When comparing job offers, you need to look at the tangible and intangible features of the specific position and the employer. Tangible features are measurable and include salary and benefits. Intangibles depend on your feelings and are equally important. You need to answer the questions: What will it be like to work here? Will I be happy?

Think long and hard about what the most important factors in a job are for you. For some nurses, health insurance carries the most weight, for others it’s the hours or the kind of patients. Start by making a list of “must-have” features, meaning that you will not consider a job that lacks one of these items. Then list the “nice-to-have” components. In general, focus on the following four areas:

Salary and Benefits

Consider all the benefits as well as the costs of working. Compare hours, hourly rate, shift and weekend differentials, vacation, sick-time benefits, parking, retirement plans, health insurance, disability and life insurance, holidays, child care options, kind of uniform required, opportunities for overtime or time off without pay, and travel time to work.

Professional Opportunities

Determine the opportunities for advancement within the facility and whether working for this organization could be a stepping stone to a future position with another employer. Are there opportunities for continuing education? Does the organization promote from within or usually seek outside candidates? How are transfers to different units viewed? Are raises based on seniority or performance? What criteria are used to evaluate a nurse’s performance?

Patient Population

Can your prospective employer predict the kinds of patients you will care for? Are nurses pulled from unit to unit; or during periods of high or low census, are patients “boarded” on units that are usually dedicated to other kinds of patients? Is the organization planning to expand or contract services, and how will those changes affect the kind of patients you may care for? Do you prefer becoming an expert caregiver for a select patient population, or do you enjoy a variety?

Personal Fit

Which work-related characteristics contribute most to your happiness and ability to thrive? Do you enjoy working with people who share your attitudes, or do you enjoy a greater mix? What kind of management system do you find the most supportive? Do you prefer caring for patients directly or managing their care by supervising the activities of others? What level of stress do you find stimulating without being overwhelmed? How closely do you and your prospective employer’s values match concerning patient care and how best to practice nursing? Are you happier working for a not-for-profit or a for-profit organization? How important are work-related friendships? How do you define teamwork, and is this point of view shared by your potential coworkers and managers?

Making the Decision

You may want to talk with family and friends to help you create the lists of pros and cons, must-haves, and nice-to-haves and to answer the questions in each area. Once you’ve answered the questions and have made your lists, the choice of whether to take that offer may well become crystal clear. Whether you choose to take the job or look further, good luck!

Jeffrey Zurlinden, RN, MS, ACRN, is a contributing editor for the Chicago/NE Illinois & NW Indiana Edition of Nursing Spectrum