How to Evaluate a Job Offer's Benefits Package

How do you decide between two job offers when the main difference is the perks? For example, is unlimited vacation time as good as it sounds? We’re going to discuss how to evaluate job perks and benefits packages so you can make the best decision for yourself.?

In this episode of the #GetHired podcast, LinkedIn News Editor Andrew Seaman speaks with Adam Marinelli, MS a career counselor also known as the DIY Career Guy, to learn strategies for successfully negotiating remote work and unlimited paid time off (PTO) benefits.

You can find a transcript of the conversation below. You can listen to the podcast above or on Apple Podcasts by clicking here.

TRANSCRIPT: How to Find an LGBTQ-Inclusive Employer

Andrew Seaman: You got your job offer. It lists your salary and healthcare benefits, but then there are a bunch of other things mentioned like unlimited paid time off and hybrid work. How do you factor that all together? Well, we're talking all about it on today's episode.

From LinkedIn News, this is Get Hired, a podcast for the ups and downs and the ever-changing landscape of our professional lives. I'm Andrew Seaman, LinkedIn's Senior Managing Editor for Jobs and Career Development, bringing you conversations with experts who, like me, want to see you succeed at work, at home, and everywhere in between.

Companies can throw a bunch of benefits and perks at job seekers during the hiring process. Some of them sound good, like unlimited time off, but how does that even work? Is it better than a set amount of vacation time? What about working hybrid or remotely? Can that be taken away? Now we're not talking about salary or health benefits. Instead, we're talking about all the extras beyond those core offerings. To talk all about it, we're chatting with the DIY Career Guy, Adam Marinelli, who is a career counselor. First off, let's hear a bit about Adam's path to helping people get to where they want to be in their careers.

Adam Marinelli: So I started a role at a tech company here in Syracuse, a really fast-growing startup in client services, and they said one day, "Hey, you have that master's degree in career counseling. We need that. We need someone to develop an internal career platform." It was a well-oiled machine for about two years, and then suddenly they wanted to restructure. I was laid off. I started accepting clients. Individually, seven years later, the business has evolved to have global clients on all continents except Antarctica.

Andrew: I'm excited to talk to you. Obviously it's difficult to divorce benefits from salary, so let's start there with an offer package. Where should people start when it comes to the benefits for a job?

Adam: It's about the individual taking the time to ask the questions in the recruiting process. I'm friends with a lot of great recruiters and the great ones enjoy having that benefits conversation upfront. It's evolved these days to become a little bit more complex. When COVID hit, there was organizations, big and small, they stepped up and said, "We have the technology and the capabilities to do the job from wherever." But what does that mean when you're applying to a job?

When you have that conversation with a recruiter, you need to ask them very blatantly, I see on your website you offer a flexible work policy or in some instances unlimited paid time off. What does that mean for your organization? They should be very candid in their response and you should be able to nail down in your questioning as a candidate, how much time does the average employee actually take in paid time off? I would look at that job description and I'd say, I see unlimited PTO. I see flexible work or hybrid work schedules. All those things check the box for that employee and what they want. Now when they go and sit with the recruiter, they have to be very upfront about those expectations and set those expectations from the first conversation.

Andrew: I'd love to sort of drill down a little bit too in the unlimited paid time off because it's, like you said, great marketing for an employer because they can say, "Hey, you could take all the time you want," which is a lie. But for a job seeker, is it that much of a benefit do you think?

Adam: The employer's saying, here it is, unlimited, we're doing it to attract you in, but once you're in, from the employee's perspective, there's apprehension. If I take too much, I'm going to be looked at as a slacker or as somebody that's kind of not doing what my peers are doing behind me from the employee psychologically that just doesn't want to be seen as someone that's always requesting time off. I think the common practice right now is the employers are giving it and the employees are like, I know it's there. I know the weather's nice in the summer and I want to take the long weekends, but what is the perception of their individual boss?

I saw in that Forbes Advisor study that Americans lead the world in unused vacation times, 768 million hours of unused vacation days. So basically people in America just aren't using what they've earned and who does that benefit? The employer. And now that American companies are rolling out unlimited PTO, it certainly seems attractive. And as candid as you need to get with that recruiter or that first or second interview with the hiring manager is ask, how does the work get done and when the work's done, where do I go to track my hours, my paid time off, my availability? So how does the unlimited PTO work here and how many days on average do people take off annually here?

