Benefits

Your benefits are just as important as your salary. When you are considering a job position, you must look at the total package that's being offered to you. A job without benefits may pay more, but in the long run, the net value in the long run will be less than if you had benefits.

For many people, the number and type of benefits offered makes a difference in whether or not they work for a particular corporation. Almost every company would like to retain the best employees and they know that in order to do that, they have to offer a competitive package which, in addition to a base salary or pay structure, includes many other benefits. In general, benefits are offered and designed as a way to increase employee loyalty and job satisfaction. Both of these are important for employee dependability and productivity which improves the corporate bottom line.
The benefits may be paid for in total by the company (as with most insurance plans) or they may be partially subsidized. Benefits can mean almost anything profit sharing to free uniforms, personal leave days, or paid vacations.

Salary

Salary is the financial compensation a company offers you for working for them. It is generally based on your potential or supposed value to the company. Education, skill level, experience, and job performance are some of the factors considered when a company decides on the salary to be offered to a prospective employee. Other important considerations may include the corporate bottom line and profit margin.
Professionals and managers usually work on a salary plan, while the other employees are usually paid on an hourly basis. You must always look at the pay being offered in the light of the number of hours you are required to work. In order to know the hourly rate being offered to you, you need to divide the pay by the number of hours you are expected to work each week. This is an important comparison tool when you are considering different jobs.

Health Insurance

Health care costs are skyrocketing. At the same time, Americans cannot afford to be without coverage. Therefore, health insurance is one of the most important benefits that a company can offer to its employees. When comparing different job positions, this is another area to which you should pay special attention.

401K

The 401K, a retirement plan, is a major job benefit offered by employers to their employees. Employees are allowed to invest their pretax earnings and the employee contributions to a 401K account are often matched by the company either on a dollar for dollar basis or on a percentage basis of what the employee invests. Taxes need to be paid only when the money is taken out of the account. In spite of the many restrictions on a 401K, it is a powerful and safe retirement savings tool. The earlier you start investing in a 401K, the more time you get to accumulate a sizeable amount of saving for yourself.