Kate Wendleton, founder and president of national job coaching organization The Five O'clock Club says the decision should hinge on which position will do your career the most good in the long run. Though job seekers are almost always heavily swayed by money, she advises looking at how a job will affect both your day-to-day life and your future career prospects. A client of Wendleton's who worked in financial consulting, wound up with three offers at the same time. One of the jobs paid $325,000 a year, and would have required her to travel constantly. The second job would have required less travel; it paid $225,000. The third job, for a rating agency with reasonable hours, paid $125,000. Because Wendleton's client had a small child, and she knew the rating agency job could lead to other opportunities, she chose the lower-paid position so she could spend more time with her child. Ideally, you would have a 40-year career plan, but often a five-year plan is the best you can do.