List every part of a job offer and sort each one into guaranteed cash, possible cash, CPF or benefits.
A fresh graduate gets two job offers in the same week, one paying S$4,200 a month and the other S$4,000 a month (both invented examples, not market rates). Most people in that position would accept the S$4,200 offer within a day.
Recruiters put the monthly salary first, so it becomes the figure candidates line up side by side. Pay comes in several forms, and some of them are never part of that monthly number. Plenty of graduates take the higher salary and treat the decision as obvious afterwards. In some cases it was the better offer. In many cases nobody compared anything else.
A fairer comparison uses total compensation: everything an employer gives you in a year in exchange for your work, whether it lands in your bank account, your CPF, your insurance cover or your calendar. You build it from cash, CPF and benefits, and then take off what the job costs you.
Begin by counting cash: take the base salary and multiply it by twelve. On top of that, many employers in Singapore pay an annual wage supplement (AWS), an extra payment people often call the 13th month. It is widespread, yet the Ministry of Manpower regards it as something agreed in your contract and not a legal entitlement, so read the offer closely to see whether the AWS is written in as contractual or only mentioned as something the company may pay. Then look for a variable bonus, pay that rises or falls with your performance and the company's. A letter offering a "bonus of up to three months" commits the employer to nothing past "up to", so file it under possible cash. Allowances for transport, a phone or meals belong in cash only when they're paid to you whether or not you make a claim.
CPF comes next. For Singapore citizens and permanent residents, the employer must pay the total CPF contribution each month, which is made up of an employer's share and an employee's share. Only the employer's share comes on top of your salary. The employer can recover your share from your wages, so it comes out of your pay. How much depends on your age, and contributions stop at a monthly wage ceiling. Both the rate and the ceiling are set by the Government, and changes to them can be announced in the Budget, so get today's figures from the CPF Board website instead of trusting a number a friend quotes. You can't use this money freely now, yet it is yours, and later it goes towards housing, healthcare and retirement.
After CPF, list the benefits that keep money in your pocket: group hospitalisation and outpatient cover, dental, a flexible benefits allowance (some people put it towards a gym membership or a health screening), a training budget and extra days of annual leave. Give each one a cash value, meaning roughly the amount you'd spend yourself to get the same thing. Rough numbers are fine for comparing offers. The rest of this module goes through how to read each part of an offer and put a fair value on benefits.
Finally, subtract what the job takes from you. A longer commute uses up time and adds fares. If the office keeps you until nine most nights, you earn less per hour even when the monthly figure is bigger. A training sponsorship that comes with a bond ties you to the employer, and you pay a price if you leave before it ends.
Now look at the two offers with their details filled in (also invented). Offer A pays S$4,200 with no AWS, a bonus the letter calls discretionary, and basic outpatient cover. Offer B pays S$4,000 with a one-month AWS in the contract, a flexible benefits allowance and five more days of leave. Twelve months of base pay puts Offer A S$2,400 a year ahead, at S$50,400 (S$4,200 x 12) against S$48,000 (S$4,000 x 12). Count Offer B's contractual AWS and its guaranteed cash rises to S$52,000 (S$4,000 x 13), compared with S$50,400 for Offer A, and neither figure yet includes benefits or leave. Compare guaranteed cash between offers first, then add benefits and leave.
A larger total won't always be the right pick. In year one, a job where you learn more can be worth far more than a couple of thousand dollars. Choosing that job is sensible when you do it deliberately and know what it costs you, and a poor choice when one number simply looked larger. When your figures are ready, the course Negotiation: salary, deals and everyday asks shows how to ask for more, and Career strategy: CVs, interviews and networking in Singapore deals with finding the job in the first place.
Your task: take an offer you have, or a job ad that states a salary range, and list every item of pay and every benefit it mentions. Sort them into four groups: guaranteed cash, possible cash, CPF, and benefits. Then mark anything the document leaves vague, because those are your questions for the employer.
Take one offer or job ad and list every item of pay and every benefit. Sort them into four groups and mark each vague item as a question to ask.
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