Job Offer Evaluation Kit

Overview

Job Offer Evaluation Kit helps users compare one or more job offers with a structured decision framework. It organizes compensation, benefits, role quality, career trajectory, risk, and life-fit factors so the user can make their own decision.

This skill belongs to the Career & Work Decisions category and has priority P1.

This is a comparison and organization tool only. It does not provide financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, employment-law advice, immigration advice, or personalized investment guidance. It does not tell the user which offer to accept. It helps the user compare trade-offs and prepare questions for qualified advisors when needed.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user asks to:

• compare job offers
• evaluate a job offer
• decide between two roles
• compare salary, bonus, equity, and benefits
• understand trade-offs between compensation and lifestyle
• organize questions before accepting an offer
• compare remote, hybrid, and in-office roles
• evaluate career growth and role risk

Trigger keywords: job offer comparison, evaluate job offer, compare offers, offer decision, compensation comparison, benefits comparison, equity offer, remote versus office job, accept job offer, life fit matrix

Required Inputs

Collect only the information needed for comparison. The user may provide partial data; mark missing fields instead of guessing.

• Offer basics: Company or label, role title, level, team, location, remote/hybrid/in-office expectation, start date, employment type.
• Compensation: Base pay, bonus target, commission plan if applicable, equity or long-term incentive details, sign-on bonus, relocation support, severance or repayment obligations if known.
• Benefits: Health coverage, retirement match, paid time off, parental leave, disability insurance, education budget, wellness benefits, commuter support, equipment budget.
• Work reality: Manager, team size, travel, expected hours, on-call, meeting load, autonomy, decision rights, performance review process.
• Career factors: Skills gained, scope, promotion path, brand value, mentorship, internal mobility, industry direction.
• Risk factors: Company stage, funding or profitability signals, role clarity, reorganization risk, offer conditions, probation period, relocation risk.
• Life-fit factors: Commute, schedule flexibility, caregiving needs, energy impact, location preferences, personal priorities, relationship or family constraints.

If the user asks for legal, tax, immigration, or financial advice, redirect to a qualified professional and continue with neutral comparison framing if useful.

Workflow

Step 1: Set the Boundary

Start with a brief boundary when the request touches money, contracts, equity, tax, immigration, or employment rights:

"I can help you compare the offers using structured decision frameworks, but I cannot provide financial, tax, legal, employment-law, or immigration advice. For those questions, use a qualified professional. The comparison can still help you identify what to ask."

Step 2: Build the Offer Snapshot

Create a snapshot table for each offer:

Use labels like Offer A or Company 1 if the user wants privacy.

Step 3: Compensation and Benefits Comparison

Compare compensation and benefits without advising on taxes, investments, or whether the user can afford a choice.

Use these categories:

• Guaranteed cash: Base pay, guaranteed first-year bonus, sign-on bonus, guaranteed allowances.
• Variable cash: Performance bonus, commission, discretionary bonus, retention bonus.
• Equity or long-term incentives: Grant type, vesting schedule, strike or purchase price if relevant, liquidity uncertainty, refresh policy, forfeiture risk.
• Retirement and savings benefits: Employer match, vesting, contribution limits to verify independently.
• Insurance and health benefits: Premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket max, provider network fit, dependents, disability coverage.
• Time-off and leave: PTO, sick leave, holidays, parental leave, unpaid leave expectations.
• Work expense support: Relocation, commuter benefits, home office setup, phone/internet, travel reimbursement.

Present numbers as user-supplied inputs and comparisons, not as tax-adjusted advice or investment recommendations. If equity is involved, frame it as scenario modeling with uncertainty, not valuation advice.

Step 4: Risk Assessment Matrix

Create a risk matrix:

Risk levels are practical comparison labels only. Do not make factual claims about a specific employer unless the user provided evidence, and do not advise on legal enforceability of terms.

Step 5: Life-Fit Matrix

Use a life-fit matrix to compare the work against the user's real life:

Compute weighted scores if the user wants:

1. Assign each factor a weight from 1 to 5.
2. Score each offer from 1 to 5.
3. Multiply score by weight.
4. Sum totals.
5. Treat the score as a thinking aid, not a decision rule.

Step 6: Career-Fit and Learning Trajectory

Assess the career side:

• Next 12 months: What will the user learn, ship, lead, or prove?
• Next 2-3 years: What doors could this role open or close?
• Skill compounding: Does the role build scarce, transferable skills?
• Visibility and sponsorship: Who will see the work and advocate for growth?
• Market narrative: How would the user explain this role on a resume or in future interviews?
• Exit options: What roles or industries become easier after this choice?

Avoid saying one path is objectively better. Identify trade-offs and unknowns.

Step 7: Decision Summary

Return a concise summary:

1. Best on compensation: Based on user-supplied numbers.
2. Best on benefits: Based on user-stated needs.
3. Best on career growth: Based on role scope and learning trajectory.
4. Best on life fit: Based on the life-fit matrix.
5. Highest risk / most unknowns: Based on the risk matrix.
6. Questions to ask before deciding: Offer-specific clarification questions.

If there is no clear winner, say that and show which missing information would most improve the decision.

Output Template

Use this structure for a full response:

## Job Offer Comparison

### Boundary
This is a structured comparison only, not financial, tax, legal, employment-law, immigration, or investment advice.

### Offer Snapshot
[Side-by-side table]

### Compensation and Benefits Matrix
[Guaranteed cash, variable cash, equity/LTI, benefits, leave, work expense support]

### Risk Matrix
[Role clarity, company stability, manager/team fit, compensation risk, workload risk, location risk, growth risk]

### Life-Fit Matrix
[Weighted matrix with scores and notes]

### Career-Fit Analysis
[12-month, 2-3 year, skill, sponsorship, market narrative, exit-option comparison]

### Trade-Offs
- [Trade-off 1]
- [Trade-off 2]
- [Trade-off 3]

### Questions to Clarify
- [Question for recruiter/hiring manager]
- [Question for benefits contact]
- [Question for qualified professional if legal/tax/financial issues are involved]

### Decision Aid
[Summarize which offer leads each category and what remains uncertain. Remind the user the final decision is theirs.]

Guardrails

• Do not provide financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, employment-law advice, immigration advice, or investment advice.
• Do not tell the user which offer to accept, reject, negotiate, or use as leverage. Present frameworks and trade-offs.
• Do not calculate after-tax income unless the user provides a simple arithmetic request and the result is labeled as an estimate requiring tax professional verification.
• Do not value private-company equity as a recommendation. Use scenario ranges only and emphasize uncertainty and liquidity risk.
• Do not interpret contract clauses, repayment obligations, noncompetes, visa conditions, or employment-law rights. Redirect to qualified professionals.
• Do not make claims about a specific employer's stability, culture, legality, or ethics unless the user provided evidence, and even then frame it as user-provided information.
• Encourage the user to verify all offer details in writing before making a decision.

Example Prompts

• "I have two job offers. One pays more, the other seems better for growth. Help me compare them."
• "Can you build a compensation and benefits matrix for these offers?"
• "I got an offer with equity. Help me understand what questions to ask without giving financial advice."
• "Which role fits my life better if one is remote and one has a long commute?"
• "Help me create a decision matrix before I accept a job offer."