How to choose between competing offers

Holding two graduate offers is a genuinely good problem — but it's an emotional decision, and starting salary tends to dominate the conversation when it shouldn't. A simple framework helps you choose well.

Look past the headline salary

A few thousand pounds of starting salary is far less important than these, over a career:

• Training and qualification. Does one fund a professional qualification (ACA, CFA, SQE, chartership)? That's worth more than a salary bump.
• The first two years of work. Which gives you more responsibility, better mentoring, and skills that transfer?
• Exit options. Where do people go *after* this role? A role that opens many doors beats a slightly better-paid dead end.

Weigh the things that affect daily life

• The people and culture. You felt this during the process — trust it. Where did you click with the team?
• Location and lifestyle. Commute, cost of living, and how the hours actually look day to day.
• The work itself. Which problems would you genuinely enjoy spending your time on?

A practical method

List the factors that matter to *you*, weight them (not everything is equal), and score each offer honestly. The numbers rarely make the decision for you — but the exercise surfaces what you actually care about and cuts through the salary noise.

Then trust your gut

Once the analysis is done, notice your instinct. Often you already know which one you want and are looking for permission. If both are genuinely good, you can't make a "wrong" choice — and few first jobs are permanent. Pick the one that sets up the *next* move, be gracious to the firm you turn down, and commit fully to the one you accept.