Complete guide to evaluating a job offer beyond salary. Learn to assess career trajectory, company culture, total compensation, and hidden risks.
Base salary is typically only 60-70% of your total compensation at senior levels. The remaining 30-40% comes from: annual bonus (10-20% target), betriebliche Altersvorsorge (pension — employer contribution varies from 0 to 10%+), car/mobility allowance (€500-€1,500/month for senior roles), sign-on bonus, equity/LTIP, and benefits (health insurance top-up, life insurance, disability coverage).
Evaluate: what decisions will you own? How many people will you manage? What's the budget under your control? A role with a bigger title but no actual increase in scope is a lateral move disguised as a promotion. The best signal of real seniority: P&L accountability, board/exec committee access, and strategic decision authority.
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Analyze now →During interviews, watch for: how do they describe people who left? (blame vs. respect), do they celebrate overwork? ('we're a family' often means 'we expect 60-hour weeks'), how long have the leadership team been there? (high turnover at the top = instability), and do they rush the process? (pressure to decide quickly often means they have trouble retaining).
Before accepting, ask yourself: if I stay here 5 years, where will I be? If the answer isn't clearly better than where you'd be staying in your current role, the move doesn't justify the risk and disruption of changing jobs.
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