Compensation has many elements. Opportunity for advancement can be categorized with compensation because it is directly tied to compensation elements:
- Cash salary
- Sign-on bonus
- Other bonus (year-end, quarterly, performance)
- Profit sharing
- Equity and stock options
- Health benefits
- Insurance
- Retirement plans and pension
- Tuition reimbursement
- Travel and expense reimbursement
- Perks (professional association membership, discounts)
- Size and speed of salary increases and promotion opportunities
Some elements are more standard for certain jobs than others. Nonprofit and government jobs typically
do not have any bonus components. You will want to find out what is customary in the sector, industry,
and function you are considering, if a specific element of compensation is high on your list of priorities.
The range of offerings varies greatly from company to company and even within companies. One company in the same industry and for the same functional role may pay more or less and have a different compensation structure than another company in the same industry and function. Even within companies, there is variation because your compensation depends on the level of the job you are filling, as well as the skills and experience you are bringing to the job. Some roles have a lot of built-in variability.
For example, sales roles may have a small defined portion (base salary or draw) and then have bonuses or commissions based on achieving certain goals (e.g., selling $x amount).
Look at your needs and priorities. What are your financial obligations? If you have a lot of student loan or credit card debt, then lower-paying jobs may just be out of the question. If you have a spouse with health benefits that you can use, then maybe that part of the package doesn’t matter to you. If you are considering graduate school, then tuition reimbursement may be more attractive. Rank the compensation elements in the previous list, and know which are necessary versus nice to have versus of no interest.
Compare your list with what is customary to your job targets to ensure that you are realistic in your job search.
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