What Will This New Job Cost You?

One of the most important (if not the most important) benefit of a job is the salary. The salary you earn is very important - it's how you pay your bills and support yourself and your family. When looking for a new job you'll often have a number in your head that you want to earn. It doesn't matter if this is an hourly rate or annual salary; it is very important to remain flexible when considering a salary offer for the following reason - you don't know how much this new position is going to cost you.

Think about it for just a minute. There is a financial cost associated with any job. Many factors play a role in the out of pocket expenses a job will cost you. Many times a potential employer is not going to disclose to you the costs associated with benefits sooner than the offer phase. For this reason it's critical not to throw out a number too early in the interview process because you just don't know how much you'll need to actually make to bring home your desired salary.

So what expenses are associated with a job? Some of them are obvious. Take health insurance, for example. Depending on the size of the company or the insurance carrier selected there can be considerable differences in cost. For example: your current employer requires an out of pocket payment from you of $200 a pay period. The new employer requires $100 a pay period. We'll assume there are the same number of pays per year. If you're paid bi-weekly that's a difference of $2,600 per year in your pocket (before taxes).

What about the accepted dress code of the company, either official or unofficial? If you're coming from a company where it's casual dress every day and you're going to one where suits are the norm you might have to put out several hundred dollars to obtain the necessary wardrobe.

How is the commute? If you're commuting a long distance now and the new company is just a few minutes away you're going to save money on gas and automobile maintenance (if you drive) or possibly in public transportation costs.

Are you required to work overtime hours? You might be paid for overtime at your current company, but you new employer might not pay you for overtime. Maybe one job requires you to be "on call" after hours (unpaid) while the other position doesn't have this requirement. Figure out the actual number of hours you work now or will be required to work in the new position, divided by your annual salary to get a true hourly rate in order to compare the two jobs. If your current employer requires five hours a week of unpaid overtime and the new employer does not have any overtime, on paper a lateral salary move would be in fact a raise based on what you are paid per hour.

Other considerations to include in your comparison include 401(k) contribution, tuition reimbursement, company paid professional registrations and membership, parking, on-site health clubs, vacation and personal days, company provided cell phone and/or laptop, flexible schedules, on-site daycare, pre-tax spending accounts, paid training, and the ability to telecommute. While you might not be able to associate a financial cost with these items, something as simple as a flexible schedule might be more important to you than an extra $1.50 per hour.

Once you are able to determine the out of pocket expenses for both the new company and your current company you can come up with a figure that will allow you to cover your out of pocket expenses while bringing home the salary you desire.