A job offer: what to look at besides the money

Why money isn't the main thing in a first job

The first year sets your pace for several after it. A place with a mentor and code review turns a beginner into a confident developer in a year. A place that sits you in a corner editing text gives you almost nothing over the same period.

The pay difference between such places is usually small. The difference in outcome is enormous.

Seven things to look at

1. Who will teach you. A specific person. If "who's my mentor" gets "everyone will help", there is no mentor.

2. Whether code review exists. The main source of growth for a beginner. Without it you'll spend a year entrenching your own mistakes.

3. What the first months' work is. Ask directly. A vague answer usually means you're being hired to plug holes.

4. The team's level. A team where you're the strongest is bad news. There'll be nobody to learn from.

5. How the process works. Are there tests, how does work get released, what happens during an outage. That decides whether you'll be working or firefighting.

6. The stack and its demand. A year on a rare technology narrows your options later. Not fatal, but worth weighing.

7. Overtime. Ask how often people stay late. "Everyone here is passionate" should be taken literally.

What to check in the terms

• The gross figure and what happens to it after probation.
• Probation terms: how long, and by what criteria you're assessed.
• Employment status and what it means for you.
• Schedule and location. Is remote actually written down, if that's what you agreed.
• Learning budget. Are courses, conferences and books paid for.

Comparing two offers

Not by the figure. Write both out against the seven points above and rate each honestly.

A practical rule: if one offer is clearly stronger on mentoring and work but loses on money by ten or fifteen per cent, take the first. The money gap closes within a year; the growth gap doesn't.

If the money differs twofold and everything else is comparable, there's no dilemma.

How long you can think

Two or three days is normal to ask for. "I need two days to decide" puts nobody off.

If you're pressed to answer immediately, that pressure is itself information about the company.

What to notice along the way

How they treated you during the process is the most honest sample of your future working life. Late to calls, silent for a week, condescending questions? It will continue.

And conversely: if the conversation was respectful and your questions got substantive answers, that's a good sign worth weighing alongside the number.