Comparing two job offers fairly
A higher base salary is not always the better offer. Add up the whole package, then weigh what is not written down.
Having two offers at once is a good position to be in, and a confusing one. The first instinct is to compare base pay, but allowances and benefits can turn the result around.
Add up the package for a year
Add twelve months of base pay, fixed allowances, THR (the religious holiday allowance) and a realistic bonus — not the maximum the offer letter mentions. Then add the value of benefits you will really use, such as private health insurance on top of BPJS, or transport and meal allowances.
Check what is easy to miss
Ask how BPJS Kesehatan and BPJS Ketenagakerjaan contributions are paid, whether there is a probation period and how long it is, how many days of annual leave you get, and whether the contract is permanent or fixed-term. Two offers with the same number can differ a lot here.
Compare the total for the year, not the biggest number in the offer letter.
Weigh what is not written down
Commuting time, the freedom to work from home, room to learn and the person you would report to all have value too. Two hours on the road each day is more than four hundred hours a year. Write these next to the figures, so one line does not make the decision for you.
If one offer is better on almost everything except pay, tell that company, politely. A first offer is not always the last.