Andrew: We'll be right back with Adam Marinelli, the DIY Career Guy and career counselor.

Andrew: And we're back with Adam Marinelli, the DIY Career Guy and career counselor. You also mentioned something that I think is really important, especially in today's environment, which is hybrid work or work from home because I know our data, we are seeing that work from home and hybrid work are becoming less available when it comes to job postings. How do you figure out, listen, is this a perk that I'm actually going to enjoy for a while or is this something where it's going to get taken away from me?

Adam: So certain things are negotiable and certain things aren't. We are still after, what, almost three and a half years in this gray area where CEOs are being put on blast basically. These CEOs said, "We're going to stay remote from now on. We can do it. We have the technology. This is a benefit forever." And now they're backtracking. So it's very hard for a job seeker to come to grips with having to return to the office if they know that they are very productive, no longer being in an office environment. It's talking with the recruiters and the hiring managers in that interview process to ask them exactly how it is here and if there is any indication that there's a return to office mandate, you can understand a job seeker's apprehension to pull out of the process.

Andrew: And obviously, like you've said, unlike paid time off, this isn't something that's necessarily baked into your contract, but in most cases it's something that's more benefits based, whereas this is sort of our structure or a perk. For job seekers who are saying, "I am looking to switch employers," either maybe they're out of work or they want to find just a new employer, "and I want to have a hybrid schedule. I need this for health insurance and I need to have this as a salary." If they find somewhere that gives them that or most of what they want, how should they factor in all the other things that come into play?

Adam: I had to run new hire onboarding and we did these educational lunches where we'd bring in financial experts that would talk about 401(k). Half of the room were like, I was never taught what a 401(k) even is or what this benefit means to me. The extraneous benefits like 401(k) and employer match can add up to more than just that slight decrease in salary. If you were to go to a competitor for, let's say, a lateral move, same salary, but the competitor's offering a much more attractive employer match percentage, that adds up throughout the year in every paycheck, and that could be more compensation than your current employer.

That's just one example where I tell every client or every friend that's ever DMed me or asked me a question, look at the total compensation, the health savings plans, what are they offering in terms of health insurance, the premium out of your pocket. Some are really good, some are awful still. Those are things that are actually stripping money out of your paycheck. So it's super important. And in that final stage, when they present the letter, it should include the total package. The salary's that first bullet, but then it's usually employer match, unlimited PTO, all the benefits. If they don't offer unlimited PTO, you can say, "I see your first year of employment, you only give two weeks here. If I'm going to accept a slightly lower salary, I would like an extra week's vacation." That's a negotiable perk.

Andrew: I know a lot of people, they're afraid to negotiate sometimes, but any good recruiter, that's what they do all day.

Adam: Yeah, absolutely. The great recruiters know how to do that seamlessly. They'll just say, "Listen, I'm advocating for you. That's my job. We've selected you. We want you to work here. So here's what I'm going to do. Give me like 48 hours. I'm going to go back to the hiring manager and I'm going to tell them what you were requesting and we'll see if we can meet in the middle." The biggest stress for a recruiter would have to be to start over, oh, I really wanted that candidate. I love them. And then have them walk away. So the onus today is on the employer, the recruiting team, talent acquisition, to really have that entire comprehensive benefits package shored up so it's visible. People are either putting them right in the job description as they should or on their careers pages, and I am a big proponent of that.

Andrew: I really appreciate your time, Adam. Thanks so much.

Adam: You're welcome, Andrew. It was my pleasure.

Andrew: That was Adam Marinelli, the DIY Career Guy who's a career counselor. Remember, it's up to you to put our advice into practice. Still, you always have a community backing you up and cheering you on. Connect with me and the Get Hired community on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

Also, if you liked this episode, leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps people like you find the show. And of course, we'll continue the conversation next week, right here, wherever you like to listen.

Get Hired is a production of LinkedIn News. This episode was produced by Alexis Ramdaou. Rafa Farihah is our associate producer. Assaf Gidron engineered our show. Joe DiGiorgi mixed our show. Dave Pond is head of news production. Enrique Montalvo is our executive producer. Courtney Coupe is the head of original programming for LinkedIn. Dan Roth is the editor-in-chief of LinkedIn, and I am Andrew Seaman. Until next time, stay well, and best of luck.