After revising your resume a dozen times, finding the perfect power suit, and going to countless interviews, you hope to get at least one job offer. But what if you get two??or more?

While salary is certainly the most important part of a job offer, it is by no means the only element of consideration. The total package includes all the benefits and “perks” that are provided to the person as an employee of the company.

A lower salary may be compensated by a more powerful benefits package.

“When reviewing job offers, it is important not to be swayed by big names,” said Marc Duro, a technical recruiter at Claris Corporation.

Martha Schuster, a career counselor in the Career Center at Sacramento State, asks students to be really clear on what their needs are.

For example, a young, single college grad will need less comprehensive medical coverage than a young married college grad with a family or an older college grad in their 30s with a family.

“The first thing students need to do is evaluate the offer and to make sure that the student is very clear as to what the job entails and what kind of training they need for the job,” Schuster said.

Roger King at www.developercareers.com suggests that a person assess the total monetary value of a job offer by taking the time to do the math and adding up the salary, signing bonus, estimated quarterly and annual cash bonuses, profit-sharing bonuses and stock options.

“One of the biggest errors that many college grads make in evaluating an offer is to look exclusively at salary as the measure of acceptability,” said Brian Krueger from www.collegegrad.com.

Other benefits to review include healthcare, dental insurance coverage and disability insurance. The length of vacation time, sick and personal leave policies and tuition reimbursement are also important for the unexpected things that come up.

The person should make a detailed list of what companies are making offers so that it will be easier to compare the offers.

To consider if the offer is fair and in the right amount, Schuster says that students should research and know the salary range for that particular job.

“At this point the student should have researched the different packages in the field. The assumption is that the student has done the research,” Schuster said.

Another important consideration is the feelings a person has about the company. Does the person agree with the company’s philosophy?

The prospective employee needs to think about whether they’ll be happy working at that company and whether the work environment matches the person.

Krueger suggests that if the prospective employee has not received a formal benefits package to review by the time the job offer is made, ask that it be sent to them. If the offer was made verbally, make certain that it gets written down on paper.

“Whatever you do, don’t get caught in the ‘hope trap’??comparing your offer against what you hope another company will offer,” Krueger said.