Well, it felt like you'd gone through the wringer – gruelling tests, screenings, brutal interviews, even dry runs and group simulations to see you in an actual work milieu – and you passed them all! The potential employers are suitably impressed, and give you the anticipated offers. Now you face a different kind of pressure – deciding which to accept. For many candidates, the choice seems obvious enough: the offer with the fattest paycheck. But experts advise caution in signing an employment contract on the mere basis of an irresistible pay offer. They point to the need to first consider all relevant factors before you decide.

Points To Consider
Seasoned HR practitioner Ernie Cecilia in his book, How to Get a Job lists these points to consider when making your selection:

• COMPANY VISION
  Look for an employer that knows its business, where it is going and how it will get there.

• LONG-TERM ORIENTATION
  Pick an organization that intends to stay for the long haul i.e., has a long-term orientation plan, invests heavily in facilities and people, makes decisions with far-reaching significance and benchmarks with the best industry practices.

• PEOPLE ORIENTATION
  A good company regards its people as its most important assets. It should have values – and potentials-development programs, a democratic system of communication and consultation, career and succession planning. It should have clear and just policies, a professional yet familial atmosphere, a sense of pride and belonging among the employees.

• EXCELLENCE
  Organizational excellence does not happen overnight. It rests on a delicate balance between culture and strategy, writes Cecilia. “A company needs culture to help implement strategy... Without strategy, the company will just be one big, happy but unproductive family.”

• COMPENSATION
  Good compensation questions to ask yourself include: Does the company provide annual salary reviews? How do they make compensation competitive with the market, industry or business community? Will extraordinary performance be recognized and compensated through a merit system or a performance bonus scheme?