How to compare two job offers when it isn't just about the money

Start with take-home and commute cost, then everything else

Salary figures mislead because they are pre-tax and ignore the cost of turning up. So convert each offer into what actually arrives and what it costs to earn it.

Take-home first. At the 2026/27 rates, with KiwiSaver at 3.5% and no student loan, a $95,000 offer pays about $119 a fortnight more than a $90,000 one. That is a real difference, and a smaller one than the $5,000 headline suggests.

Then the commute. Petrol, parking, public transport and the hours in the car or on the bus are a cost of the job, and they can easily be larger than the gap between two offers. Our article on the true cost of commuting in New Zealand shows how to work yours out.

The Offer Comparer does the take-home side for both offers at this year's rates, including employer KiwiSaver, a bonus, health cover and a vehicle, with no account needed.

Inside jobtracker.co.nz, each job shows its take-home pay, and with On the Move the offer comparison lays two offers side by side.

The twelve factors most people weigh

Once the money is on one basis, most decisions come down to some of these:

1. Take-home pay each fortnight.
2. The commute, in money and in hours.
3. Annual leave above the four-week minimum.
4. The employer's KiwiSaver contribution, and whether it is on top of salary.
5. Flexibility: hybrid days, start times, part-time options.
6. Hours and overtime expectations.
7. The manager you would report to.
8. The work itself, and whether you want to do it every day.
9. Training, progression and what the role leads to.
10. Security: permanent, fixed term or contract.
11. The team and how they treated you in the process.
12. Benefits with a cash value: health insurance, a car, a phone.

Read both agreements as well, because the terms can decide it: whether there is a 90-day trial period (open to employers of any size since 23 December 2023), the notice period, and any restraint of trade.

You will not care about all twelve. Cross out the ones that do not matter to you before you start scoring, so they cannot distort the result.

Weighting them honestly

Give each remaining factor a weight from 1 to 3, where 3 means it could decide the choice on its own. Then score each offer from 1 to 5 on each factor, multiply by the weight, and add up.

The weights are the honest part. Set them before you score, and ask yourself whether you would still choose them if the numbers came out the other way. If the total surprises you, look at which factor drove it, and check whether a factor is missing or under-weighted.

Leave, KiwiSaver, flexibility and growth as numbers

Some factors look soft but have a dollar value you can work out:

• Leave. An extra week of annual leave is worth about one fifty-second of the salary, around $1,827 a year on $95,000, as paid time you do not work.
• KiwiSaver. An employer contributing 6% rather than 3.5% on a $90,000 salary adds $2,250 a year to your retirement savings, before the tax on employer contributions.
• Flexibility. Two days at home each week cuts commuting costs and hours by about 40%, which you can price with the commute figures above.
• Growth. If one role is likely to lead to a promotion within two years and the other is not, estimate the likely pay difference and treat part of it as part of this offer.

Converting these to money does not decide the question, but it stops a generous-looking extra from outweighing a large difference elsewhere.

Deciding within the deadline without a coin toss

Offers come with deadlines, often only a few days. Use them well:

• Ask any outstanding questions in the first day, in writing, so the answers arrive in time.
• If the other employer is still deciding, tell them you have an offer and a deadline. Some will speed up.
• If you need a little more time, ask for it once, politely, with a specific date.
• Do the money pass and the weighting on the first evening, then sleep on it.

Once you have chosen, decline the other offer promptly and graciously. Our article on declining a job offer politely has the wording. Keep a note of why you chose as you did, because it will help the next time you have to decide.

Keep both offers side by side