Should I take this job? The data-driven checklist

You have an offer. The salary is good, the team seemed friendly, and the manager said the right things. Now you have to decide whether to sign. Most candidates rely on gut feeling. That is how people end up resigning twelve months later, asking themselves how they missed the signs.

Replace the gut with a checklist. Twenty questions, five categories, a simple scoring grid. Forty-five minutes of work. The output is a structured view of the offer is strengths and risks, and a clear threshold for accept vs. walk away.

Why gut feeling is not enough

Gut feeling in job decisions overweights recency (the last conversation) and underweights structural data (financials, leadership, lawsuits). It also conflates fit with the team (which matters, but is rarely the dominant factor over time) with fit with the role and the company (which is what determines whether you are still here in three years).

A checklist forces you to weigh the structural factors you would otherwise gloss over. The point is not to mechanize the decision, it is to ensure no critical category gets ignored.

The 20-point checklist

Compensation (5 points)

1. Base salary at or above 75th percentile for your level in your geography
2. Equity package competitive (or signing bonus equivalent if cash company)
3. Benefits cover health, dental, vision, retirement match, and PTO ≥ 15 days
4. Severance terms in offer letter (4+ weeks, written)
5. Compensation review cycle defined (annual at minimum)

Culture (4 points)

6. Glassdoor rating ≥ 3.5 with 100+ reviews, no recent rating crash
7. Cross-platform reviews (Indeed, Comparably, Blind) consistent with Glassdoor
8. No public discrimination, harassment, or wage theft lawsuits in last 24 months
9. Interview process was respectful (no ghosting, no unpaid take-home over 3 hours, no last-minute reschedules without cause)

Stability (4 points)

10. No layoffs in last 12 months OR layoffs were followed by stable hiring
11. Revenue stable or growing (public: SEC filings; private: news + Crunchbase)
12. Funding runway 18+ months (for early-stage private)
13. No active SEC actions or major regulatory exposure

Growth (3 points)

14. Clear path from this role to a promotion or expanded scope within 18-24 months
15. Learning opportunities defined (specific technologies, methodologies, or business areas)
16. Industry/sector growth trajectory is positive (not contracting)

Leadership (4 points)

17. CEO tenure 2+ years OR new CEO with credible track record
18. No 3+ C-suite departures in last 90 days
19. Direct manager has been in their role 12+ months
20. Leadership communicates transparently during difficult moments (cross-check news + Glassdoor)

For the framework to evaluate leadership specifically, see how to evaluate company leadership.

Scoring your offer

Award 1 point per checkpoint that fully clears. Half-point for partial matches. Zero if the answer is unknown or fails.

• 17-20 points: strong offer. Accept and negotiate at the margins.
• 13-16 points: solid offer with manageable risks. Push on the weak categories during final negotiation.
• 9-12 points: mixed. Either negotiate hard or compare against alternatives before deciding.
• 5-8 points: high-risk. Walk away unless you have specific reasons (e.g., dream role, short-term project, learning opportunity that compensates).
• Below 5: do not sign.

When to walk away

Three conditions where the checklist score is misleading and walking away is correct regardless of total:

1. Compensation under market by 15%+ without compensating equity. You will resent it within 6 months.
2. Active wage theft or discrimination class action with 5+ plaintiffs. The culture problem is structural.
3. 3+ CEO changes in 24 months OR active investor activist campaign. The strategy will pivot, your role with it.

Walking away from a bad offer is a free option. You always have the alternative of continuing the search, which preserves optionality. Signing locks you in for at least 9-12 months of opportunity cost.

When to negotiate

For 13-16 point offers, negotiation is high-leverage. The company has already invested 5-10 hours interviewing you; replacing you now costs them 2-3 months. Use that leverage on:

• Base salary +5-10% above initial offer
• Signing bonus (covers risk of early layoff)
• Severance terms (4-8 weeks for IC, 12+ for management)
• Equity refresh schedule
• First performance review at 6 months instead of 12

For the supporting research before negotiating, see the 7-step research framework and the 10 red flags guide.

The checklist takes 45 minutes. The decision you make using it will shape the next 1-3 years. Few hours of work pay off this consistently.