I then informed company A that I would not be able to take the job because of the offer from company B. To my surprise, they came back and asked if I would consider an increase in salary.

Keep in mind that company A is a large Fortune 100 company and company B is a small business with about 150 employees.

Did I already burn the bridge with company A and would it be awkward working there now if I went back and accepted their offer based on a salary increase?

How much of a salary increase from 67,000 should I be asking for?

I'm having a hard time with this because I just got out of the Navy last week and have never had to deal with salary negotiations, navigating benefits in the civilian world or even job offers for that matter.

Advise!

cruwl

Regardless of what one you take it sounds like you're in a pretty good spot, so congrats. Did they ask you to come up with a number? or will they be getting back to you with a new offer? It sounds like they really want you.

have you tried to list out the items from company B and put a $ on them? Example 50% less travel is worth $10k to you ect. add them all up and see if company a comes close to that?

Just my 2 cents.

instant000

Since you differentiated the jobs on the benefits and less travel, you should calculate how much those benefits are worth to you.

I don't know if the jobs require a clearance, and I don't know if 50% less travel is you mean that one requires 50% and the other requires 25%, or one requires 100% and the other requires 50%. Both calculations are 50% less, but mean something totally different.

Hope this helps.

NavyIT

Thanks for both of your responses. The travel is 40% and 20%. I decided I would need about 8k more to compensate for those.

I think the question I asked about whether I have sort of burned the bridge with company A already is the most concerning to me. Would it be awkward to work there after all of this? I mean, I accepted the offer and then went back on it and now were talking about further negotiating a figure we had already agreed upon.

TechGuru80

It's not going to be awkward it's business and whoever you are currently talking to (assuming HR) you will never probably see at a big company. If you burnt the bridge do you think they would ask about a salary increase? No.

snunez889

No i wouldnt say its burning the bridge. You obviously have a skill set they want and they are willing to pay for it.

TheProf

I also don't think it would be burning the bridge. As it stands, you're in the process of negotiation and looking for an opportunity that would suit you best, it's nothing personal, just business. If they came back to you and offered you more, that means they want to hire you. If they didn't want to work with you after you turned down the opportunity, they would of not made the offer.

I had a buddy who started working for a company and two weeks later handed in his resignation because it was too far to travel, said he made a mistake. To his surprise, the company counter offered him more money and work from home. He took the offer and never had issues since.

If you feel like this is the right move, don't worry about it, embrace the opportunity

dave330i

Go with the company you feel give you a better career growth. If that happens to be company A, then ask for the $8k or other benefits such as less travel. You probably won't get the $8k increase, but they'll counter with something.

jibbajabba

Offtopic, but the title "2 Job Offers - Having Problems" - made me chuckle a bit ...

CCNTrainee

Congratz on the 2 job offers and good luck with the decision making.

NavyIT

Thanks everyone, I guess it's a good problem to have. I sent them and e-mail and now I'll just be waiting to see if they can meet what I asked for. If not, I will still have the other offer to accept. Thanks for the advice!

jvrlopez

Talk about a nice problem

If I could've chimed in before your reply, I would've recommended trying to ask for an increase in salary for offer A that would reflect the difference in benefits provided by offer B.

Expect

You shouldn't feel bad about it, companies interview dozens of people before they accept someone, it's OK for a candidate to reject a company as well
I believe that if they want you that bad that they're offering you a better salary, then they won't say no to what you wish for.

Snow.bros

I don't what kind of IT am in to but you guys earn a lot of big bucks, i would go where there is more money, oh' this is just a biased opinion.

Everyone

I'm kind of surprised that the small business has better benefits than the Fortune 100. If you have a security clearance, and either job happens to require one, use that to your advantage. It's worth money to the right employer.

thenjduke

I would take the one that has more growth potential. I am shocked that the small business has better medical but these days who knows what is what with Obama Care.

Codyy

Not a bad problem to have at all. Mind sharing the positions and if your military experience helped at all? Also mind sharing what all you did before getting out to help secure a job? There are a few of us on here that are ETS'ing within the next couple of years, sharing your experience would definitely be appreciated by all of us I'm sure. Thanks.

NicWhite

I have no advice, just came in to say Congratulations on your "problem"!!!!

NavyIT

Thanks everyone for the advice. Just to give an update, Company A came back and met the salary that I had asked for, so I went with them. I went in today to fill out some paperwork and it wasn't awkward at all with the program manager. Thanks again.

Snow.bros

NicWhite wrote: »

I have no advice, just came in to say Congratulations on your "problem"!!!!

I also wouldn't mind having that kind of problem.